Arnold v. Holmes

District Court, District of Columbia·Decided January 22, 2026·No. Civil Action No. 2025-0390·Published

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

ROY ARNOLD JR., Plaintiff,

v. No. 25-cv-00390 (DLF)

TALLEY ROBERTA HOLMES, et al., Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Roy Arnold Jr., proceeding pro se, brings this action against individuals and law firms whom he alleges have conspired to execute a fraudulent foreclosure on his home. Before the Court are certain defendants’ motions to dismiss, see Dkt. 31; Dkt. 32, and Arnold’s motions for default judgment against two other defendants, see Dkt. 52; Dkt. 53. For the reasons that follow, the Court will dismiss Arnold’s federal claims against the moving defendants for failure to state a claim, dismiss Arnold’s state law claims against the moving defendants for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and deny Arnold’s motions for default judgment. I. BACKGROUND Arnold resides at 5221 Dix Street NE in Washington, D.C. Compl. ¶ 1, Dkt. 1. He alleges that he received a purchase money loan for the property from Talley R. Holmes Jr. (Mr. Holmes) in 2013, and that Mr. Holmes—who owned the property—“took a [first] position lien” against it. Id. ¶ 7.

After Mr. Holmes passed away in 2022, defendant William Payne, by and through defendant The Law Firm of Payne and Associates, sent Arnold a letter requesting payment for Mr. Holmes’s daughter—defendant Talley Roberta Holmes (Holmes)—as successor in interest to the

promissory note. Compl., Ex. A, at 1, Dkt. 1-1; see Compl. ¶ 14. The letter stated that Arnold had last made a mortgage payment in March 2021, and that the balance of the loan as of July 20, 2023, was “significantly more than $232,046.52.” Compl., Ex. A, at 1. Arnold alleges that he informed Payne that “it had come to his attention that [Mr. Holmes] was not licensed as a Mortgage Lender at the inception of the ‘Purported Loan’ in 2013.” Compl. ¶ 14. He further conveyed that, because Mr. Holmes had “violated DC Code 26-1103 as an unlicensed mortgage lender,” there was “no salable loan in relation to the ‘purported’ purchase money loan agreed upon.” Id.

On July 22, 2024, defendant Jung Kim, by and through defendant Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law, sent Arnold a letter on behalf of defendants the Estate of Talley R. Holmes Jr. (the Estate) and James B. Thomas. Compl., Ex. B, at 1, Dkt. 1-1. The letter represented that the Estate and Thomas were the lenders under the promissory note and that Arnold had defaulted on the loan. Id.; see Compl. ¶ 16. The letter stated that, in order to cure the default, Arnold “must deliver certified funds . . . in the sum of $292,281.81 no later than August 23, 2024.” Compl., Ex. B, at 1 (footnote and emphases omitted). It further warned that Arnold’s failure to cure the default may result in foreclosure. Id.

On July 24, 2024, Arnold sent Kim, Holmes, the Estate, and Thomas a “Demand Letter,”

Compl., Ex. C, at 1, Dkt. 1-1, requesting “evidence/documentation” that he “made a promise to pay” Thomas or the Estate “any amount,” id. at 2; see id. at 2–4. He also requested, among other things, “evidence/documentation” of any licenses that authorized Thomas or the Estate “to engage in the business of mortgage lending and/or mortgage servicing in the District of Columbia.” Id. at 2.

On July 11, 2024, Arnold sent Holmes a lengthy letter requesting an accounting of and documentation for the loan. See generally Compl., Ex. D, Dkt. 1-1. He similarly sent a “Debt

Validation Letter” to Kim, Holmes, the Estate, and Thomas on August 14, 2024. See generally Compl., Ex. E, Dkt. 1-1.

On February 10, 2025, Arnold filed the instant Complaint against Holmes; the Estate;

Paloma Holmes; attorney Darrel Parker and the firm Roundtree, Knox, Hunter & Parker; attorney Kim and the firm Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law; attorney Payne and The Law Firm of Payne & Associates; Thomas; and Leah Walker. Arnold broadly alleges that the defendants “conspired to foreclose on [his] Home when they do not have a lawful right to foreclose and have, at most, an unsecured debt.” Compl. ¶ 12. His Complaint sets forth ten specific claims for relief: civil conspiracy in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 (Count I); fraudulent misrepresentation in violation of D.C. law (Count II); violation of the D.C. Consumer Protection Procedures Act (Count III); violation of Title XIV of the Dodd-Frank Act and Predatory Lending Elimination Act (Count IV); fraud in the second degree in violation of D.C. law (Count V); violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Count VI); slander of title (Count VII); gross negligence (Count VIII); violation of D.C. Code 28-3814 (Count IX); and violation of D.C. Code 26-1114 (Count X). See id. ¶¶ 74– 137. He seeks punitive damages, special damages, attorney’s fees, a declaratory judgment, and a permanent injunction. See id. ¶¶ 53–73, 138–48.

Defendants Payne and The Law Firm of Payne & Associates filed an answer to the Complaint. Dkt. 29. Defendants Kim, Offit Kurman Attorneys at Law, Holmes, and the Estate filed motions to dismiss. Dkt. 31; Dkt. 32.1 Defendants Thomas, Paloma Holmes, and Walker

1 Defendants Parker and Roundtree, Knox, Hunter & Parker also filed a motion to dismiss, Dkt. 30, but were subsequently dismissed from this case, see October 8, 2025 Minute Order; Notice of Voluntary Dismissal of Def. Roundtree, Knox, Hunter & Parker, Dkt. 82. As such, the Court dismissed the motion as moot. January 22, 2026 Minute Order. Similarly, although the Estate joined in Holmes’s motion to dismiss, the Estate was also later dismissed from this case. See October 8, 2025 Minute Order.

failed to respond to the Complaint, and the Clerk of Court filed an entry of default against each. See Dkt. 44; Dkt. 45; Dkt. 46. II. LEGAL STANDARDS “Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction,” and it is “presumed that a cause lies outside this limited jurisdiction.” Kokkonen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377 (1994). The burden of establishing jurisdiction thus falls upon the party invoking it. Id.; see Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, 578 U.S. 330, 338 (2016). “While complaints filed by pro se litigants are held to less stringent standards than those applied to formal pleadings drafted by lawyers, even a pro se plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that the Court has subject matter jurisdiction.” Newby v. Obama, 681 F. Supp. 2d 53, 55 (D.D.C. 2010) (citation modified). Moreover, “because it involves a court’s power to hear a case,” subject matter jurisdiction “can never be forfeited or waived.” Arbaugh v. Y&H Corp., 546 U.S. 500, 514 (2006) (citation modified). To the contrary, courts have “an independent obligation to determine whether subject-matter jurisdiction exists, even in the absence of a challenge from any party.” Id.; see Gonzalez v. Thaler, 565 U.S. 134, 141 (2012) (“When a requirement goes to subject-matter jurisdiction, courts are obligated to consider sua sponte issues that the parties have disclaimed or have not presented.”). If a court “determines at any time that it lacks subject-matter jurisdiction, the court must dismiss the action.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(h)(3).

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