Barefield v. HSBC Holdings PLC

356 F. Supp. 3d 977
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. California
DecidedDecember 7, 2018
Docket1:18-cv-00527-LJO-JLT
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 356 F. Supp. 3d 977 (Barefield v. HSBC Holdings PLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Barefield v. HSBC Holdings PLC, 356 F. Supp. 3d 977 (E.D. Cal. 2018).

Opinion

Lawrence J. O'Neill, UNITED STATES CHIEF DISTRICT JUDGE

I. INTRODUCTION

On March 16, 2018, Deborah Barefield ("Plaintiff") filed a pro se complaint (First Amended Complaint, or "FAC"1 ) in California Superior Court in and for the County of Kern against HSBC Mortgage Services Inc. (erroneously named as HSBC Holdings PLC); Caliber Home Loans, Inc.; Summit Property Management, LLC (erroneously named as Summit Property Management, Inc.); and Doe defendants (collectively, "Defendants"). The FAC alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692, and state law claims for quiet title, fraud, constructive fraud, intentional infliction of emotional distress, violation of California's Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Defendants Caliber Home Loans and Summit Property Management's moved to dismiss the FAC, ECF No. 6, and moved to expunge notice of pendency of action, ECF No. 9. Defendant HSBC Mortgage Services, Inc. moved for judgment on the pleadings. ECF No. 15. The Court denied Plaintiff's motion to remand and granted the Defendants' motions to dismiss the FAC and for judgment on the pleadings, while granting Plaintiff an opportunity to amend her complaint. ECF No. 28. Plaintiff filed a Second Amended Complaint ("SAC") on August 16, 2018. ECF No. 30. Defendants each moved to dismiss. ECF Nos. 31, 33. During the pendency of the briefing on the motion to dismiss, Plaintiff moved to remand a related case that had been removed to this Court. ECF No. 42. In a written order dated November 1, 2018, the Court dismissed with prejudice all of Plaintiff's claims in this case, save one. ECF No. 44. Plaintiff's sole surviving claim was a claim for violation of the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("RFDCPA"), California Civil Code § 1788 et seq. Plaintiff represented that she did not intend to amend the complaint to make clear that the amount at issue exceeded the jurisdictional threshold of $75,000 in this diversity action. ECF No. 51. Plaintiff *980again requested that the case be remanded to state court.

II. BACKGROUND

On August 19, 2005, decedent, Thomas W. Hatch, executed a loan in the amount of $477,000.00 to purchase a home located at 11301 Darlington Avenue, Bakersfield, California 93312 (the "Property"). SAC ¶ 7; ECF No. 34, Request for Judicial Notice, Ex. A. The loan was secured by a deed of trust, which identified the lender as Crevecor Mortgage Inc. ECF No. 34, Ex. A. The deed of trust further identified Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. ("MERS") as the beneficiary. Id. According to the SAC, the decedent faced "financial difficulties" and ceased making payments on the subject loan in 2006. SAC ¶ 7. The SAC states that decedent had been "promised a monthly payment in the amount of $1800.00, [but that] the monthly payment was in fact $3400.00" and decedent was unable to obtain a loan modification. Id. ¶ 8. The deed of trust was subsequently assigned to HSBC Mortgage Services, Inc. ("HSBC") in an assignment recorded July 1, 2008. ECF No. 34, Ex. B. On October 23, 2017, HSBC recorded its assignment of the deed of trust to U.S. Bank, N.A., as Trustee for LSF10 Master Participation Trust. Id. , Ex. D. Caliber Home Loans ("Caliber") took over servicing the loan. Id. In a document recorded on November 22, 2017, Summit Management Company, LLC ("Summit") was substituted as the trustee of record. ECF No. 34, Ex. E. Caliber initiated foreclosure proceedings by recording a notice of default on December 15, 2017, which stated that the decedent-borrower owed $497,255.30. Id. , Ex. F. On March 13, 2018, Caliber recorded a notice of trustee's sale and set the date of sale for April 9, 2018. ECF No. 7, Ex. G. The notice stated that the amount of the unpaid balance and other charges was $994,009.90. Id. Plaintiff filed the FAC three days later. Defendants Caliber and Summit removed to this Court on April 18, 2018. ECF No. 1.

Following the filing of the motion to remand, motion to dismiss the FAC, motion for judgment on the pleadings, and motion to expunge notice of pendency of action, the Court issued an order to show cause why Plaintiff, proceeding pro se as administrator of the Estate of Thomas W. Hatch, may continue to prosecute the action. ECF No. 20. Plaintiff responded, ECF No. 25, and satisfied the Court that as the sole beneficiary of the Estate, she is entitled to represent the estate pro se , ECF No. 26.

In an order dated August 2, 2018, the Court granted the motion to dismiss the FAC and the motion for judgment on the pleadings, denied the motion to remand, and held in abeyance the motion to expunge notice of pendency of action. ECF No. 28. Plaintiff then filed the SAC, which adds allegations concerning the effectiveness of the assignment of the deed of trust. In particular, Plaintiff raises questions about the transfer based on the allegation that Crevecor did not assign the deed of trust to HSBC until 2008, while HSBC received taxes from Hatch in 2004. SAC ¶ 9. The SAC alleges upon information and belief that the assignment from MERS to HSBC that was attempted in 2005 failed to transfer "any legal rights of ownership of the trust deed to HSBC" and that the failure was the reason that HSBC did not follow through on attempts to foreclose on the property. SAC ¶ 10.

Defendants again moved to dismiss. On October 12, 2018, during the pendency of the motions to dismiss, Plaintiff filed another complaint in California Superior Court for the County of Kern against the same defendants and involving the same mortgage as in this case. ECF No. 41.

*981Defendants removed that case to this Court on October 17, 2018, and on October 31, 2018, the Court dismissed it under the duplicative case doctrine. Case No. 18-cv-01442-LJO-JLT (E.D. Cal.). The Court granted the Defendants' motions to dismiss with the exception of Plaintiff's RFDCPA claim.

III. STANDARD OF DECISION

A. Motion To Remand

A case is removable if it is one over which the district court has jurisdiction. 28 U.S.C.

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Bluebook (online)
356 F. Supp. 3d 977, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/barefield-v-hsbc-holdings-plc-caed-2018.