Bellino v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

209 F. Supp. 3d 601, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128770, 2016 WL 5173392
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 20, 2016
DocketNo. 14-cv-3139 (NSR)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 209 F. Supp. 3d 601 (Bellino v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bellino v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., 209 F. Supp. 3d 601, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128770, 2016 WL 5173392 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

NELSON S. ROMÁN, United States District Judge

On December I, 2015, Defendant JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“JPMC”) filed a motion for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (ECF No. 66.) Subsequently, the Supreme Court issued its decision in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, — U.S. -, 136 S.Ct. 1540, 194 L.Ed.2d 635 (2016) (hereinafter, “Spokeo”). Thereafter, the Court permitted the parties to submit supplemental briefing regarding the legal implications of Spokeo as concerns this action. (See ECF No. 94.) That supplemental briefing is the subject of the instant opinion. For the following reasons, JPMC’s motion for summary judgment on the issue of standing is DENIED.

BACKGROUND1

[603]*603On March 17, 2004, the sole plaintiff2 named in this putative class action, Tina Bellino, obtained a $300,000 mortgage loan from JPMC to purchase a house located at 46 Highland Avenue in Tarrytown, New York. (Compl. Ex. 1, ECF No. 1.) On May 11, 2012, Bellino sold the house. (Id. ¶ 12.) At some point thereafter, Bellino used the proceeds from the sale to pay off the outstanding principal, interest, and fees due on the mortgage (the “Pay-Off Amount”). (Id. ¶ 12.) JPMC received a check for the Pay-Off Amount on May 14, 2012 in Columbus, Ohio. (Statement of Material Facts in Support of Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment (“JPMC’s 56.1 Statement”), ECF No. 97, ¶ 1.) A satisfaction of mortgage was sent to the West-chester County Clerk for recording via Federal Express on June 13, 2012. (Id. ¶ 2; Declaration of Erika Lance, ECF No. 99, ¶ 4.) The satisfaction of mortgage was delivered to the Westchester County Clerk by Federal Express no later than June 15, 2012. (JPMC’s 56.1 Statement ¶ 3.)

DISCUSSION

In this putative class action, Plaintiff alleges that JPMC systematically fails to timely present mortgage satisfaction notices for recording, in violation of Section 275 of the New York Real Property Law (“RPL § 275”)3 and Section 1921 of the New York Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (“RPAPL § 1921”)4 (collectively, “the statutes”). The statutes similarly impose monetary penalties on mortgagees in the event they fail to timely arrange to have a certificate of discharge of a mortgage presented to the recording [604]*604officer of the county where the mortgage is recorded. Plaintiff contends that she is entitled to statutory damages based on JPMC’s alleged violations of the statutes. In light of the Supreme Court’s decision in Spokeo, which addresses the “injury-in-fact” requirement of Article III standing, JPMC argues that Plaintiff lacks standing because she does not allege she suffered any additional harm beyond JPMC’s alleged failure to timely present the certificate of discharge—a technical violation of the statutes.

I. Article III Standing

“[T]he irreducible constitutional minimum of standing [in federal court] contains three elements”: injury, traceability, and redressability. Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). “First, the plaintiff must have suffered an ‘injury in fact’—an invasion of a legally protected interest which is (a) concrete and particularized, and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.” Id. (internal quotations and citations omitted). “Second, there must be a causal connection between the injury and the conduct complained of—the injury has to be ‘fairly ... trace[able] to the challenged action of the defendant, and not ... th[e] result [of] the independent action of some third party not before the court.’ ” Id. at 560-61, 112 S.Ct. 2130 (quoting Simon v. Eastern Ky. Welfare Rights Org., 426 U.S. 26, 41-42, 96 S.Ct. 1917, 48 L.Ed.2d 450, (1976)). “Third, it must be likely, as opposed to merely speculative, that the injury will be redressed by a favorable decision.” Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130 (internal quotation and citation omitted).

As Plaintiff is the party seeking to invoke federal jurisdiction, she bears the burden of establishing the three elements of Article III standing. Lujan, 504 U.S. at 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130. Since Article III standing is “an indispensable part of the plaintiffs case, each element [of standing] must be supported in the same way as any other matter on which the plaintiff bears the burden of proof, ie., with the manner and degree of evidence required at the successive stages of the litigation.” Id. At the summary judgment stage—the current posture of this action—Plaintiff must demonstrate standing through specific facts via affidavits or other evidence. Id.

In the present case, Defendant challenges Plaintiffs ability to demonstrate the first element of Article III standing—injury-in-fact.5 The Supreme Court’s recent decision in Spokeo reaffirms the requirements of the injury-in-fact showing. Accordingly, the Court first turns to a discussion of the Supreme Court’s decision in Spokeo.

II. Injury-in-Fact and Spokeo

In Spokeo, the Supreme Court analyzed whether a plaintiff had standing to sue Spokeo, a “ ‘people search engine,’ which searches a wide spectrum of databases to gather and provide personal information about individuals to a variety of users, including employers wanting to evaluate prospective employees,” for violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 1970 (the “FCRA”). 136 S.Ct. at 1543. The plaintiff asserted that his Spokeo-generated profile reflected inaccurate information, in violation of the FCRA, which provides for statutory damages in instances where a consumer reporting agency fails to comply [605]*605with the accurate reporting requirements. Id. at 1545. While the Ninth Circuit held that the plaintiff had standing to sue for violations of the FCRA, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded, reasoning that the Ninth Circuit had failed to analyze completely the “injury-in-fact” standing requirement.

In its opinion, the Supreme Court addressed the “injury-in-fact” prong of Article III standing, particularly its dual requirements of “particularization” and “concreteness.” “For an injury to be particularized, it must affect the plaintiff in a personal and individual way.” 136 S.Ct. at 1548 (internal citation omitted). Concreteness, meanwhile, refers to the realness of the injury. Id. Though an injury must be real, it need not be tangible. Id. at 1549. With respect to determining whether an intangible harm constitutes an injury-in-fact, the Court instructed that “both history and the judgment of Congress play important roles.” Id. In particular,

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Bluebook (online)
209 F. Supp. 3d 601, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128770, 2016 WL 5173392, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bellino-v-jpmorgan-chase-bank-na-nysd-2016.