Berneike v. CitiMortgage, Inc.

708 F.3d 1141, 2013 WL 657032, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 3879
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 25, 2013
Docket11-4210
StatusPublished
Cited by133 cases

This text of 708 F.3d 1141 (Berneike v. CitiMortgage, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Berneike v. CitiMortgage, Inc., 708 F.3d 1141, 2013 WL 657032, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 3879 (10th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

BRISCOE, Chief Judge.

Adriana Berneike (Berneike) appeals the district court’s dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of her Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), Utah Consumer Sales Protection Act (UCSPA), and breach of contract claims asserted against CitiMortgage, Inc. (Citi). Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, we affirm.

I

On January 13, 2010, Berneike faxed twenty-eight different letters to Citi, her mortgage loan servicer, asserting that Citi was incorrectly billing her for overcharges and improper fees. 1 See, e.g., Aplt-App. at 21. Twenty-two of the January 13 letters were addressed to a Citi address in Illi *1144 nois, and six letters were addressed to a Citi address in Nevada. Id. at 15-42. On January 29, 2010, Berneike faxed a second round of at least fifty-eight different letters. Id. at 6. Like the January 13 letters, these letters asserted that. Citi was improperly billing Berneike for overcharges, and sought information regarding specific fees that were set forth on her monthly bills, such as “late payment,” “other charge,” and “[r]eturned payment fee.” Id. at 58, 60, 91. The January 29 letters were addressed to a Citi address in Nevada. Id. at 44-102. All the letters included “Qualified Written Request (RESPA)” in the subject line. These letters were later attached as exhibits to Berneike’s complaint in the present action. Id. at 6, 21.

On February 3, 2010, Berneike received two response letters from Citi regarding her billing concerns, but she attached only one of these letters to her complaint. In the letter she attached to her complaint, Citi acknowledged Berneike’s inquiry and responded that it believed her account was correctly serviced. Citi provided the specific amounts of Berneike’s payments for 2008, explaining that “[d]ue to an increase in your escrow disbursements since your previous analysis, a shortage developed.” Id. at 104. Generally, Citi stated that Berneike’s account was correct and that taxes and an escrow shortage caused billing fluctuation. Finally, Citi provided a telephone number where Berneike could reach an employee for future assistance.

Steadfast in her belief that Citi was overcharging her, Berneike sent another letter in June 2010 seeking further explanation and correction. This letter was not attached to her complaint. On July 28, 2010, Berneike faxed a third round of forty-seven different letters to Citi again requesting information about overcharges and improper fees. Citi did not respond to Berneike’s June or July letters, but it did send a third letter “demanding a late fee of $73.31 for a return[ed] check fee for Plaintiffs previous payment,” on September 23, 2010. Id. at 9. Altogether, Ber-neike faxed more than one-hundred letters to Citi. Berneike claims that despite paying in full every bill she received, she continues to be overcharged by Citi and is facing foreclosure and bankruptcy.

Berneike filed suit in Utah state court alleging Citi’s conduct violated UCSPA, breached their contract and covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and violated RESPA. Among other damages, Berneike sought “$1,000 per violation of RESPA.” Id. at 12. Thereafter, Citi timely removed the case to federal court, and the court then granted Citi’s motion to dismiss Ber-neike’s claims pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. 2

II

This court reviews de novo a district court’s Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal for failure to state a claim. Khalik v. United Air Lines, 671 F.3d 1188, 1190 (10th Cir.2012). Accordingly, all well-pleaded allegations of the complaint are accepted as true and viewed in a light most favorable to the nonmoving party. While factual assertions are taken as true, legal conclusions are not. To survive dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim, plaintiffs must “nudge[ ] their claims across the line from conceivable to plausible.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). “A claim has facial plausibility when the *1145 [pleaded] factual content ... allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009).

Berneike also appeals the district court’s denial of her request for leave to amend based on the district court’s determination that amendment would be futile. “[W]e generally review for abuse of discretion a district court’s denial of leave to amend a complaint,” but we review de novo “the legal basis for the finding of futility.” Cohen v. Longshore, 621 F.3d 1311, 1314 (10th Cir.2010).

Ill

RESPA Claim

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), 12 U.S.C. §§ 2601-2617, is a consumer protection statute enacted to regulate real estate settlement processes. § 2601. Under RESPA, a servicer of a “federally related mortgage loan” may be liable for damages to a borrower if it fails to adequately respond to a qualified written request (QWR). § 2605(e)-(f). Upon receipt of a QWR, the loan servicer must provide a written response within twenty days of the borrower’s inquiry acknowledging the QWR. § 2605(e)(1)(A). Within sixty days of receipt of a QWR, the loan servicer generally must investigate and make appropriate corrections to the borrower’s account, provide a written notification of any correction or an explanation why no correction was necessary, and provide a contact number for a representative. § 2605(e)(2). If the servicer fails to appropriately respond, the borrower may recover actual damages resulting from the ser-vicer’s failure and “any additional damages ... in the case of a pattern or practice of noncompliance with the requirements of this section, in an amount not to exceed $1,000.” § 2605(f). The servicer’s duty to respond is triggered by receipt of a QWR, which is defined as “written correspondence, other than notice on a payment coupon” that states the name and account number of the borrower as well as a statement of the reasons that the borrower believes the account is in error. § 2605(e)(1)(B).

Pursuant to RESPA’s implementing regulation (“Regulation X”), 3

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Varnas v. Thompson
D. Kansas, 2024
Cuervo v. Sorenson
112 F.4th 1307 (Tenth Circuit, 2024)
Ditech Holding Corporation
S.D. New York, 2024
Grays v. Munn
D. Colorado, 2024
Roland v. Letgo
Tenth Circuit, 2024
Clinton v. Security Benefit Life
63 F.4th 1264 (Tenth Circuit, 2023)
Northern Arapaho Tribe v. Becerra
61 F.4th 810 (Tenth Circuit, 2023)
Tracy v. Stephens
D. Utah, 2022
Sims v. Zmuda
Tenth Circuit, 2022
Felts v. Dejoy
D. New Mexico, 2022
Gould v. Wyse
D. New Mexico, 2022
Hueston Green v. Rosen
D. New Mexico, 2022
Tucker v. Wells Fargo Bank
D. New Mexico, 2022

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
708 F.3d 1141, 2013 WL 657032, 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 3879, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/berneike-v-citimortgage-inc-ca10-2013.