Bigsby v. Barclays Capital Real Estate, Inc.

170 F. Supp. 3d 568, 2016 WL 1045662, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34520
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMarch 16, 2016
Docket14-cv-1398 (JGK)
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 170 F. Supp. 3d 568 (Bigsby v. Barclays Capital Real Estate, Inc.) 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
Bigsby v. Barclays Capital Real Estate, Inc., 170 F. Supp. 3d 568, 2016 WL 1045662, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34520 (S.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

JOHN G. KOELTL, District Judge:

The plaintiffs, Lamar Bigsby, Jr. and Karla Freeland, bring this putative class action alleging violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1961 et seq. (“RICO”), based on predicate acts of mail fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1341, and wire fraud, 18 U.S.C. § 1343, and related'state law claims against defendant Barclays Capital Real Estate, Inc. [572]*572(“Barclays”) and various John Doe defendants. The plaintiffs allege jurisdiction under RICO and the Class Action Fairness Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1332(d) (“CAFA”).

The plaintiffs claim that Barclays, the servicer of the plaintiffs’ home mortgage loans, engaged in two different schemes to overcharge borrowers fraudulently: (1) a “fee-shifting scheme,” whereby Barclays allegedly charged borrowers for administrative and outsourcing fees that it concealed under the category “attorneys’ fees,” and (2) a “related mortgages scheme,” wherein Barclays allegedly inflated costs for borrowers with multiple mortgages.

Barclays now moves to dismiss the Amended Class Action Complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1), failure to state a claim, Fed R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), and failure to state with particularity circumstances constituting fraud, Fed.R.Civ.P. 9(b). For the reasons explained below, the defendant’s motion is granted in part and denied in part.

I.

Rule 12(b)(1) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is the mechanism for moving to dismiss a complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. “Dismissal of a case for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) is proper ‘when the district court lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate it.’ ” Ford v. D.C. 37 Union Local 1519, 579 F.3d 187, 188 (2d Cir.2009) (quoting Makarova v. United States, 201 F.3d 110, 113 (2d Cir.2000)). In considering a Rule 12(b)(1) motion, courts must construe all ambiguities and inferences in a plaintiffs favor. However, a court may refer to evidence outside of the pleadings, and the burden is on the plaintiff to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that jurisdiction exists. See Makarova, 201 F.3d at 113; see also Louis v. Comm’r of Soc. Sec., No. 09cv4725 (JGK), 2010 WL 743939, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 2, 2010).

In deciding a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the allegations in the complaint are accepted as true, and all reasonable inferences must be drawn in the plaintiffs favor. McCarthy v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 482 F.3d 184, 191 (2d Cir.2007). The Court’s function on a motion to dismiss is “not to weigh the evidence that might be presented at a trial but merely to determine whether the complaint itself is legally sufficient.” Goldman v. Belden, 754 F.2d 1059, 1067 (2d Cir.1985). The Court should not dismiss the complaint if the plaintiff has stated “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” 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 plaintiff pleads factual content that 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). While the Court should construe the factual allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, “the tenet that a court must accept as true all of the allegations contained in the complaint is inapplicable to legal conclusions.” Id. When presented with a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court may consider documents that are referenced in the complaint, documents that the plaintiff relied on in bringing suit and that are either in the plaintiffs possession or that the plaintiff knew of when bringing suit, or matters of which judicial notice may be taken. See Chambers v. Time Warner, Inc., 282 F.3d 147, 153 (2d Cir.2002); see also Kerik v. Tacopina, 64 F.Supp.3d 542, 549-50 (S.D.N.Y.2014).

II.

The following factual allegations are taken from the Amended Complaint and are [573]*573accepted as true for purposes of this motion to dismiss.

The first named plaintiff, Lamar Bigsby, Jr., purchased property in Stockbridge, Georgia in August 2005 and obtained two mortgage loans from Fremont Investment & Loan Co. for $244,000 and $61,000, secured by his home. HomEq Servicing (“HomEq”) was the original servicer until it was acquired by Barclays in 2006. Amended Compl. ¶ 29. Barclays serviced the mortgages after November 2006. Amended Compl. ¶¶ 51-52, 56. Mortgage Electronic Registrations System (“MERS”) served as the Nominee for the lender on the loan, and Bigsby signed standardized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac form loan documents setting forth the terms and conditions of the loans. Amended Compl. ¶¶ 51-53. On January 1, 2007, Bigsby filed for bankruptcy protection after he became delinquent on his loans. Amended Compl. ¶¶ 57-58.

After Bigsby filed for bankruptcy, he was assessed various fees and costs. Bigs-by alleges he was assessed “foreclosure fees and costs,” “Bankruptcy Attorney Fees,” a fee for a “breach letter,” and late charges. Amended Compl. ¶¶ 67-68.

The second named plaintiff, Karla Free-land, obtained two mortgages in 2004 and 2005 for a combined sum of over $500,000, secured by her Plymouth, Massachusetts home. Amended Compl. ¶¶ 122-23. MERS served as the Nominee for the lender on both loans, and Freeland signed standardized Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loan documents setting forth the terms and conditions of the loans. Amended Compl. ¶¶ 122-24. At some point, Barclays became 'the servicer of those loans. Amended Compl. ¶ 128. In or about 2006, Freeland became delinquent on her loans and filed for bankruptcy in 2006. Amended Compl. ¶¶ 129,134-35.

From 2006 through 2008, Freeland was charged by Barclays for attorney fees and other fees that the plaintiffs claim were improper, including post-acceleration late fees.1 Amended Compl. ¶¶ 138, 140 and 141, 142, 147. During the course of Free-land’s bankruptcy, and continuing until the first part of 2013, Feeland paid off the amounts that were allegedly owed before she had filed for bankruptcy, including the attorneys’ fees, post-acceleration late fees, and other unpaid fees. Amended Compl. ¶ 163; see also Amended Compl. ¶¶ 145, 157.

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Bluebook (online)
170 F. Supp. 3d 568, 2016 WL 1045662, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34520, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bigsby-v-barclays-capital-real-estate-inc-nysd-2016.