Bihn v. Fifth Third Mortgage Co.

980 F. Supp. 2d 892, 2013 WL 5882063, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155701
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedOctober 30, 2013
DocketCase No. 3:13-cv-00057
StatusPublished
Cited by44 cases

This text of 980 F. Supp. 2d 892 (Bihn v. Fifth Third Mortgage Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bihn v. Fifth Third Mortgage Co., 980 F. Supp. 2d 892, 2013 WL 5882063, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155701 (S.D. Ohio 2013).

Opinion

ENTRY AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANT FIFTH THIRD MORTGAGE COMPANY’S MOTION TO DISMISS (Doc. # 11) AND TERMINATING THIS CASE

THOMAS M. ROSE, District Judge.

This matter is a class action complaint brought by Plaintiff Jacqueline Bihn, on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated, against Defendants Fifth Third Mortgage Company (“FTMC”) and Maguire & Schneider, LLP (“Maguire”). Bihn’s First Claim for Relief is for unfair debt collection practices pursuant to §§ 1692(e) and 1692(f) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) against all Defendants. Bihn’s Second Claim for Relief is for deceptive and misleading practices under § 1345.01 of the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act against all Defendants. Bihn’s Third Claim for Relief1 is for unjust enrichment against all Defendants. Bihn’s Fourth Claim for Relief is for a breach of contract against Defendant FTMC.

Pending before the Court is Defendant FTMC’s Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Fed.R.CivJP. 12(b)(6). (Doc #11.) This Motion is now fully briefed and ripe for decision. A relevant factual background will first be set forth, followed by the [896]*896applicable legal standard and analysis of the motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6).

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

In the context of a motion to dismiss, the Court must accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint. Bihn’s Complaint includes the following factual allegations:

In 1983, Bihn entered into a mortgage loan transaction with Citizens Federal Savings & Loan Association of Dayton (“Citizens Federal”) with a $135,000 promissory note. In 1991, Citizens Federal changed its name to Citizens Federal FSB. In 1998, Citizens Federal FSB merged with an entity known as “Fifth Third (Western Ohio).” Bihn made all payments on the loan from April 1983 until December 2009.

On January 20, 2010, Defendant FTMC filed a foreclosure complaint against Bihn, asserting that Bihn had defaulted on the note. Defendant Maguire filed the foreclosure complaint on behalf of FTMC. In the foreclosure complaint, Defendants represented that: Citizens Federal assigned the mortgage to FTMC on November 23, 2009; FTMC was the owner and holder of the mortgage deed; and $33,136.88 was owed to FTMC.

Attached to the foreclosure complaint was a copy of the assignment between Citizens Federal and FTMC. The assignment was signed by Brad Griffith, who was identified as an Assistant Vice President of Citizens Federal on November 23, 2009. At that time, however, Brad Griffith was not an employee of Citizens Federal, but an Assistant Vice President with Fifth Third Bank.

On May 18, 2011, FTMC obtained a foreclosure judgment against Bihn. In the foreclosure judgment, Defendants were awarded certain fees and expenses to which they were entitled under the relevant loan documents in addition to those incurred by pursuing the foreclosure action. Thereafter, Defendants took numerous steps in an attempt to enforce the foreclosure judgment. In May 2011, Defendants filed a Notice of Sheriffs Sale in the state court, but then cancelled the sale after Bihn obtained a stay of execution of the foreclosure judgment pending appeal.

On February 17, 2012, the Court of Appeals for Montgomery County affirmed the trial court’s grant of judgment to FTMC in the foreclosure action. See Fifth Third Mortg. Co. v. Bihn, 2012-Ohio-637, 2012 WL 525580 (Ohio Ct.App.2012). On February 27, Bihn filed a motion for reconsideration in the Court of Appeals and moved to certify a conflict to the Supreme Court of Ohio, contending that there was a conflict among the Ohio Courts of Appeals regarding “Whether a borrower can cure a failure to establish ownership and standing at the commencement of a foreclosure action by subsequently assigning the note and mortgage to the plaintiff named in the foreclosure complaint.” Compl. at ¶ 34.

On March 8, Defendants filed an opposition to the motion for reconsideration in addition to an opposition to Bihn’s motion to certify a conflict. Defendants argued that even if there was a conflict among the Courts of Appeals, the foreclosure judgment was properly granted because FTMC was the real party in interest at the time the foreclosure action based on the 2009 assignment from Citizens Federal.

On October 31, 2012, the Ohio Supreme Court resolved the split among the appellate courts in Fed. Home Loan Mortg. Corp. v. Schwartzwald by holding that a mortgagee cannot retroactively cure a lack of standing in a foreclosure action by executing an assignment after filing the foreclosure complaint. See Fed. Home Loan Mortg. Corp. v. Schwartzwald, 134 Ohio St.3d 13, 979 N.E.2d 1214 (2012). As a [897]*897result of that decision, on December 5, 2012, the Ohio Supreme Court reversed the foreclosure judgment between Defendants and Bihn and remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with Schwartzwald.

The Court takes judicial notice that the foreclosure complaint filed in the Court of Common Pleas for Montgomery County, Ohio by FTMC against Thomas J. Bihn (case no. 2010CV00476) has been dismissed by FTMC. Thus, the remanded case (foreclosure complaint) was dismissed at the trial court before any further action was taken by the trial court.

Bihn and other members of the class have been and continue to be threatened with foreclosure. By a Mortgage Loan Payoff Statement dated February 14, 2012, Fifth Third Bank represented that Bihn owed $2,578.90 in “fees currently assessed,” $41,859.39 in “eserow/impound” and $1,199.42 in late charges.

MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM UNDER FED. R. CIV. P. 12(b)(6)

I. Applicable Legal Standard

The purpose of a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss is to allow a defendant to test whether, as a matter of law, the plaintiff is entitled to legal relief even if everything alleged in the complaint is true. Mayer v. Mylod, 988 F.2d 635, 638 (6th Cir.1993) (citing Nishiyama v. Dickson County, Tennessee, 814 F.2d 277, 279 (6th Cir.1987)). Put another way, “the purpose of a motion under Federal Rule 12(b)(6) is to test the formal sufficiency of the statement of the claim for relief; the motion is not a procedure for resolving a contest between the parties about the facts or the substantive merits of the plaintiffs case.” 5B Charles Alan Wright and Arthur R. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1356 (3d ed. 2004). Further, for purposes of a motion to dismiss, the complaint must be construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff and its allegations taken as true. Scheuer v. Rhodes, 416 U.S. 232, 94 S.Ct. 1683, 40 L.Ed.2d 90 (1974).

To survive a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, a plaintiff must provide more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action is not enough. Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1964-65, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (citing Papasan v. Attain, 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986)).

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980 F. Supp. 2d 892, 2013 WL 5882063, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155701, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bihn-v-fifth-third-mortgage-co-ohsd-2013.