Bulmer v. MidFirst Bank, FSA

59 F. Supp. 3d 271, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160570, 2014 WL 6070695
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedNovember 14, 2014
DocketCivil Action No. 13-30089-KPN
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 59 F. Supp. 3d 271 (Bulmer v. MidFirst Bank, FSA) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Bulmer v. MidFirst Bank, FSA, 59 F. Supp. 3d 271, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160570, 2014 WL 6070695 (D. Mass. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER WITH REGARD TO DEFENDANTS MOTION FOR SUMMARY JUDGMENT (Document No. S3)

NEIMAN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Paul Bulmer (“Plaintiff’) brings this action asserting that the assignee of his mortgage and promissory note, MidFirst Bank, FSA (“Defendant”), its alleged agent MidLand Mortgage Company (“MidLand”) and its predecessor-in-interest and alleged agent Wells Fargo Bank (‘Wells Fargo”), failed to comply with certain federal and state statutes and regulations when handling his mortgage arrearages. In addition to seeking federal and state statutory damages, Plaintiff seeks declaratory and injunctive relief preventing Defendant from foreclosing on his Agawam property.

Plaintiff alleges in his complaint that Defendant and its agents failed to correct or explain alleged errors pointed out in a Qualified Written Request (“QWR”), in violation of 12 U.S.C. § 2605(f) (Count 1); sent a faulty notice of right-to-cure in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 244, § 35A (Count 2) and in noncompliance with the power of sale in the mortgage (Count 3); charged unlawful fees and provided false information and disingenuous forbearance agreements in violation of Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A (Count 4); and, in violation of Veterans Affairs regulations 38 C.F.R. §§ 36.4350(a), (g), and (h), failed to properly consider Plaintiff for a qualified loss mitigation plan (“HAMP”) (Count 7), failed to meet face to face with Plaintiff (Count 6), and failed otherwise to make reasonable efforts to cure the default (Count 5). Once discovery was completed, Defendant moved for summary judgment with regard to all counts. Plaintiff has since agreed to dismiss Count 6.

Pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(c) and Fed. R.Civ.P. 73, the parties have consented to the jurisdiction of this court. For the reasons that follow, the court will allow Defendant’s motion with respect to Counts 1 and 4 through 7 but deny it with respect to Counts 2 and 3.

I. STANDARD OF REVIEW

When ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the court must construe the facts in a light most favorable to the non-moving party. Benoit v. Tech. Mfg. Corp., 331 F.3d 166, 173 (1st Cir.2003). Summary judgment is appropriate when “there is no genuine issue as to any material fact” and “the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c). An issue is “genuine” when the evidence is such that a reasonable fact-finder could resolve the point in favor of the non-moving party, and a fact is “material” when it might affect the outcome of the suit under the applicable law. Morris v. Gov’t Dev. Bank of P.R., 27 F.3d 746, [274]*274748 (1st Cir.1994). The non-moving party-bears the burden of placing at least one material fact into dispute after the moving party shows the absence of any disputed material fact. Mendes v. Medtronic, Inc., 18 F.3d 18, 15 (1st Cir.1994) (discussing Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986)).

II. BACKGROUND

Except where noted, the following facts, which are undisputed, are construed in a light most favorable to Plaintiff.

On May 31, 2005, Plaintiff bought his home at 342 Adams Street in Agawam (“the property”) by executing a $204,300 promissory note to Wells Fargo in exchange for a loan issued under the Veterans Affairs (“VA”) Guaranteed Loan Program. (Defendant MidFirst Bank’s Concise Statement of Facts (“Defs SOF”) ¶ 1.) Plaintiff secured the loan by granting a mortgage on the property to Wells Fargo, which would on April 9, 2009, assign the mortgage to Defendant, retaining the servicing rights. (Id. ¶¶2, 3.) The VA Guaranteed Loan' statutes and regulations are incorporated into the mortgage. (Id.)

Plaintiff fell behind on his payments to varying degrees over the years, agreed to a loan modification in 2007, and was still very much in arrears by January 1, 2010. (Id. ¶ 7.) Although, evidently, Plaintiff had sufficient assets in his retirement account to bring his payments current, it became unclear how much he owed. By his own count, he received three letters from Defendant’s representatives offering inconsistent payoff amounts over a sixteen-day period. (Plaintiffs Response to Defendant’s Concise Statement of Facts (“Pi’s SOF”) ¶2.) A December 28, 2009 letter from Defendant’s collections law firm listed a reinstatement quote of $24,590.52 if paid by January 22, 2010; a January 7, 2010 forbearance document from Wells Fargo Home Mortgage provided a $22,874.55 figure if paid by March 7th; and a January 13, 2010 letter from the law firm stated $25,234.48 would bring the account current if paid by February 11th. (Id. ¶ 5(d); Bulmer Aff. Ex. A.; Defs SOF, ¶ 10.) As the parties acknowledged at the hearing on Defendant’s motion, legal fees account for a large part of the inconsistency.

At any rate, Plaintiff maintains that he relied on the Wells Fargo quote, ultimately paying $25,911.94 on January 19, 2010, which he believed would put him two payments ahead of schedule. (Pi’s SOF, ¶ 5(d).) Defendant contends that Plaintiff was not entitled to rely on the Wells Fargo quote and that the January 13, 2010 quote of $25,234.48 applied instead. Accordingly, as of January 20, 2010, the balance was at best unclear.

On or about August 2, 2010, Wells Fargo transferred the servicing of Plaintiff’s mortgage to MidLand. (Defs SOF. ¶4.) On August 30, 2010, MidLand contacted Plaintiff to explain that Wells Fargo had “incorrectly applied” his mortgage payments. (Id. ¶ 12.) This “explanation” may relate to the payoff, a suspense balance that the parties agree was factored into the payoff quotes, or a matter not otherwise reflected in the record.

On November 18, 2010, MidLand mailed Plaintiff, who was again in arrears, a letter entitled “Notice of Default,” which was “intended” to comply with a Massachusetts law requiring mortgage holders to send defaulting borrowers notice of curing information and to observe a grace period before exercising the statutory power of sale. (Id. ¶ 14.); Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 244, § 35A. In the Notice of Default, MidLand pegged Plaintiffs delinquency at $4,782.80, although Plaintiff believes he only owed $1,015.98 at the time. (Pi’s SOF ¶ 7(i).) [275]*275Plaintiff has since submitted evidence that he could then have cured a default of $1,015.98. (Id.) The next day, Plaintiff explained to MidLand that he was having difficulty making payments due to financial problems after a severe head injury. (Defs SOF at ¶ 15.)

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Bluebook (online)
59 F. Supp. 3d 271, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 160570, 2014 WL 6070695, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/bulmer-v-midfirst-bank-fsa-mad-2014.