Canterbury v. J.P. Morgan Acquisition Corp.

958 F. Supp. 2d 637, 2013 WL 3899226, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105704
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedJuly 29, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 3:11-CV-00059
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 958 F. Supp. 2d 637 (Canterbury v. J.P. Morgan Acquisition Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Canterbury v. J.P. Morgan Acquisition Corp., 958 F. Supp. 2d 637, 2013 WL 3899226, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105704 (W.D. Va. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

NORMAN K. MOON, District Judge.

The instant “action seeking enforcement of rescission of a refinance mortgage credit transaction pursuant to the federal Truth-in-Lending Act” (“TILA”) was filed here on September 19, 2011. On May 31, 2012, all proceedings in this matter were stayed pending the conclusion of bankruptcy proceedings against the defendants. In January of this year, defendant J.P. Morgan Mortgage Acquisition Corporation (“J. P. Morgan,” or “Morgan,” or “Defendant”) filed a motion for relief from stay in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. In February, the Bankruptcy Court granted the motion, allowing Plaintiffs claims against Morgan to proceed, but continuing the stay with respect to the claims against defendant GMAC Mortgage Corporation LLC (“GMAC”). On April 2, 2013, United States Magistrate Judge B. Waugh Crigler granted Morgan’s unopposed motion to lift stay and bifurcate claims in this court, and the matter is now before me upon consideration of Morgan’s motion to dismiss it as a defendant in this case pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.

The parties have fully briefed the motion and their arguments have been heard. For the reasons discussed below, I will grant Morgan’s motion.1

[642]*642I.

A

Plaintiff and his wife, Adrienne Canterbury, own and reside in a home located at 2447 Springer Run Road in Gordonsville, Virginia (the “Property”). On August 31, 2007, Plaintiff entered into a refinance credit transaction with GMAC. The credit transaction was evidence by a note (the “Note”) in the principal amount of $1,027,446, and was secured by a deed of trust (the “Deed of Trust”) on the Property. The Deed of Trust was signed by both of the Canterburys.

The crux of the complaint is Plaintiffs allegation that, at the closing table, the Canterburys were shown copies of the notice of their right to cancel, and that they signed a copy of the notice that stated that they had received their own copies of the notice, but that they were not, in fact, given a copy of the notice of the right to cancel to take with them from the closing table.

Plaintiff admits, however, in his opposition to Defendant’s first motion to dismiss,2 that he later received a copy of the notice in the mail. He does not specify when he received it, but he does, in fact, admit having received a copy of the notice in the mail.

Plaintiff claims that,
[bjecause GMAC did not cause copies of the notice of right to cancel to be delivered to either of the Canterburys to take with them from the closing table and because Canterbury did not receive any copy of the notice of right to cancel to take with him from the closing table, and because his wife did not have any copy of the notice of right to cancel to take with her from the closing table, and because neither of them had the notice of right to cancel to inspect and review after they left the closing table and for the next three business days, GMAC materially violated its disclosure requirements according to TILA with the result that Canterbury has retained an extended right to cancel for three years from August 31, 2007, or until his ownership interest in the home was transferred.

Plaintiff now claims that, because of this alleged TILA violation, he can now, many years later, avoid foreclosure by rescinding his refinance credit transaction — after having gone through bankruptcy (without asserting any such claim or right in the bankruptcy proceeding) and after having fully litigated (and lost) a prior lawsuit seeking to prevent Morgan, the Note holder, from foreclosing on the Property. And, although Plaintiff admits that he does not have the necessary funds to repay the loan proceeds, Plaintiff asks the court to equitably alter the timing of TILA’s tender requirement to allow Plaintiff time to sell his house in the purported hope that he can raise enough funds for the tender.3

In support of this request, Plaintiff states in one paragraph of his complaint that the Property has an assessed value of [643]*643$1.6 million; in the subsequent paragraph, Plaintiff states that the home has an assessed value of $2.5 million. However, neither figure is close to the low figure Plaintiff cited in his 2009 bankruptcy petition.

On March 11, 2009, eighteen months after the Canterburys refinanced their house, Plaintiff filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy under Chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code. See In re Canterbury, Case No. 09-60752 (W.D.Va. Bankruptcy March 11, 2009) (voluntary petition attached as Exhibit A to Defendant’s memorandum in support of the instant motion, docket no. 52). In the petition, Plaintiff stated that the Property at 2447 Springer Run Road was subject to a claim secured by a first Deed of Trust that was serviced by EMC Mortgage Corporation (which was the loan servicer for Morgan). Although Schedule D instructed Plaintiff to identify debts as contingent or disputed, Plaintiff did not identify the Deed of Trust or the underlying debt as contingent or disputed.

Plaintiff stated that the amount of the debt was $1,027,445.99, claiming that the value of the Property was only $788,800.00, and that, therefore, $238,645.99 of the debt was unsecured. Additionally, Plaintiff owed $249,562.33 on a second mortgage on the Property; therefore, according to Plaintiffs bankruptcy petition, he owed a combined $488,208.32 more in debt than the Property was worth.

On his Schedule B, Plaintiff was required to list all of his personal property, including “other contingent and unliquidated claims of every nature, including tax refunds, counterclaims of the debtor, and rights to setoff claims.” Plaintiff did not list any claims against GMAC or J.P. Morgan. Nor did Plaintiffs bankruptcy petition mention any violation of the Truth in Lending Act or reference his alleged right to rescind the Note or Deed of Trust.

During Plaintiffs bankruptcy proceeding, J.P. Morgan c/o EMC Mortgage Corporation filed a Motion for Relief from Stay in order to proceed with foreclosure of Plaintiffs Property. Morgan averred that Plaintiff had been in default since August 1, 2008, and then owed over $1,089,511.32 under the Note and Deed of Trust. Plaintiff did not respond, and the Bankruptcy Court granted the Motion for Relief from Stay on April 17, 2009.

On April 14, 2009, the Chapter 7 Trustee issued a report which stated that $0.00 of the bankruptcy estate’s assets were abandoned to Plaintiff. Plaintiffs bankruptcy was discharged on June 15, 2009.

B.

As previously noted, on April 13, 2010, Plaintiff filed a complaint against Morgan in the Circuit Court for Albemarle County. See Canterbury v. J.P. Morgan Mortgage Acquisition Corp., Case CLIO-283 (Cir. Ct. Albemarle County) (“Canterbury I”). Plaintiff alleged that he had entered into a mortgage loan with GMAC, which was evidenced by a Note and secured by a Deed of Trust on the Property at 2447 Springer Run Road in Gordonsville. Plaintiffs lawsuit sought to enforce a provision of the Deed of Trust requiring certain notice to be given prior to foreclosure, and it further challenged Morgan’s ability to foreclose pursuant to the Deed of Trust, despite the fact that Plaintiff admitted that he was in default.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
958 F. Supp. 2d 637, 2013 WL 3899226, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105704, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/canterbury-v-jp-morgan-acquisition-corp-vawd-2013.