Chaoui v. Bank of America CA2/8

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedSeptember 26, 2013
DocketB237770
StatusUnpublished

This text of Chaoui v. Bank of America CA2/8 (Chaoui v. Bank of America CA2/8) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Chaoui v. Bank of America CA2/8, (Cal. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

Filed 9/26/13 Chaoui v. Bank of America CA2/8 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION EIGHT

KHALIL M. CHAOUI, B237770

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KC 060805) v.

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A. et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Robert A. Dukes, Judge. Affirmed.

Khalil M. Chaoui, in pro. per., for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Bryan Cave, Robert E. Boone III, Jed P. White and Richard P. Steelman, Jr., for Defendants and Respondents.

****** Appellant Khalil M. Chaoui appeals pro se the judgment dismissing his first amended complaint (FAC) without leave to amend after the trial court sustained a demurrer filed by Bank of America, N.A. (BANA); U.S. Bank, N.A. (U.S. Bank), as trustee for the certificate holders of Banc of America Funding Corporation Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006-7; and ReconTrust Company, N.A. (ReconTrust) (together respondents). We affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND1 In this mortgage foreclosure case, appellant obtained a $576,000 loan from BANA on July 12, 2006, for his residence, secured by a note and deed of trust. The deed of trust designed BANA as the lender and PRLAP, Inc., as trustee. Appellant eventually defaulted on the loan due to “economic hardship.” Thereafter in June and July 2010, appellant sent a host of letters (all of which he attached to his complaint) inquiring about his loan and purporting to take several actions related to it. When he received no responses, he recorded a quitclaim deed and grant deed to himself. On August 3, 2010, someone also recorded two documents titled “Substitution of Trustee” and “Full Reconveyance,” which were purportedly signed by “George Becske” as an “authorized officer” of both BANA and BAC Home Loan Servicing, LP. On October 5, 2010, BANA recorded a “Rescission of Substitution of Trustee and Full Reconveyance,” stating the August 3 recorded documents were not recorded by the trustee of record and were void. The same day BANA also recorded a “Substitution of Trustee and Assignment of Deed of Trust,” substituting ReconTrust as the trustee and U.S. Bank as beneficiary under the deed of trust. On October 8, 2010, ReconTrust sent appellant a “Debt Validation Notice” pursuant to title 15 United States Code section

1 We take the facts from appellant’s original complaint, which included nearly 200 pages of correspondence and other materials, the FAC, which incorporated by reference the factual allegations and supporting documents in the original complaint, and the documents judicially noticed by the trial court, which appellant does not challenge on appeal. (Jenkins v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (2013) 216 Cal.App.4th 497, 506 (Jenkins).)

2 1692g,2 confirming on that date appellant owed $568,541.50 on his loan and notifying appellant he had 30 days from receipt of the notice to dispute the debt. On October 13, 2010, ReconTrust, as agent for beneficiary U.S. Bank, recorded a “Notice of Default” on the property. During this time, appellant continued to send correspondence to respondents (again, all of which he attached to the complaint). ReconTrust, as trustee, recorded a “Notice of Trustee’s Sale” on January 25, 2011, and sold the property at a trustee’s sale on February 17, with a “Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale” recorded on February 25. Appellant continued to send correspondence to respondents during this time.3 On March 21, 2011, appellant filed a verified “Action for Trespass on the Case” against respondents. In that complaint, he alleged claims for (1) intentional fraud; (2) injunctive relief based on Civil Code section 2923.5; (3) declaratory relief; (4) intentional infliction of emotional distress; (5) “promissory note”; and (6) unfair competition.4 In support of these claims, he alleged respondents committed fraud by concealing the process of selling a promissory note into the mortgage-backed securities market; U.S. Bank did not own the note at the time of foreclosure because there was no recorded assignment or endorsement from the original lender to U.S. Bank and U.S. Bank

2 The notice incorrectly cites title 15 United States Code section 1692(G), which does not exist. 3 On March 11, 2011, a “Notice of Rescission of a Trustee’s Deed Upon Sale” was recorded. Although respondents do not discuss it in their brief, this appears to be fabricated. It was signed by “Steve Flores” as a purported “Appointed Authorized Officer” of ReconTrust. “Steve Flores” also signed the proofs of service of appellant’s opening brief and appendices in this appeal and submitted a declaration in support of appellant’s application for a temporary restraining order in the trial court, suggesting he was not in fact an authorized officer of ReconTrust. 4 Appellant also filed various other requests and motions that were denied, rejected, or stricken: an application for a temporary restraining order; a notice of related case for an unlawful detainer action against him by respondents; a writ of error quae coram nobis residant; a motion for contempt against Judge Dukes; and requests for default. With the possible exception of the denied contempt motion discussed post, he does not challenge these rulings on appeal.

3 did not have physical possession of the note; and ReconTrust did not have authority to foreclose without a valid assignment. He also attached 28 exhibits comprised of approximately 200 pages of correspondence and other documents discussed above. Respondents demurred to all of the claims and filed a motion to strike parts of the complaint and a request for judicial notice; the trial court granted the request for judicial notice, sustained the demurrer in its entirety, and denied the motion to strike as moot. The court rejected appellant’s “produce the note” theory because it has been “uniformly rejected” by courts and the court found all the claims barred because appellant failed to allege he could tender the debt he owed. The court also rejected the individual claims: the fraud claim failed because appellant failed to identify a misrepresentation and the allegations lacked specificity; the injunction claim failed because appellant’s property had already been sold; the intentional infliction of emotion distress claim failed because appellant did not allege outrageous conduct or severe emotional distress; and the declaratory relief and unfair competition claims failed because they were based on the other defective claims. The trial court gave appellant 10 days leave to amend all but the injunctive relief claim, which it dismissed without leave to amend. Appellant filed his FAC on June 28, 2011, but it added no new facts; instead, it incorporated by reference all the factual allegations in the original complaint and merely realleged claims for intentional fraud, declaratory relief, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and unfair competition. It also added a new claim for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing based on the same general facts. Respondents again demurred to all the claims and filed a motion to strike parts of the FAC and a request for judicial notice; the trial court issued a tentative decision granting the request for judicial notice,5 sustaining the demurrer in its entirety, and granting the motion to strike. The trial court found appellant failed to address the deficiencies in his original complaint and he was not granted leave to add the new breach of the covenant of good

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

Related

Jaime Medrano v. Flagstar Bank, Fsb
704 F.3d 661 (Ninth Circuit, 2012)
Lawrence Glazer v. Chase Home Finance, LLC
704 F.3d 453 (Sixth Circuit, 2013)
Berneike v. CitiMortgage, Inc.
708 F.3d 1141 (Tenth Circuit, 2013)
Heritage Pacific Financial v. Monroy CA1/2
215 Cal. App. 4th 972 (California Court of Appeal, 2013)
Jenkins v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.
216 Cal. App. 4th 497 (California Court of Appeal, 2013)
In Re Holmes
145 Cal. App. 3d 934 (California Court of Appeal, 1983)
Vikco Insurance Services, Inc. v. Ohio Indemnity Co.
82 Cal. Rptr. 2d 442 (California Court of Appeal, 1999)
Price v. Starbucks Corp.
192 Cal. App. 4th 1136 (California Court of Appeal, 2011)
Cahill v. San Diego Gas & Electric Co.
194 Cal. App. 4th 939 (California Court of Appeal, 2011)
Fontenot v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
198 Cal. App. 4th 256 (California Court of Appeal, 2011)
Calvo v. HSBC Bank USA
199 Cal. App. 4th 118 (California Court of Appeal, 2011)
Stebley v. Litton Loan Servicing, LLP
202 Cal. App. 4th 522 (California Court of Appeal, 2011)
Debrunner v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co.
204 Cal. App. 4th 433 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Medrazo v. Honda of North Hollywood
205 Cal. App. 4th 1 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Herrera v. Federal National Mortgage Ass'n
205 Cal. App. 4th 1495 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Hodjat v. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance
211 Cal. App. 4th 1 (California Court of Appeal, 2012)
Intengan v. BAC Home Loans Servicing LP
214 Cal. App. 4th 1047 (California Court of Appeal, 2013)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Chaoui v. Bank of America CA2/8, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/chaoui-v-bank-of-america-ca28-calctapp-2013.