Charles Hollis v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee

CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJune 3, 2026
Docket1:26-cv-23301
StatusUnknown

This text of Charles Hollis v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee (Charles Hollis v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Charles Hollis v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee, (S.D. Fla. 2026).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF FLORIDA CASE NO. 26-cv-23301-ALTMAN/Hernandez CHARLES HOLLIS, Plaintiff, v. DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, as Trustee,

Defendant. / REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION Plaintiff, Charles Hollis (“Plaintiff”), filed two Emergency Motions: the first for a Temporary Restraining Order, Preliminary Injunction, and Expedited Hearing (“Injunction Motion”) [ECF No. 7]; the second for Preservation of Surplus Funds and Disputed Escrow Proceeds, and to Permit Expedited Discovery (the “Preservation and Discovery Motion”) [ECF No. 8].1 Plaintiff wants to prevent Defendant, Deutsche Bank National Trust Company (“Defendant”), from: (1) using the surplus funds generated from the foreclosure sale of his home; and (2) evicting him while this case remains pending. [ECF No. 7 at 1–2 ¶¶ 1–32]. He also seeks “narrowly tailored expedited discovery” to develop his anticipated federal claims. [ECF No. 8 at 1–3]. After careful review, we respectfully recommend the Court DENY the Injunction Motion and DENY the Preservation and Discovery Motion.3

1 The Honorable Roy K. Altman referred the matter to us for a Report and Recommendation. 2 At various times, Plaintiff’s filings have missing or repeating paragraph numbers. And so, when citing only the paragraph number would lead to ambiguity, we cite to both the paragraph and page number. 3 The Injunction Motion and the Preservation and Discovery Motion are fully briefed and ripe for adjudication. Defendant responded on May 18, 2026, [ECF No. 13], and Plaintiff chose not to reply. BACKGROUND This case stems from two interconnected state court matters. In 2016, Defendant filed a foreclosure action against Plaintiff in Miami-Dade Circuit Court4 (the “Foreclosure Action”). The state court entered a final judgment of foreclosure, [ECF No. 1-2 at 7 ¶ 5], and the foreclosure sale

occurred on April 21, 2026, [ECF No. 7 at 3 ¶ 4]. Shortly before the foreclosure sale, Defendant filed an affidavit supporting $108,910.97 in post-judgment advances (the “Claim for Post- Judgment Advances”). Id. at 3 ¶ 5. The property sold for approximately $111,000 more than the final judgment amount (the “Surplus”). Id. at 3 ¶ 4. On April 13, 2026, Plaintiff filed a “Verified Complaint for Independent Equitable Relief,”5 bringing various state claims as well as a federal claim under the Truth in Lending Act6 (“TILA”) (the “Underlying State Action”). [ECF No. 1-2 at 1]. On April 21, 2026, he filed an emergency motion to halt the foreclosure sale, which the Miami-Dade Circuit Court denied, explaining that Plaintiff needed to petition the court in the Foreclosure Action for relief. Id. at 25. Three days later, Plaintiff filed his emergency motion in the Foreclosure Action, which was denied.

[ECF No. 13-1 at 2–12]. Plaintiff continued filing numerous claims and motions in the Foreclosure Action challenging Defendant’s Claim for Post-Judgment Advances. [ECF Nos. 13-2 to 13-4]. On May 11, 2026, Defendants removed to federal court based on federal-question jurisdiction arising from Plaintiff’s TILA claim. [ECF No. 1 at 1–2]. Four days after removal, Plaintiff filed the Injunction Motion and his declaration in support of the same. [ECF Nos. 7 & 9]. He seeks to prevent Defendant from gaining access to the Surplus or initiating eviction proceedings against him. [ECF No. 7 at 2 ¶¶ 1–3]. Additionally, he asks that

4 Case No. 2016-003907-CA-01. [ECF No. 1 ¶ 4]. 5 Case No. 2026-007504-CA-01. [ECF No. 1-2 at 1; ECF No. 7 at 2 ¶ 1]. 6 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq. Defendant be ordered to preserve all records related to the Claim for Post-Judgment Advances. Id. at 2 ¶¶ 4. Plaintiff’s complaint alleges that he never received key disclosures concerning his home loan, in violation of TILA. [ECF No. 1-2 at 9 ¶¶ 14–16]. In the Injunction Motion, he claims that Defendant violated TILA by filing the Claim for Post-Judgment Advances, [ECF No. 7 at 4], a

completely different theory of liability. In the Preservation and Discovery Motion, filed the same day as the Injunction Motion, Plaintiff again challenges the Claim for Post-Judgment Advances, but never mentions TILA. See [ECF No. 8]. He requests an order from the Court (1) preventing disbursement of the Surplus; (2) requiring a “verified accounting” of Defendant’s post-judgment advances; and (3) seeking expedited discovery, including depositions, regarding the post-judgment advance affidavit. Id. at 2 ¶¶ 1–4. He also requests an expedited hearing “on surplus preservation and the validity of the claimed advances.” Id. at 2 ¶ 5. Defendant responded, opposing both the Injunction Motion and the Preservation and Discovery Motion. [ECF No. 13]. LEGAL FRAMEWORK

The four factors courts consider when determining whether to grant a temporary restraining order are identical to the four factors used to decide whether to grant a preliminary injunction. See Parker v. State Bd. of Pardons & Paroles, 275 F.3d 1032, 1034–35 (11th Cir. 2001) (applying the four-factor test to both temporary restraining orders and preliminary injunctions). The difference between the two forms of injunctive relief is that a temporary restraining order “may be issued ‘without written or oral notice to the adverse party or its attorney[.]’” Finkelstein v. Mount Sinai Med. Ctr. of Fla., No. 23-cv-20188, 2023 WL 6118179, at *2 n.1 (S.D. Fla. Sep. 19, 2023) (Altman, J.) (alteration in original) (quoting Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(b)(1)). The party seeking a preliminary injunction must show: “(1) it has a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; (2) it will suffer an irreparable injury unless the injunction is granted; (3) the harm from the threatened injury outweighs the harm the injunction would cause the opposing party; and (4) the injunction would not be adverse to the public interest.” Gonzalez v. Governor of Ga., 978 F.3d 1266, 1270– 71 (11th Cir. 2020) (footnote omitted). A district court cannot grant a preliminary injunction

unless the moving party satisfies all four of these requirements. See Wreal, LLC v. Amazon.com, Inc., 840 F.3d 1244, 1248 (11th Cir. 2016) (“Because Wreal must meet all four prerequisites to obtain a preliminary injunction, failure to meet even one dooms [his request].”). The plaintiff bears the burden of establishing its need for a preliminary injunction. See id. at 1247 (explaining that plaintiff “bears the burden of persuasion to clearly establish all four [preliminary injunction] prerequisites.” (internal quotations omitted)). ANALYSIS The Injunction Motion fails for two reasons: first, Plaintiff cannot show a substantial likelihood of success on the merits; second, he cannot establish irreparable harm. The Preservation and Discovery Motion also fails because it simply repeats the conclusory allegations in the

Injunction Motion and requests sweeping, merits discovery without a showing of good cause. I. The Injunction Motion A. Likelihood of Success Preliminarily, we note that the Injunction Motion refers to an “Amended Complaint” that appears nowhere in the (state or federal) record. [ECF No. 7 at 3 ¶ 3]. Nor has Plaintiff moved to amend the sole complaint in the Underlying State Action. To the extent the Injunction Motion travels on a claim included in the Underlying State Action’s complaint—which, again, is the only complaint—we consider it here. But we cannot say that any of the claims raised in the TRO fit that description.

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Charles Hollis v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Trustee, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/charles-hollis-v-deutsche-bank-national-trust-company-as-trustee-flsd-2026.