City of Los Angeles v. Citigroup Inc.

24 F. Supp. 3d 940, 2014 WL 2571558, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79684
CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedJune 9, 2014
DocketCase No. 2:13-cv-9009-ODW(RZx)
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 24 F. Supp. 3d 940 (City of Los Angeles v. Citigroup Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, C.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Los Angeles v. Citigroup Inc., 24 F. Supp. 3d 940, 2014 WL 2571558, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79684 (C.D. Cal. 2014).

Opinion

[944]*944ORDER DENYING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS [29] AND DENYING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO STRIKE [30]

OTIS D. WRIGHT, II, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This is one of a handful of cases that Plaintiff the City of Los Angeles (“L.A.”) has brought against lending institutions under the federal Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-19. Defendants in this action are Citigroup Inc.; Citibank, N.A.; CitiMortgage, Inc.; Citi-corp Trust Bank, FSB; and Citi Holdings, Inc. (“Defendants” or “Citi”). L.A. is seeking damages from Defendants for lost property-tax revenue and increased municipal services stemming from foreclosures that are allegedly the result of discriminatory lending practices.

Before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss the Complaint under Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). (ECF No. 29.) The Motion is based on several grounds including lack of Article III standing, expiration of the statute of limitations, and failure to state a claim. Also before the Court is Defendants’ Motion to Strike Portions of Plaintiffs Complaint. (ECF No. 30.) For the reasons discussed below, the Court DENIES both Motions.

II. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

L.A. filed the Complaint on December 5, 2013, asserting two claims for (1) violating the federal Fair Housing Act (“FHA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-19, and (2) common-law restitution. (ECF No. 1.)

According to L.A., Defendants have engaged in discriminatory lending practices that have resulted in a disparate number of foreclosures in minority areas of Los Angeles. (See Compl. ¶ 2.) Specifically, L.A. alleges that Defendants have engaged in “redlining” and “reverse redlining.” (Id. ¶ 4.) Redlining is the practice of denying credit to particular neighborhoods based on race. (Id. ¶4 n. 2.) Reverse redlining is the practice of flooding a minority neighborhood with exploitative loan products. ■ (Id. ¶ 4 n. 3.) The lengthy Complaint includes a regression analysis based on Citi loans issued in Los Angeles. (See, e.g., id. ¶¶ 93-98.) L.A. alleges numerous statistics based on this regression analysis. One example is that from 2004 to 2011, an African-American borrower was 2.273 times more likely to receive a “predatory loan” as a white borrower with similar underwriting and borrower characteristics. (Id. ¶ 94.) Also in the Complaint are confidential witness statements from former employees of Defendants who describe how minorities were allegedly steered toward predatory loans. (Id. ¶¶ 55-86.)

Based on publicly available loan data, L.A. alleges that it has identified 1,200 discriminatory loans issued by Defendants in Los Angeles that resulted in foreclosure. (Id. ¶ 136.) L.A. expects that number to rise during the course of discovery. (Id. ¶ 136 n. 39.) According to L.A., these discriminatory loans were more likely to result in foreclosure, which in turn diminished the tax base and led to blight in Los Angeles neighborhoods. (Id. ¶¶ 110-35.) L.A. seeks to recover lost property-tax revenue as well as expenses incurred for increased municipal services. (Id.)

The instant Motions were filed on February 21, 2014, under .an extended briefing schedule. (ECF Nos. 16, 29, 30.) The case was transferred to this Court on May 20, 2014. (ECF No. 42.) The Court took the Motions under submission on May 28, 2014. There are at least three related cases filed by L.A. against other lending institutions in the Central District of California seeking to recover the same type of [945]*945damages for allegedly discriminatory lending practices. (City of L.A. v. Wells Fargo, No. 2:13-cv-9007-ODW(RZx); City of L.A. v. Bank of Am. Corp., No. 2:13-cv-9046-PA(AGRx); City of L.A. v. JPMorgan Chase & Co., No. 2:14-cv-4168-ODW(RZx).) The Court has already ruled on very similar motions to dismiss and to strike in one of those cases. See City of L.A. v. Wells Fargo, 22 F.Supp.3d 1047, No. 2:13-cv-9007-ODW(RZx), 2014 WL 2206368 (C.D.Cal. May 28, 2014).

III. LEGAL STANDARD

A. Rule 12(b)(1)

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) provides for dismissal of a complaint for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction. The Article III case or controversy requirement limits a federal court’s subject-matter jurisdiction, which includes the requirement that plaintiffs have standing to bring their claims. Chandler v. State Farm Mut. Auto. Ins. Co., 598 F.3d 1115, 1121-22 (9th Cir.2010). Rule 12(b)(1) jurisdictional attacks can be either facial or factual. White v. Lee, 227 F.3d 1214, 1242 (9th Cir.2000).

When a motion to dismiss attacks subject-matter jurisdiction on the face of the complaint, the court assumes the factual allegations in the complaint are true and draws all reasonable inferences in the plaintiffs favor. Doe v. Holy See, 557 F.3d 1066, 1073 (9th Cir.2009). Moreover, the standards set forth in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), and Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009), apply in equal force to Article III standing when it is being challenged on the face of the complaint. See Perez v. Nidek Co., 711 F.3d 1109, 1113 (9th Cir.2013); Terenkian v. Republic of Iraq, 694 F.3d 1122, 1131 (9th Cir.2012). Thus, in terms of Article III standing, the complaint must allege “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

On the other hand, with a factual Rule 12(b)(1) attack, a court may look beyond the complaint. See White, 227 F.3d at 1242-43 (affirming judicial notice of matters of public record in Rule 12(b)(1) factual attack); see also Augustine v. U.S., 704 F.2d 1074, 1077 (9th Cir.1983) (holding that a district court is free to hear evidence regarding jurisdiction). In a factual attack, a court need not presume the truthfulness of the allegations in the complaint. White, 227 F.3d at 1242. But courts should refrain from resolving factual issues where “the jurisdictional issue and substantive issues are so intertwined that the question of jurisdiction is dependent on resolution of the factual issues going to the merits.” Augustine, 704 F.2d at 1077 (holding that resolution of factual issues gbing to the merits requires a court to employ the standard applicable to a motion for summary judgment).

B. Rule 12(b)(6)

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24 F. Supp. 3d 940, 2014 WL 2571558, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79684, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-los-angeles-v-citigroup-inc-cacd-2014.