Collins v. Wickersham

862 F. Supp. 2d 649, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40098, 2012 WL 995208
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedMarch 23, 2012
DocketCase No. 11-12999
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 862 F. Supp. 2d 649 (Collins v. Wickersham) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Collins v. Wickersham, 862 F. Supp. 2d 649, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40098, 2012 WL 995208 (E.D. Mich. 2012).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

PATRICK J. DUGGAN, District Judge.

On July 12, 2011, John and Vita Collins (“Plaintiffs”) filed this purported class action, alleging violations of state and federal law in connection with the foreclosure of real property. The defendants are Ma-comb County Sheriff Anthony Wickers-ham, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (‘Wells Fargo”), Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”), the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), and Writs, Inc. Before the Court are several motions: (1) MERS and Wells Fargo’s motion to stay these proceedings; (2) MERS and Wells Fargo’s motion to dismiss; (3) Fannie Mae’s motion to dismiss; and (4) Plaintiffs motion for leave to file an Amended Complaint. These matters have been fully briefed, and on March 19, 2012, the Court indicated to the parties that it was dispensing with oral argument pursuant to Eastern District of Michigan Local Rule 7.1(f)(2). For the reasons stated below, the Court grants the motions to dismiss and denies Plaintiffs’ motion to amend. The motion to stay is denied as moot.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

On August 25, 2005, Plaintiffs obtained a loan of $156,000 from Nations First Financial. As security for this loan, they executed a mortgage on real property located at 30967 Roselawn, in Warren, Michigan. MERS was the mortgagee, as nominee for the lender and the lender’s successors and assigns. This mortgage was recorded with the Macomb County Register of Deeds on September 22, 2005. Wells Fargo eventually became the servicer of this loan, although it is not exactly clear when this occurred.

Plaintiffs failed to make the scheduled loan payments, and on September 9, 2010, MERS assigned the mortgage to Wells Fargo. This assignment was recorded with the Register of Deeds on September 20, 2010. Wells Fargo then instituted proceedings to foreclose by advertisement. Wells Fargo published four consecutive weekly notices of foreclosure in the Ma-comb County Legal News, and a notice was posted at the property on October 18, 2010. The foreclosure sale was initially scheduled for November 12, 2010, but was later adjourned to January 7, 2011. Wells Fargo purchased the property at the sheriffs sale. Shortly after the sheriffs sale, Wells Fargo quitclaimed the property to Fannie Mae, and Fannie Mae commenced proceedings to evict Plaintiffs from the [653]*653property. The six-month statutory redemption period expired on July 7, 2011.

Plaintiffs filed this purported class action on July 12, 2011 in the Eastern District of Michigan.1 Their Complaint contains the following six counts: wrongful foreclosure in violation of Michigan Compiled Laws § 600.3204(l)(d) (Count I); conversion (Count II); breach of contract (Count III); violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”) (Count IV); unjust enrichment (Count V); and violation of substantive due process rights (Count VI).2

The Macomb County Sheriff and Writs, Inc. have each filed an Answer to the Complaint. The remaining defendants have filed motions to dismiss the claims against them pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6). MERS and Wells Fargo have also filed a motion to stay these proceedings pending the Michigan Supreme Court’s resolution of the appeal in Residential Funding Co., LLC v. Saurman, 292 Mich.App. 321, 807 N.W.2d 412 (Mich.Ct.App.2011). This case was reassigned to this Court from District Judge Victoria A. Roberts on January 24, 2012.

II. Motion to Dismiss for Lack of Subject Matter Jurisdiction

MERS and Wells Fargo seek dismissal of the claims against them pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1). A motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) seeks to dismiss a complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(1). Proper jurisdiction is a requirement in determining the validity of a claim, and as such, Rule 12(b)(1) motions must be considered prior to any other challenges. See Bell v. Hood, 327 U.S. 678, 682, 66 S.Ct. 773, 776, 90 L.Ed. 939 (1946).

The Rule 12(b)(1) motion focuses on Plaintiffs’ “standing” to assert a claim to the property after the redemption period has expired. District courts have noted, however, that the term “standing” is “a bit of a misnomer” in the context of this sort of mortgage-related claim. Tatar v. Trott & Trott, P.C., No. 10-12832, 2011 WL 3706510, at *7 n. 3, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 94708, at *19 n. 3 (E.D.Mich. Aug. 3, 2011); Brezzell v. Bank of Am., N.A, No. 11-11467, 2011 WL 2682973, at *4 n. 3, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74291, at *11 n. 3 (E.D.Mich. July 11, 2011). These courts have held that the standing requirement of Article III of the United States Constitution is satisfied, and the Plaintiffs failure to assert a claim during the redemption period is an issue that goes to the claim’s merits. Brezzell, 2011 WL 2682973, at *4 n. 3, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74291, at *11 n. 3. Defendants’ arguments should therefore be addressed in the context of Rule 12(b)(6).

III. Motions to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim for Relief

A. Standard of Review

MERS, Wells Fargo, and Fannie Mae have moved to dismiss the claims against them pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6). A motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) tests the legal sufficiency of the complaint. RMI Titanium Co. v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 78 F.3d 1125, 1134 (6th Cir.1996). Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a)(2), a pleading must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” As the Supreme Court recently [654]*654provided in Iqbal, “[t]o survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1974, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. at 1965). The plausibility standard “does not impose a probability requirement at the pleading stage; it simply calls for enough fact to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of illegal [conduct].” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. at 1965.

In deciding whether the plaintiff has set forth a “plausible” claim, the court must accept the factual allegations in the complaint as true. Id.; see also Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 2200, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007).

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Bluebook (online)
862 F. Supp. 2d 649, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 40098, 2012 WL 995208, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collins-v-wickersham-mied-2012.