Costine v. BAC Home Loans

946 F. Supp. 2d 1224, 2013 WL 2248098, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71647
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Alabama
DecidedMay 21, 2013
DocketNo. 2:12-cv-3722-LSC
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 946 F. Supp. 2d 1224 (Costine v. BAC Home Loans) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Alabama primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Costine v. BAC Home Loans, 946 F. Supp. 2d 1224, 2013 WL 2248098, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71647 (N.D. Ala. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

L. SCOTT COOGLER, District Judge.

I. Introduction

Before the Court is a Motion to Dismiss, filed by the defendant, Bank of America, N.A. (“BANA” or “Defendant”1). (Doc. 10.) The issues raised in Defendant’s motion have been fully briefed by all parties, and are now ripe for decision. For the reasons described below, Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss is due to be GRANTED in part, DENIED in part, and partially DEFERRED to allow Plaintiffs an opportunity to amend their complaint.

II. Background

A. Procedural History

Mark and Robin Costine (“Plaintiffs”), along with four other unrelated couples, originally filed an action against BANA on March 14, 2012. See Doc. 1 in Prickett v. BAC Homeloans Servicing, LP, 2:12-cv-826-LSC. On June 4, 2012, BANA moved to dismiss every claim by all ten plaintiffs under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Before ruling on BANA’s motion, the Court determined, after seeking input from the parties, that the ten plaintiffs were improperly joined under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 20(a). According[1228]*1228ly, the Court ordered the original action severed into five independent cases, mooted BANA’s first motion to dismiss, and instructed Plaintiffs to file an amended complaint setting out only their individualized claims for relief in this newly created action. Pursuant to the Court’s directive, Plaintiffs filed an amended complaint on January 14, 2013 (the “Complaint”). (Doc. 9.) In the Complaint, Plaintiffs allege that after they defaulted or encountered difficulties meeting obligations on their mortgage, BANA improperly serviced their loan and defectively processed their modification application. Based on these alleged improprieties, Plaintiffs assert nine separate causes of action: (1) breach of contract; (2) slander of title; (3) unjust enrichment; (4) violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692; (5) violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RES-PA”), 12 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.; (6) “negligence per se”; (7) negligent hiring/training; (8) breach of fiduciary duty; and (9) intentional infliction of emotional distress. BANA renewed its Motion to Dismiss on February 13, 2013, asking the Court to dismiss all eleven claims for relief set out in the Complaint. (Doc. 10.)

B. Facts2

Plaintiffs purchased their home with an FHA-insured mortgage loan in April 2007. (Doc. 9 ¶ 9.) Plaintiffs’ financial situation turned bleak in the fall of 2009, when their uninsured son was involved in a serious automobile accident resulting in substantial medical expenses. (Id. ¶ 10.) As a result of their son’s medical bills, Plaintiffs allege they fell behind on their mortgage payments and contacted BANA to request a loan modification. (Id. ¶ 11.)

In November 2009, Plaintiffs were informed over the phone that they had been approved for a modification and that collection activities would be suspended. (Id. ¶ 13.) However, Plaintiffs did not receive any specific information about the modification at that time, but rather allege they were told to expect a package in the mail, as well as a phone call from a workout negotiator, with details about the modification. (Id.) Not having heard from BANA in the allotted time, Plaintiffs contacted BANA on January 6, 2010, to inquire about the status of their modification. (Id. ¶ 14.) They allege that a BANA representative once again confirmed they had been approved for a modification and that they should continue to wait for BANA to provide additional details by phone and/or mail. (Id. ¶ 14-15.)

Plaintiffs allege they resumed making their “pre-modification monthly mortgage payment” at some unspecified time when they did not receive the paperwork or the phone call as promised. (Id. ¶ 16.) They claim that BANA initially accepted these payments, but posted them “erratically in large lump sums with seemingly no relationship to when they were sent.” (Id. ¶ 17.) During this period, Plaintiffs claim they spent “hundreds of hours” on the phone with BANA representatives, who provided conflicting reports about the status of their modification. (Id. ¶ 18-19.) Although they were often told their modification was complete, they also were repeatedly asked to resubmit their application, which they allege to have done on six separate occasions. (Id. ¶ 19-20.) In April 2011, BANA refused to accept further mortgage payments from Plaintiffs. (Id. ¶ 22-23.) Plaintiffs’ allege BANA refused to accept these payments even [1229]*1229though the payment history for the account, attached as Exhibit 2 to the Complaint, shows that they paid more than the total amounts due in calendar year 2010, and in 2011 prior to BANA’s refusal to accept further payments. (Id. ¶ 25-28; Doc. 9-1 at 3-9.)

III. Standard

A defendant may move to dismiss a complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) if the plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. “When considering a motion to dismiss, all facts set forth in the plaintiffs complaint ‘are to be accepted as true and the court limits its consideration to the pleadings and exhibits attached thereto.’ ” Grossman v. Nationsbank, N.A., 225 F.3d 1228, 1231 (11th Cir.2000) (quoting GSW, Inc. v. Long County, 999 F.2d 1508, 1510 (11th Cir.1993)). In addition, all “reasonable inferences” are drawn in favor of the plaintiff. St. George v. Pinellas County, 285 F.3d 1334, 1337 (11th Cir.2002).

To survive a 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, the complaint “does not need detailed factual allegations;” however, the “plaintiffs obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his ‘entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact).” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (internal citations omitted).3 The plaintiff must plead “enough facts to state a claim that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Unless a plaintiff has “nudged [his] claims across the line from conceivable to plausible,” the complaint “must be dismissed.” Id.

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946 F. Supp. 2d 1224, 2013 WL 2248098, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 71647, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/costine-v-bac-home-loans-alnd-2013.