Drew v. Kemp-Brooks

802 F. Supp. 2d 889, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79402, 2011 WL 2936103
District Court, E.D. Michigan·Decided July 21, 2011·No. Case No. 10-14437·Published·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ DISPOSITIVE MOTIONS (Docs. 25, 26, 27, 28) AND DISMISSING CASE1

AVERN COHN, District Judge.

I.

This is a mortgage case. Plaintiff Kevin Drew, proceeding pro se, has sued several defendants claiming defects in the loan process by which he obtained his mortgage and in the subsequent foreclosure proceedings. The named defendants are: Traci Kemp-Brooks, Wayne County Sheriff Department, Ralph Leggat, Samuel George, Daniel Pfannes, Benny Napoleon, Chase Home Finance LLC, JPMC Specialty Mortgage LLC, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc., WM Specialty Mortgage, LLC, and Federal National Mortgage Association.

Before the Court are dispositive motions filed by all of the defendants, as follows:

• Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings or Summary Judgment by Chase Home Finance LLC, JPMC Specialty Mortgage LLC, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc, WM Specialty Mortgage, LLC (Doc. 25) (the Bank Defendants)
• Motion for Summary Judgment by Federal National Mortgage Association (Doc. 26)
• Motion for Summary Judgment by Samuel George, Ralph Leggat, Benny Napoleon, Daniel Pfannes, Wayne County Sheriff Department (Doc. 27) (the Wayne County Defendants)
• Motion for Summary Judgment/Dismissal by Traci Kemp-Brooks (Doc. 28)

For the reasons that follow, the motions will be granted and the case will be dismissed.

II. Background

A. The Mortgage and Foreclosure Process

On August 2, 2005, Plaintiff and non-party Helen D. Drew borrowed $255,600 from Argent Mortgage Company LLC (Argent) to purchase property located at 23890 Stacey Drive, Brownstown, Michigan (the Property). Plaintiffs promise to repay the amount of the Loan is evidenced by a note, which is secured by a mortgage to Argent on the Property.

On August 18, 2006, Argent assigned its mortgage interest in the Property to JPMC Specialty Mortgage LLC f/k/a WM Specialty Mortgage LLC. On December 15, 2008, Citi Residential Lending Inc., as attorney in fact for Argent, assigned its [892] mortgage interest in the Property to Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, as nominee for JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (MERS). On May 21, 2009, MERS assigned its mortgage interest in the Property to JPMC Specialty. Thus, although Argent appears to have assigned its interest in the mortgage twice, the end result is the same: JPMC Specialty is the record assignee of the mortgage.

Plaintiff defaulted on his obligations under the note and mortgage by failing to make the required payments. Foreclosure proceedings were commenced. On May 5, 2010, a sheriffs sale of the Property was held and JPMC Specialty purchased the Property at the sale.

On May 14, 2010, a Sheriffs deed evidencing the sale was executed by Special Deputy Sheriff Ralph Leggat. As stated in the Sheriffs deed, Plaintiffs statutory right to redeem expired on November 5, 2010. Plaintiff did not redeem the Property.

B. The Complaint

On November 5, 2010, more than five years after the closing on the loan, and on the day the redemption period expired, Plaintiff filed a complaint against defendants in Wayne County Circuit Court. The complaint alleges a host of improprieties concerning the closing on the loan and the subsequent foreclosure due to Plaintiffs default. First, Plaintiff contends that the Sheriffs sale was invalid because the chain of title was broken, the sale adjournments were improper, there was no affidavit of posting attached to the Sheriffs deed, and the Sheriff did not have authority to conduct the sale. The allegations surrounding the foreclosure process are directed at Kemp-Brooks, the Bank Defendants, and the Wayne County Defendants.

Second, Plaintiff contends that the Bank Defendants violated the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C. § 1601, et seq. because he was not provided with a “Notice of Right to Cancel” or a copy of his mortgage documents three days before the closing.

Third, Plaintiff claims that the Bank Defendants violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), 12 U.S.C. § 2601, et seq. because he purportedly sent four QWRs to “Chase”, but that “Chase” only responded to one of the four letters.

Fourth, Plaintiff claims that the Bank Defendants violated the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq., by “conspir[ing] and manipulating] the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act in breach of Mortgages sections 18 and 22.” He further contends that FDCPA was violated because the “30 day Sheriff sale letter was not mailed to Plaintiff.”

Finally, Plaintiff asserts state tort claims and a due process violation under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 against the Wayne County Defendants.

As relief, Plaintiff seeks damages, rescission, satisfaction of the mortgage, and punitive damages in the amount of $750,000.

III. Legal Standards

The motions have been brought under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c), Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), and Fed.R.Civ.P. 56. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(c) provides that, “after the pleadings are closed but within such time as not to delay the trial, any party may move for judgment on the pleadings.” Judgment may be granted under Rule 12(c) where the movants clearly establish that no material issue of fact remains to be resolved and that they are entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Beal v. Missouri Pacific R.R., 312 U.S. 45, 61 S.Ct. 418, 85 L.Ed. 577 (1941); 5C C. Wright & A. Miller, Federal Practice and Procedure § 1368, p. 518.

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Drew v. Kemp-Brooks, 802 F. Supp. 2d 889, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79402, 2011 WL 2936103 (E.D. Mich. 2011).

802 F. Supp. 2d 889 (Drew v. Kemp-Brooks) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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