Driskell v. Thompson

971 F. Supp. 2d 1050, 2013 WL 4944187, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129016
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedSeptember 10, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 12-cv-03107-REB-KLM
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 971 F. Supp. 2d 1050 (Driskell v. Thompson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Driskell v. Thompson, 971 F. Supp. 2d 1050, 2013 WL 4944187, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129016 (D. Colo. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER ADOPTING RECOMMENDATION OF THE UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

ROBERT E. BLACKBURN, District Judge.

The matter before me is the Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge [# 44],1 filed August 21, 2013. No objection having been filed to the recommendation, I review it for plain error only. See Morales-Fernandez v. Immigration & Naturalization Service, 418 F.3d 1116, 1122 (10th Cir.2005).2 Finding no such error in the magistrate judge’s recommended disposition, I find and conclude that the recommendation should be approved and adopted.

THEREFORE, IT IS ORDERED as follows:

1. That the Recommendation of United States Magistrate Judge [# 44], filed August 21, 2013, is APPROVED AND ADOPTED as an order of this court;

2. That Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) [# 21], filed January 3, 2013, is GRANTED;

[1055]*10553. That plaintiffs claims against defendant, Bank of America, N.A., alleging violations of the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments, are DISMISSED WITHOUT PREJUDICE;

4. That plaintiffs claims against defendant, Bank of America, N.A., alleging fraud, violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and violation of the Seventh Amendment, are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE;

5. That at the time judgment enters, judgment SHALL ENTER on behalf of defendant, Bank of America, N.A., against plaintiff, Robert J. Driskell; provided, that the judgment on plaintiffs claims arising under the Fourth, Fifth, and Fourteenth Amendments shall be without prejudice and that the judgment on plaintiffs claims alleging fraud, violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and violation of the Seventh Amendment shall be with prejudice; and

6. That defendant, Bank of America, N.A., is DROPPED as a named party to this action, and the case caption AMENDED accordingly.

RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE

KRISTEN L. MIX, United States Magistrate Judge.

This matter is before the Court on Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Complaint Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) [Docket No. 21; Filed January 3, 2013] (the “Motion”). The Motion is referred to this Court for recommendation [# 22]. Plaintiff has not filed a response to the Motion and his time to do so has elapsed. The Motion is ripe for review. The Court has reviewed the Motion, the entire docket, and the applicable law, and is sufficiently advised in the premises. For the reasons set forth below, the Court respectfully RECOMMENDS that the Motion [# 21] be GRANTED.

I. Statement of the Case

A. Procedural History

Plaintiff, who proceeds in this matter pro se, brings this action against a private bank which foreclosed on the mortgage on his home.1 While the Complaint consists mainly of various pieces of information Plaintiff appears to have cobbled together from a variety of sources — the result being a Complaint that is very unclear about what specific claims Plaintiff is attempting to assert — liberally reading the Complaint, the Court interprets the Complaint as follows: Plaintiffs “First Claim for Relief’ titled “Ultra Vires” appears to be a fraud claim, Plaintiffs “Second Claim for Relief’ appears to consist of factual allegations and argument and is not actually a cause of action, and Plaintiffs “Third Claim for Relief’ is brought pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., and also mentions C.R.S. § 4-9-210.2 See generally [1056]*1056Compl. [# l].3 In his “Request for Relief,” Plaintiff also seeks damages for “unlawful trespass.” Id. at 17. However, because Plaintiff does not otherwise allege facts in support of a trespass claim, the Court will not treat this request for damages as a separate claim. Similarly, as part of his “Request for Relief,” Plaintiff states that his Fourth, Fifth, Seventh, and Fourteenth Amendment rights were violated by Defendants.4 In sum, Plaintiffs Complaint challenges the foreclosure of the property located at 5347 Old Farm Circle East, Colorado Springs, Colorado (the “Property”). See Motion [#21] at 2; see also Fixed/Adjustable Rate Note [# 1-1] at 12; Lis Pendens Notice of Pending Lawsuit [# 1-1] at 22; Trans, of Rule 120 Hearing [# 1-1] at 34-66.5 Plaintiff seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief in the form of a “release of the Title to [his] property.” Compl. [# 1] at 17.

On January 3, 2013, Defendant Bank of America, N.A. (“BANA”)6 responded to Plaintiffs Complaint with the instant Motion [#21]. In the Motion, Defendant BANA argues that the Court should abstain from hearing this case. Motion [# 21] at 4-6. Defendant BANA also argues that the Court should dismiss the case pursuant to the Rooker-Feldman doctrine because a ruling in this case would interfere with a state court proceeding. Id. at 6-8. Defendant BANA further argues that the Complaint should be dismissed for failure to comply with Fed. R. of Civ. P. 8 and 10 because “[t]he complaint is merely a screed against the bank, demonstrating plaintiffs anger and frustration, but not a legally cognizable cause of action” which does not “explain what BANA did wrong that would entitle [Plaintiff] to the relief [he] seek[s].” Id. at 8. In the alternative, Defendant BANA attacks Plaintiffs claims and seeks dismissal pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Id. at 9-15.

On January 23, 2013, Plaintiff filed a motion [# 24] seeking to extend his time to respond to the Motion and the next day filed an amended motion [# 27] seeking the same relief, in which he specified that he sought an extension to March 13, 2013. On March 18, 2013, both of Plaintiffs motions seeking to extend his deadline to respond to the Motion were denied as moot [# 31]. On April 18, 2013, the Court sua sponte extended Plaintiffs deadline to respond to the Motion to May 4, 2013. [1057]*1057Minute Order [#32] at 1. Despite the extension, Plaintiff did not file a response.

On July 1, 2013, the Court ordered the parties to file status reports “addressing the status of the State Court Action7 on or before July 15, 2013 ... explaining] whether the status of the State Court Action moots or otherwise impacts the” Motion [# 21], See Minute Order [# 39] at 1. The Status Reports [##40, 41] are discussed in detail below.

B. Summary of the Facts

According to the Complaint and relevant documents,8

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Bluebook (online)
971 F. Supp. 2d 1050, 2013 WL 4944187, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 129016, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/driskell-v-thompson-cod-2013.