Emerson v. Seterus, Inc.

937 F. Supp. 2d 56, 2013 WL 1408765, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50565
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedApril 9, 2013
DocketCivil Action No. 2013-0241
StatusPublished

This text of 937 F. Supp. 2d 56 (Emerson v. Seterus, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Emerson v. Seterus, Inc., 937 F. Supp. 2d 56, 2013 WL 1408765, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50565 (D.D.C. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION

ROSEMARY M. COLLYER, District Judge.

Leonidas Emerson, proceeding pro se, brought this suit against Seterus, Inc., a mortgage servicing company. The Complaint alleges that the case arises from Seterus’s “illegal collection of a mortgage purportedly executed by Plaintiff through a defective fraudulent Power of Attorney not executed by Plaintiff.” Compl. [Dkt. 1-1] ¶ 1. Seterus has moved to dismiss. As explained below, the motion will be granted in part and denied in part.

*58 I. FACTS

Seterus is a mortgage service provider; Seterus has attempted to collect from Mr. Emerson monies due on a mortgage on Mr. Emerson’s home, located at 2321 13th Place, N.E., Washington, D.C. Mr. Emerson asserts that on February 10, 2006, a man named Gerardo Mora purchased the property, executing a Note and a Deed of Trust. Compl. ¶ 8. Mr. Emerson’s wife, Ramona Maritza Emerson, signed the power of attorney authorizing Mr. Mora to execute the Note and Deed of Trust. Id. ¶ 11. Mr. Emerson did not sign a power of attorney authorizing Mr. Mora or anyone else to purchase and mortgage the property. Id. ¶ 10. In 2011, Seterus began to demand payment on the mortgage from Mr. Emerson. Mr. Emerson contends that Seterus’s attempts to collect mortgage payments from him are illegal, and he brought this suit. The Complaint sets forth the following five Counts:

Count I — violation of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCA), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 etseq.;
Count II — a claim for declaratory relief; Count III — common law fraud;
Count IV — civil conspiracy; and Count V — violation of the Real Estate and Settlement Procedures Act (RES-PA), 12 U.S.C. § 2605. 1

Seterus moved to dismiss. In response, Mr. Emerson withdrew Counts I, III, and IV. Thus, only Counts II and V are at issue here.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

A motion to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) challenges the adequacy of a complaint on its face, testing whether a plaintiff has properly stated a claim. Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) requires that a complaint contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 8(a)(1). A complaint must be sufficient “to give a defendant fair notice of what the ... claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (internal citations omitted). Although a complaint does not need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiffs obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief “requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Id. The facts alleged “must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level.” Id. Rule 8(a) requires an actual showing and not just a blanket assertion of a right to relief. Id. at 555 n. 3, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “[A] complaint needs some information about the circumstances giving rise to the claims.” Aktieselskabet AF 21. Nov. 2001 v. Fame Jeans, Inc., 525 F.3d 8, 16 n. 4 (D.C.Cir.2008) (emphasis in original).

In deciding a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), a court may consider the facts alleged in the complaint, documents attached to the complaint as exhibits or incorporated by reference, and matters about which the court may take judicial notice. Abhe & Svoboda, Inc. v. Chao, 508 F.3d 1052, 1059 (D.C.Cir.2007) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim for relief that is “plausible on its face.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. When a *59 plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged, then the claim has facial plausibility. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). “The plausibility standard is not akin to a ‘probability requirement,’ but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted- unlawfully.” Id.

A court must treat the complaint’s factual allegations as true, “even if doubtful in fact.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. But a court need not accept as true legal conclusions set forth in a complaint. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conelusory statements, do not suffice.” Id. “While legal conclusions can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual allegations. When there are well-pleaded factual allegations, a court should assume their veracity and then determine whether they plausibly give rise to an entitlement to relief.” Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

III. ANALYSIS

Count Y alleges that Seterus violated RESPA when it failed to respond to a letter from Mr. Emerson. RESPA provides that a mortgage servicer has a duty to respond to a borrower inquiry upon receipt of a qualified written request:

If a servicer of a federally regulated mortgage loan receives a qualified written request from the borrower (or an agent of the borrower) for information relating to the servicing of such loan, the servicer shall provide a written response acknowledging receipt of the correspondence within 20 days ... unless the action requested is taken within such period.

12 U.S.C. § 2605(e)(1)(A) (emphasis added). A “qualified written request” is defined as written correspondence that “includes;, or otherwise enables the servicer to identify, the name and account of the borrower” and “includes a statement of the reasons for the. belief of the borrower, .to the extent applicable, that the account is in error or provides sufficient detail to the servicer regarding other information sought by the borrower.” Id.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly
550 U.S. 544 (Supreme Court, 2007)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal
556 U.S. 662 (Supreme Court, 2009)
Abhe & Svoboda, Inc. v. Chao
508 F.3d 1052 (D.C. Circuit, 2007)
MorEquity, Inc. v. Naeem
118 F. Supp. 2d 885 (N.D. Illinois, 2000)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
937 F. Supp. 2d 56, 2013 WL 1408765, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50565, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/emerson-v-seterus-inc-dcd-2013.