Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. v. First Horizon Asset Sec. Inc.

291 F. Supp. 3d 364
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 1, 2018
Docket12 Civ. 6166 (LLS)
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 291 F. Supp. 3d 364 (Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. v. First Horizon Asset Sec. Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Fed. Deposit Ins. Corp. v. First Horizon Asset Sec. Inc., 291 F. Supp. 3d 364 (S.D. Ill. 2018).

Opinion

LOUIS L. STANTON, U.S.D.J.

Defendants move under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) to dismiss the first five counts in the Second Amended Complaint ("SAC") for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. For the reasons that follow, the motion is granted in part and denied in part.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") commenced this action as receiver for Colonial Bank ("Colonial") seeking to recover damages incurred by Colonial from misrepresentations made by the defendants in connection with Colonial's purchase of residential mortgage backed securities issued or underwritten by the defendants in violation of the Securities Act of 1933 (the "1933 Act").

The SAC alleges that the "defendants issued, underwrote, and/or sold eight securities known as "certificates" (the Certificates) which were backed by collateral pools of residential mortgage loans." SAC (Dkt. No. 178) ¶ 1. Colonial, located in Montgomery, Alabama, purchased those certificates between June and September of 2007 through a wholly owned Nevada based subsidiary. Id. ¶ 2, Schedules 1-11, Item 37(b). As the housing market collapsed many of the loans backing the certificates defaulted and Colonial incurred heavy losses. On August 14, 2009, Alabama regulators closed Colonial and appointed FDIC as receiver.

The certificates were created in a process known as securitization. Id. ¶ 24. That process begins when an originator issues loans to borrowers to finance the purchase of homes. Id. Those loans are issued pursuant to the originator's underwriting standards which ensure that the borrower will be able to repay the loan. Id. The originator then takes a large number of similar type loans, known as a collateral pool, and sells them, along with the right to cash flow from those loans, to a trust. Id. ¶ 26. The trust pays for those collateral pools by issuing securities, known as certificates, which are sold to investors. Id. Each certificate entitles its holder to an agreed part of the cash flow from the collateral pools. Id.

The prime mover of the securitization is known as the sponsor. Id. ¶ 31. Sometimes, the sponsor is the originator of the loans. Id. Other times, the sponsor is an investment bank. Id. The investment bank purchases loans from one or more originator, aggregates them into a collateral pool, and sells the collateral pool to an entity known as a depositor. Id. The depositor then sells the collateral pool to the trust. Id. The trust does not sell its certificates directly to the investing public. Rather, investment banks known as underwriters prepare, sign, and file necessary disclosure documents with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), purchase the certificates from the trust, and then sell those certificates to investors. Id. ¶ 33.

Because potential investors do not have access to the loan files, they rely on the information contained in the disclosure documents that the underwriters file with the SEC. Id. ¶ 35. Those documents contain information compiled by the underwriters about the loans in the collateral pools backing the various securities. Id.

Specifically, the SAC alleges that defendants Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, RBS Securities Inc., HSBC Securities (USA) Inc., and Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. (collectively the "underwriter defendants") underwrote and sold to Colonial five of the certificates at issue. See id. ¶¶ 118-33. Defendants FTN Financial Securities Corp. and UBS Securities LLC underwrote two of the securities that Colonial purchased. See id. ¶¶ 230-31. Defendants *368First Horizon Asset Securities Inc. and Wells Fargo Asset Securities Corporation (collectively the "depositor defendants") were the depositors for four of the certificates that Colonial purchased. See id. ¶¶ 134-43. Defendant First Horizon Home Loan Corporation controlled First Horizon Asset Securities Inc. during the time period covered by the SAC. Id. ¶ 14.

FDIC alleges that the underwriters for the eight certificates at issue filed prospectus supplements with the SEC that contained many statements that were material to Colonial in deciding to purchase the certificates, but were untrue or misleading. Id. ¶¶ 36-104.

The SAC asserts seven claims to relief. Count A seeks to recover damages incurred by Colonial against the underwriter and depositor defendants for untrue or misleading statements in the sale of securities under Section 8-6-19(a)(2) of the Alabama Securities Act. Id. ¶¶ 117-47. Count B seeks to recover damages from First Horizon Home Loan Corporation under Section 8-6-19(c) of the Alabama Securities Act which imposes liability on entities that control those who make untrue or misleading statements in the sale of securities. Id. ¶¶ 148-51. Count C seeks to recover damages incurred by Colonial against the underwriter and depositor defendants for untrue or misleading statements in the sale of securities under Sections 90.570(2) and 90.660(1)(d) of the Nevada Uniform Securities Act. Id. ¶¶ 152-82. Count D seeks to recover damages from First Horizon Home Loan Corporation under Section 90.660(4) of the Nevada Uniform Securities Act which imposes liability on entities that control those who make untrue or misleading statements in the sale of securities. Id. ¶¶ 183-86. Count E seek to recover damages incurred by Colonial against the underwriter and depositor defendants for untrue or misleading statements in the sale of securities under Section 12(a)(2) of the 1933 Act. Id. ¶¶ 187-222. Count F seek to recover damages incurred by Colonial against the underwriter and depositor defendants, FTN Financial Securities Corp., and UBS Securities LLC for untrue or misleading statements in a registration statement under Section 11 of the 1933 Act. Id. ¶¶ 223-38. Lastly, count G seeks to recover damages from First Horizon Home Loan Corporation under Section 15 of the 1933 Act which imposes liability on entities that control those who make untrue or misleading statements in violation of Sections 11 and 12 of the 1933 Act. Id. ¶¶ 239-42.

Procedural History

FDIC filed its initial complaint in this matter on August 10, 2012, asserting claims to relief under Sections 11 and 15 of the 1933 Act which prohibit untrue or misleading statements in a registration statement, and impose liability on entities that control those who make untrue or misleading statements in a registration statement. See Compl. (Dkt. No. 1). In response to the defendants' motion to dismiss, FDIC filed an amended complaint on December 4, 2012, again, only seeking relief under Sections 11 and 15 of the 1933 Act. See Am. Compl. (Dkt. No. 72).

After initially denying defendants' motion to dismiss the amended complaint, see FDIC v. Chase Mortg. Fin. Corp., No. 12 Civ. 6166 (LLS), 2013 WL 5434633, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 27, 2013) (Dkt. No. 86), on August 29, 2014, I granted their motion for judgment on the pleadings, finding that FDIC's claims were barred by the 1933 Act's statute of repose, see FDIC v. Chase Mortg. Fin. Corp.

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Bluebook (online)
291 F. Supp. 3d 364, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/fed-deposit-ins-corp-v-first-horizon-asset-sec-inc-ilsd-2018.