Harrington v. Roundpoint Mortg. Servicing Corp.

290 F. Supp. 3d 1306
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Florida
DecidedNovember 30, 2017
DocketCase No: 2:15–cv–322–FtM–28MRM
StatusPublished

This text of 290 F. Supp. 3d 1306 (Harrington v. Roundpoint Mortg. Servicing Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Harrington v. Roundpoint Mortg. Servicing Corp., 290 F. Supp. 3d 1306 (M.D. Fla. 2017).

Opinion

JOHN ANTOON II, United States District Judge

In this action, Plaintiff Larry Harrington sues Defendants Multibank 2010-1 SFR Venture, LLC (Multibank) and RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation (RoundPoint), alleging (1) that the Defendants violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act1 (TCPA) by calling Harrington's cell phone without his prior express consent using equipment that qualifies as an automatic telephone dialing system, and (2) that RoundPoint violated the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act2 (FCCPA) by harassing Harrington in the process of collecting a consumer debt. Harrington claims that under the TCPA he is entitled to between $500 and $1500 for each call, and under the FCCPA he seeks statutory damages of $1000 as well as actual and punitive damages.

After Defendants' motion for summary judgment was denied, the case proceeded to a one-day bench trial. At the close of Harrington's case-in-chief, Defendants moved for judgment on partial findings under *1309Rule 52(c), 3 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, on both of Harrington's claims. The Court granted the motion and announced that the findings of fact and conclusions of law required by Rule 52 would be issued in writing. Those findings and conclusions are set forth in this Order. As explained below, Defendants are entitled to judgment on the federal claim because Harrington gave prior express consent to receive calls on his cell phone about the loan at issue, and RoundPoint prevails on the state law claim because Harrington did not establish by a preponderance of the evidence that RoundPoint's calls were harassing or abusive.

I. Background

Harrington and his wife, Lori, wanted to build a house on a lot they owned at 3161 Rustic Lane in North Ft. Myers, Florida, and to that end, they entered into a Construction Agreement (the Oyster Bay Agreement) with Oyster Bay Homes, Inc. on September 10, 2003, to construct the house for $297,052.36. (Defs.' Ex. 3). Harrington's cell phone number ending in 5307 appears in bold print in the first sentence of the Oyster Bay Agreement. (Id. at 1). The Oyster Bay Agreement was contingent upon the Harringtons' obtaining a mortgage commitment from a "reputable lending institution," (id. ¶¶ 3 & 7), and on November 6, 2003, the Harringtons applied to Riverside Bank of the Gulf Coast (Riverside) for a loan in the amount of $297,100.00, (Defs.' Ex. 5).

Riverside approved the application for the loan, and on November 26, 2003, the Harringtons executed five documents: a promissory note (Defs.' Ex. 1) in favor of Riverside in the amount of $297,100.00; a thirty-year mortgage (Defs.' Ex. 2) securing to Riverside repayment of the loan; a Construction-Perm Loan Rider (Defs.' Ex. 2 at 18); a Construction Loan Agreement (Defs.' Ex. 4 at 1-5); and a Construction Loan Disbursement Agreement (Defs.' Ex. 4 at 6-8). Under the terms of these documents, the Harringtons obligated themselves to make monthly interest-only payments on disbursed construction funds from January 1, 2004, to November 1, 2004, while the house was being constructed and then to make monthly payments of principal and interest under the note and mortgage beginning on December 1, 2004. (See Construction-Perm Loan Rider, Defs.' Ex. 2 at 18; Note, Defs.' Ex. 1, at 1; Mortgage, Defs.' Ex. 2, at 2). Harrington's 5307 cell phone number does not appear on any of these documents, but the Oyster Bay Agreement containing that number was included in Riverside's loan file.

Oyster Bay completed construction of the Rustic Lane house, and the Harringtons began making monthly mortgage payments to Riverside. In 2009, Riverside was taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Company (FDIC), and as a consequence, the FDIC acquired the Harrington note and mortgage. As of at least May 5, 2010, Defendant Multibank had acquired the loan from the FDIC, and Defendant RoundPoint had begun servicing the loan for Multibank; and by that date, the Harringtons had defaulted on their obligations under the note and mortgage by missing at least six monthly payments. (See May 5, 2010 Letter, Defs.' Ex. 11). Multibank filed a foreclosure action in state court on March 2, 2012. (Joint Pretrial Statement, Doc. 167, at 15-16).

It is undisputed that between May 28, 2011, and May 5, 2014, RoundPoint called the 5307 number hundreds of times,4 (see, *1310e.g., Pl.'s Ex. 30; Defs.' Ex. 51), and that Harrington only answered one of the calls, immediately hanging up without speaking, (Joint Pretrial Statement at 15). It is also undisputed that Harrington never specifically requested that RoundPoint stop calling the 5307 number, (id. ), and that RoundPoint immediately stopped calling after receiving, on May 5, 2014, a faxed letter from an attorney representing the Harringtons directing that all future communications be made to his office. (See id. at 16; May 5, 20145 facsimile, Defs.' Ex. 44). Harrington filed this lawsuit on May 28, 2015, (Compl., Doc. 1), and the case was tried to the Court on October 4, 2017, (Mins., Doc. 189).

II. Analysis, Findings, and Conclusions

A. Rule 52(c) Standards

"When ruling on a Rule 52(c) motion, 'the court must weigh the evidence and may consider the witnesses' credibility,' treating the motion 'as if it were a final adjudication at the end of trial ....' " JDI Holdings, LLC v. Jet Mgmt., Inc., 732 F.Supp.2d 1205, 1209 (N.D. Fla. 2010) (quoting Caro-Galvan v. Curtis Richardson, Inc., 993 F.2d 1500, 1504 (11th Cir. 1993) ). "Thus, the court resolves the disputed issues on the basis of the preponderance of the evidence, without drawing any special inferences in favor of the plaintiff." Id.

B. Application

1. TCPA Claim (Count I) (against both RoundPoint and Multibank)

In his first claim, Harrington asserts that each of RoundPoint's calls to his cell phone violated the TCPA, which provides in relevant part that "[i]t shall be unlawful for any person ... to make any call (other than a call made for emergency purposes or with the prior express consent of the called party) using any automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice ... to any telephone number assigned to a ... cellular telephone service." 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) (emphasis added). By its terms, the TCPA does not bar calls made "with the prior express consent of the called party."

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Bluebook (online)
290 F. Supp. 3d 1306, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/harrington-v-roundpoint-mortg-servicing-corp-flmd-2017.