Hosseini v. Capital One, N.A.

217 F. Supp. 3d 441, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158692, 2016 WL 6818347
CourtDistrict Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedNovember 16, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 15-13979-JGD
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 217 F. Supp. 3d 441 (Hosseini v. Capital One, N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Hosseini v. Capital One, N.A., 217 F. Supp. 3d 441, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158692, 2016 WL 6818347 (D. Mass. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER ON DEFENDANT’S MOTION TO DISMISS AND ON PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION

Dein, United States Magistrate Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This case arises out of the efforts of the plaintiff, Mehdi Hosseini (“Hosseini”), to avoid the foreclosure of his home by obtaining a mortgage loan modification from the defendant, Capital One, N.A. (“Capital One”). Hosseini contends that on May 15, 2015, the parties entered into an oral contract under which Capital One agreed that as long as the plaintiff made three monthly trial period payments on a timely basis, it would provide him with a loan modification under which the outstanding amount of debt would not exceed $1.1 million. He further contends that the defendant breached the agreement by refusing to modify his mortgage loan unless he agreed to pay a principal amount of over $2 million. By his Second Amended Verified Complaint, Hosseini has asserted claims against Capital One for breach of contract (Count I) and for fraud (Count II), and is seeking, among other things, specific performance of the alleged oral agreement and a permanent injunction precluding Capital One from foreclosing on his property without further order of the court.

The matter is presently before the court on “Capital One, N.A.’s Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Second Amended Verified Complaint” (Docket No. 22), by which Capital One is seeking the dismissal of the complaint on the grounds that it fails to state a claim pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), and that Hosseini has failed to plead fraud under the heightened pleading standard of Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b). The matter is also before the court on the “Plaintiffs Motion for Preliminary Injunction” (Docket No. 1-6), pursuant to which the plaintiff is seeking an order preliminarily enjoining the defendant and anyone acting on its behalf “from foreclosing, transferring, conveying, assigning, pledging, alienating, hypothecating, encumbering, mortgaging, selling, or in any way diminishing or divesting Plaintiff of the real property located at 225 County Road, Lakeville, Massachusetts.” As described below, this court finds that Hosseini has failed to state a claim with respect to either Count of his complaint, [444]*444and thus cannot show that he is likely to prevail on the merits of one or more of his claims for purposes of his motion for a preliminary injunction. Accordingly, and for all the reasons detailed herein, the defendant’s motion to dismiss is ALLOWED, and the plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction is DENIED.

II. STATEMENT OF FACTS

When ruling on a motion to dismiss, the court must accept as true all well-pleaded facts, and give the plaintiffs the benefit of all reasonable inferences. See Cooperman v. Individual, Inc., 171 F.3d 43, 46 (1st Cir. 1999). “Ordinarily, a court may not consider any documents that are outside of the complaint, or not expressly incorporated therein, unless the motion is converted into one for summary judgment.” Alt. Energy, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire & Marine Ins. Co., 267 F.3d 30, 33 (1st Cir. 2001). “There is, however, a narrow exception ‘for documents the authenticity of which are not disputed by the parties; for official public records; for documents central to plaintiffs’ claim; or for documents sufficiently referred to in the complaint.’ ” Id. (quoting Watterson v. Page, 987 F.2d 1, 3 (1st Cir. 1993)). Applying these standards to the instant case, the relevant facts are as follows.1

The Parties

The plaintiff, Hosseini, is an individual who resides in Massachusetts. (Comp. (Docket No. 19) ¶ 2). He is also the former owner of Cross Roads R.V. and Camping (“Cross Roads”), an entity that was in the business of selling new and used recreational vehicles. (Id. ¶ 2). In 2004, Hosseini and his wife, Kim Woodbury (“Woodbury”), purchased a home in Lakeville, Massachusetts (the “Property”). (Id. ¶¶ 2, 4). ING Bank FSB (“ING”) was the holder of the mortgage on the Property. (Id. ¶ 3). On April 22, 2008, Hosseini and his wife refinanced the Property through ING. (Id. ¶ 5). Allegedly, the Property had an appraised value of $2.4 million at the time of the refinancing. (Id.).

The defendant, Capital One, is a mortgage loan company that maintains its corporate offices in MacLean, Virginia. (Id. ¶ 3). On April 25, 2008, Capital One became the holder of the plaintiffs mortgage as a result of a merger with and/or assignment from ING. (Id.). In this action, Hos-seini is attempting to enjoin Capital One from foreclosing on the Property, and compel Capital One to abide by the terms of an alleged oral agreement to reduce the principal amount due on his mortgage by over $925,000 in connection with the modification of his mortgage loan.

The Bankruptcy Action

The plaintiff claims that Cross Roads, and much of the industry in which it operated, suffered near collapse following the financial crisis that hit the country in September 2008. (Id. ¶ 6). As a result, Hosseini allegedly experienced a drastic reduction in income. (Id.). In 2010, Cross Roads and Woodbury filed for bankruptcy protection. (Id.). The following year, Hosseini also filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. (See id.; Def. Exs. D-E). In his bankruptcy petition, Hosseini listed the current value of the Property as $699,850, and the amount of the “[s]ecured” debt owed to Capital One on the mortgage as $2,052,841.01.2 (Compl. ¶ 7; Def. Ex. A at [445]*445Attachment 1). On October 24, 2011, the Bankruptcy Court issued a notice to the plaintiffs creditors in which it informed them in relevant part as follows:

There does not appear to be any property available to the trustee to pay creditors. You therefore should not file a proof of claim at this time. If it later appears that assets are available to pay creditors, you will be sent another notice telling you that you may file a proof of claim, and telling you the deadline for filing your proof of claim....

(Def. Ex. E at 2 (emphasis in original)).3 It is undisputed that Capital One did not file a proof of claim in the bankruptcy action. (Compl. ¶ 7). On August 6, 2012, the Bankruptcy Court discharged the plaintiffs unsecured debt. (Def. Ex. A at Attachment 2). However, Capital One, as a secured creditor, retained its rights in the Property, including its right to pursue foreclosure. See In re Best, 540 B.R. 1, 9 (1st Cir. BAP 2015) (“Fundamentally, a discharge merely releases a debtor from personal liability on the discharged debt; when a creditor holds a mortgage lien or other interest to secure the debt, the creditor’s rights in collateral, such as foreclosure rights, survive or pass through the bankruptcy” (quotations and citation omitted)).

Hosseini’s Efforts to Obtain a Loan Modification

On or about March 31, 2014, Hosseini and his wife received a letter from Harmon Law Offices, P.C.

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217 F. Supp. 3d 441, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 158692, 2016 WL 6818347, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/hosseini-v-capital-one-na-mad-2016.