In re Ruiz

501 B.R. 76, 2013 WL 5998858
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedNovember 8, 2013
DocketNo. 13-11838 SR
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 501 B.R. 76 (In re Ruiz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In re Ruiz, 501 B.R. 76, 2013 WL 5998858 (Pa. 2013).

Opinion

Opinion

STEPHEN RASLAVICH, Bankruptcy Judge.

Introduction

Before the Court is the Debtor’s Objection to the Proof of Claim of RBS Citizens, N.A. RBS opposes the Objection. A hearing on the matter was held on October 16, 2013. The parties submitted briefs and the Court took the matter under advisement. For the reasons which follow, the Objection will be sustained in part and denied in part.1 Claim

RBS’s claim arises out of an FHA-insured loan. The loan is secured by a mortgage on the Debtor’s principal residence. The loan is in default and RBS filed a secured Proof of Claim which consists, in part, of an arrearages component. See Proof of Claim No. 5. The total amount of the claim is $52,818.96. Of that total amount, $13,176.26 is comprised of arrear-ages.

Proposed Treatment

Because the claim is secured by the Debtor’s principal residence, it may not be modified. See 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(2). Accordingly, the Debtor’s plan proposes to reinstate the loans by curing defaults and paying currently on an ongoing basis. See Plan, ¶ 2B; see also 11 U.S.C. § 1322(b)(5) (permitting the cure of a default under a loan secured by a mortgage on the debt- or’s principal residence).

Objection

The Debtor objects to certain components of the arrearages claim. Specifically, the Debtor objects to three charges: (1) foreclosure fees and costs; (2) late charges; and (3) property inspection fees.2 See generally Objection.

Burden of Proof

The burden of proof shifts throughout the course of a claims objection. Initially, the claimant must allege sufficient facts to support its claim and once done, the claim becomes prima facie valid. See 11 U.S.C. § 502(a); B.R. 3001(f). Thereafter, the burden of going forward shifts to the party objecting to the claim— here, the Debtor — to produce evidence to negate the prima facie validity of the claim. If the Debtor produces sufficient evidence to negate one or more of the sworn facts in the proof of claim, the burden reverts to RBS to prove validity of the claim by a preponderance of the evidence. In re Allegheny Intern., Inc., 954 F.2d 167, 173 (3d Cir.1992). The Debtor does not dispute that the claim has facial validity; what is disputed is certain charges included therein.

FHA Mortgage Loans and Assessable Charges

Because the claim involves an FHA-insured mortgage,3 the question of what fees and costs may be charged is not [79]*79limited to the parties’ agreement or otherwise applicable state law. The Secretary (of HUD) is authorized and directed to make rules and regulations dealing with federally-insured mortgages. See 12 U.S.C. § 1715b. Where HUD rules or regulations are incorporated into an insured mortgage, they are binding upon both the mortgagor and mortgagee. Application of Fleetwood Acres, Inc., 186 Misc. 299, 303, 62 N.Y.S.2d 669, 673 (1945). Among the regulations are provisions regarding the assessment of fees and charges:

(a) The mortgagee may collect reasonable and customary fees and charges from the mortgagor after insurance endorsement only as provided below. The mortgagee may collect these fees or charges from the mortgagor only to the extent that the mortgagee is not reimbursed for such fees by HUD.
(1) Late charges as set forth in § 203.25;
(9) Attorney’s and trustee’s fees and expenses actually incurred (including the cost of appraisals pursuant to § 203.368(e) and cost of advertising pursuant to § 203.368(h)) when a case has been referred for foreclosure in accordance with the provisions of this part after a firm decision to foreclose if foreclosure is not completed because of a reinstatement of the account. (No attorney’s fee may be charged for the services of the mortgagee’s or servicer’s staff attorney or for the services of a collection attorney other than the attorney handling the foreclosure.)
(14) Property preservation expenses incurred pursuant to § 203.377.

24 C.F.R. § 203.552(a) (emphasis added).

Foreclosure Costs and Fees

The Debtor’s first objection is to the lenders’ foreclosure costs and fees. Those fees total $2,282.48 and consist of attorney’s fees, title search fees, filing, service and sale costs. The Debtor’s basis for challenging those fees is that the lender accrued them prematurely. Under applicable state law, she argues, a mortgage lender may not start foreclosure proceedings before the lender gives the borrower notice that it intends to foreclose. In this case, says the Debtor, RBS never gave that notice. Debtor agrees that RBS attempted to give that notice but argues that the notice that it did give failed to include certain required information. Specifically, the notice it gave stated an incorrect amount that Debtor should pay if it intended to cure and reinstate the loan. The effect of that omission, says Debtor, divest the state court of subject matter jurisdiction over the foreclosure action. In support of her position, Debtor relies principally on Main Line Federal Sav. & Loan Assoc. v. Joyce, 632 F.Supp. 9 (E.D.Pa.1986). That case held that proper notice of foreclosure is a jurisdictional prerequisite. Id. Failure to provide a debtor with precisely how the total amount required to cure the default is calculated warrants dismissal. Id.

In response, RBS challenges the conclusion that a defective notice divests the court of subject matter jurisdiction. It relies on a recent case from the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which declined to extend the holding in Joyce, supra. See Beneficial Consumer Discount Co. v. Vukman, - Pa. -, -, 77 A.3d 547, 552-53, 2013 WL 5354330, at *5 (2013) (stating that the test for whether a court has subject matter jurisdiction is the competency of the court to determine controversies of the general class to which the case presented for consideration belongs). The Supreme Court in Vukman found that a defective notice of intent to foreclose con[80]*80stituted a defect in procedure and that it did not implicate jurisdiction.

This Court agrees with the holding that a defective notice does not divest jurisdiction; however, other grounds exist to disallow the foreclosure fees and costs. Pennsylvania law provides, in pertinent part:

(a) Before any residential mortgage lender may ... commence any legal action including mortgage foreclosure ... such person shall give the residential mortgage debtor notice of such intention at least thirty days in advance as provided in this section.
(c) The written notice shall clearly and conspicuously state:

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
501 B.R. 76, 2013 WL 5998858, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-ruiz-paeb-2013.