In re Trusts Established Under the Pooling & Servicing Agreements Relating to the Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortg. Trust Commercial Mortg. Pass-Through Certificates

375 F. Supp. 3d 441
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 25, 2019
Docket17 Civ. 1998 (KPF)
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 375 F. Supp. 3d 441 (In re Trusts Established Under the Pooling & Servicing Agreements Relating to the Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortg. Trust Commercial Mortg. Pass-Through Certificates) 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
In re Trusts Established Under the Pooling & Servicing Agreements Relating to the Wachovia Bank Commercial Mortg. Trust Commercial Mortg. Pass-Through Certificates, 375 F. Supp. 3d 441 (S.D. Ill. 2019).

Opinion

KATHERINE POLK FAILLA, United States District Judge *445Broadly speaking, this action involves a dispute with CWCapital Asset Management LLC ("CWC") on one side, and Appaloosa Investment L.P.I. and Palomino Master Ltd. (collectively, "Appaloosa") on the other, over the distribution of approximately $ 700 million in proceeds from the October 2015 sale of the Peter Cooper Village and Stuyvesant Town property ("Stuy Town"). In Appaloosa's view, a portion of the funds that are currently allocated to CWC should instead be deposited into a Gain-on-Sale Reserve Account for the benefit of Certificateholders. In March 2018, this Court denied CWC's and Appaloosa's cross-motions for judgment on the pleadings, finding that the governing agreements (and, in particular, the Pooling and Servicing Agreement ("PSA") ) are ambiguous. Shortly thereafter, Appaloosa filed an Amended Answer, in which it asserted a cross-claim against CWC. Before the Court is CWC's motion to dismiss the cross-claim for lack of standing. Here, unlike those provisions discussed in the Court's March 2018 Opinion and Order, the relevant provisions of the PSA are unambiguous. For the reasons stated below, the Court grants CWC's motion.

BACKGROUND1

The Court's Opinion and Order of March 9, 2018, provides a thorough review of the relevant facts of this case. See In re the Trusts Established under the Pooling & Servicing Agreements , No. 17 Civ. 1998 (KPF), 2018 WL 1229702, at *1 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 9, 2018) (" PSA I "). As a result, this Court assumes the parties' familiarity with the underlying facts and will only discuss what is necessary to resolve the instant motion.

On April 11, 2018, approximately one month after the Court denied the parties' cross-motions for judgment on the pleadings, the parties appeared before the Court for a conference. (Am. Answer ¶ 205). During that conference, Appaloosa stated its intention to assert a cross-claim against CWC. (Id. at ¶ 206). In response, CWC expressed "disbelief that Appaloosa actually had acquired over 25% of the Voting Rights," as required for Certificateholders to bring any action under the PSA. (Id. at ¶ 207). That issue is at the heart of the instant motion.

Generally speaking, only the Trustee is authorized to act on behalf of the Trusts. However, individual Certificateholders are allowed to assert claims on behalf of the Trusts so long as they comply with the No Action Clause in Section 11.03(c) of the PSA, which requires, among other things, that Certificateholders with at least 25% of the Voting Rights provide the Trustee with a written notice of default and give the Trustee an opportunity to take the action requested to address the default. (PSA § 11.03).2

*446Several days prior to the conference with the Court, on April 6, 2018, Appaloosa had sent CWC and the Trustee written notice of default. (Am. Answer ¶ 175). "Specifically, among other things, Appaloosa informed CWC that its failure to allocate approximately $ 764 million of the Stuy Town sale proceeds as Gain-on-Sale Proceeds for deposit into the Stuy Town CMBS Trusts' respective Gain-on-Sale Reserve Accounts violated relevant portions ... of the PSA[.]" (Id. at ¶ 44). On May 5, 2018, after CWC failed to cure the defaults of which it was notified, Appaloosa sent a written direction to the Trustee that advised the Trustee of what it perceived to be a continuing default and requested that the Trustee bring a direct action on behalf of the C30 Trust against CWC. (Id. at ¶ 230). In that letter, Appaloosa also offered to provide a reasonable indemnity to the Trustee, as required by the PSA. (Id. ).

On May 10, 2018, the Trustee responded to Appaloosa's letter, indicating that it did not intend to commence suit as directed. (Am. Answer ¶ 235). Accordingly, Appaloosa sought the Court's permission to amend its Answer to assert a cross-claim against CWC. (Dkt. # 231). The Court granted Appaloosa's request based "in large part on Appaloosa's representations that [ ] it holds sufficient voting rights to satisfy the no-action clauses in the pooling and servicing agreements such that it may properly bring the contemplated cross-claim against CWC." (Dkt. # 236). As a result, Appaloosa filed its Amended Answer on June 16, 2018. (Dkt. # 239).

On August 1, 2018, CWC filed a motion to dismiss Appaloosa's cross-claim. (Dkt. # 244-46). Appaloosa filed its opposition on August 22, 2018 (Dkt. # 256-58), and the motion was fully briefed with the filing of CWC's reply on June 26, 2014 (Dkt. # 261). The Court now considers the motion.

DISCUSSION

A. Applicable Law

1. Motions to Dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1)

CWC brings the present motion to dismiss pursuant to Rules 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Dkt. # 244). "As the Second Circuit has explained, however, standing challenges are jurisdictional questions that are properly resolved under Rule 12(b)(1)." Platinum-Montaur Life Scis. LLC v. Navidea Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. , No. 17 Civ. 9591 (VEC), 2018 WL 5650006, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Oct. 31, 2018) (citing All. for Envtl. Renewal, Inc. v. Pyramid Crossgates Co. , 436 F.3d 82, 89 n.6 (2d Cir. 2006) ("Although we have noted that standing challenges have sometimes been brought under Rule 12(b)(6), as well as Rule 12(b)(1), the proper procedural route is a motion under Rule 12(b)(1).") ). "Because the Court has an independent obligation to apply the correct legal standard[,]" it will construe CWC's motion to dismiss as one pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1). Id.

Rule 12(b)(1) permits a party to move to dismiss a complaint for "lack of subject-matter jurisdiction." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). "A case is properly dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1) when the district court lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate it." Lyons v. Litton Loan Servicing LP , 158 F.Supp.3d 211, 218 (S.D.N.Y. 2016) (quoting Makarova v. United States, 201 F.3d 110, 113 (2d Cir. 2000) ).

The Second Circuit has drawn a distinction between two types of Rule 12(b)(1) motions: (i) facial motions and (ii) fact-based motions. See *447Carter v. HealthPort Technologies, LLC,

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375 F. Supp. 3d 441, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-trusts-established-under-the-pooling-servicing-agreements-relating-ilsd-2019.