Jaley v. Am. Express Nat'l Bank (In re Jaley)

600 B.R. 511
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Maryland
DecidedApril 26, 2019
DocketCase No. 18-21131-LSS; Adv. No. 19-00005
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 600 B.R. 511 (Jaley v. Am. Express Nat'l Bank (In re Jaley)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Maryland primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jaley v. Am. Express Nat'l Bank (In re Jaley), 600 B.R. 511 (Md. 2019).

Opinion

LORI S. SIMPSON, U.S. BANKRUPTCY JUDGE

Defendant, American Express National Bank, moves the Court to dismiss all of Plaintiff's causes of action remaining in this adversary proceeding pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), made applicable herein by Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7012.1 Defendant also moves the Court to sanction Plaintiff pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 9011(c).2 Plaintiff opposes both requests for relief.3 For the reasons stated below, the Court will grant Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (the "Motion to Dismiss") and deny its Motion for Sanctions (the "Motion for Sanctions").4

I. Procedural History.

Plaintiff filed her Chapter 13 Voluntary Petition on August 21, 2018.5 The following *514month, Defendant filed two proofs of claim, Claim No. 4 and Claim No. 5, in Plaintiff's bankruptcy case.6 In Claim No. 4, Defendant asserted an unsecured credit card debt totaling $ 62,400.00. Plaintiff objected to Claim No. 4 on the ground that it was time-barred and unenforceable.7 Defendant did not file a timely response. The Court entered an order sustaining Plaintiff's claim objection and disallowing Claim No. 4.8

In Claim No. 5, Defendant asserted an unsecured credit card debt totaling $ 12,072.20. In response to Claim No. 5, Plaintiff initiated this adversary proceeding on January 3, 2019.9 Plaintiff asserted seven causes of action, six of which are class action causes of action. Count I, an objection to Claim No. 5 as unenforceable and time-barred, is the only individual cause of action. At the time she filed and served her initial complaint, Plaintiff filed and served a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, seeking summary judgment as to Count I only.10 Defendant filed a response stating that it did not contest disallowance of Claim No. 5.11 Accordingly, the Court entered an Order Granting Summary Judgment as to Court I, which disallowed Claim No. 5.12

On February 13, 2019, Plaintiff filed an amended complaint (the "Amended Complaint").13 The relevant facts alleged in the Amended Complaint are: (1) Defendant extended a credit card to Plaintiff; (2) Plaintiff incurred debt to Defendant on that account (the "Debt"); (3) the Debt has been in default since June 30, 2015; and (4) Defendant filed Claim No. 5 based on the Debt. In the Amended Complaint, Plaintiff seeks certification of two classes. Class I being "All current and former debtors in any bankruptcy action pending, at any time, before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Maryland in whose proceeding a proof of claim was submitted by [Defendant] on or after October 1, 2016, on a time barred consumer debt." Class II being a subset of Class I including only debtors in cases "in which any monies were paid out unto and/or received by [Defendant]." On behalf of those alleged classes, Plaintiff asserts five causes of action. Plaintiff seeks declaratory judgment that Defendant's practice of filing proofs of claims for time-barred debt is a violation of Maryland law. Plaintiff seeks an injunction enjoining Defendant from continuing such practice. Plaintiff asserts two causes of action for monetary damages asserting that such practice violates the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act ("MCDCA") and the Maryland Consumer Protection Act ("MCPA"). Finally, Plaintiff asserts that Defendant was unjustly enriched through such practice.

Defendant moves the Court to dismiss all of Plaintiff's remaining causes of action set forth in the Amended Complaint for failure to state a claim on which relief can *515be granted. Defendant argues that binding precedent upholds a creditor's right to file a proof of claim on stale debt. Defendant asserts that expiration of the limitations period terminates the remedy for nonpayment of a debt but does not extinguish the right to payment thereon. Plaintiff responds that, as of October 1, 2016, Maryland law provides for the termination of the right and remedy upon expiration of the applicable limitations period. Defendant also moves the Court to impose sanctions on Plaintiff, arguing that Plaintiff's class action causes of action are frivolous and harassing.

II. Discussion.

The instant motions present two distinct, yet related, issues to the Court. First, with respect to the Motion to Dismiss, the Court must determine whether Md. Cts. & Jud. Proc. Code Ann. § 5-1201 et seq . effectively extinguishes the right to payment on a debt following the expiration of the applicable statute of limitations. If not, the Court must determine, with respect to the Motion for Sanctions, whether Plaintiff's argument in the affirmative is nonfrivolous.

A. Motion to Dismiss.

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) provides that the Court may dismiss a claim or defense for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). A motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) tests the sufficiency of a complaint; importantly, it does not resolve contests surrounding the facts, merits of the claim, or the applicability of defenses." Republican Party of N.C. v. Martin , 980 F.2d 943, 952 (4th Cir. 1992). "A motion to dismiss under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) will be granted if the allegations of the complaint, construed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, fail as a matter of law to state a claim for which relief can be granted." FTC v. AmeriDebt, Inc ., 343 F. Supp. 2d 451, 459 (D. Md. 2004) (citing Carter v. Burch , 34 F.3d 257, 261 (4th Cir. 1994) ). The Court must accept as true all well-pleaded material allegations of the complaint and must liberally construe it as a whole. Id. (citing Edwards v. Johnston County Health Dep't ,

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Bluebook (online)
600 B.R. 511, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jaley-v-am-express-natl-bank-in-re-jaley-mdb-2019.