Jernigan v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (In re Jernigan)

475 B.R. 535, 2012 WL 3218522, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 3663
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia
DecidedAugust 1, 2012
DocketBankruptcy No. 12-70778; Adversary No. 12-07026
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 475 B.R. 535 (Jernigan v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (In re Jernigan)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, W.D. Virginia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Jernigan v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (In re Jernigan), 475 B.R. 535, 2012 WL 3218522, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 3663 (Va. 2012).

Opinion

DECISION AND JUDGMENT ORDER

ROSS W. KRUMM, Bankruptcy Judge.

At Roanoke in said District this 1st day of August, 2012:

A hearing was held on July 10, 2012, to consider Well’s Fargo’s Motion to Dismiss the Debtor’s Amended Complaint or in the alternative to grant Summary Judgment on the Amended Complaint. After considering the pleadings and arguments of the parties the Court makes the following findings of fact and conclusions of law.

Background

The Debtor filed a Chapter 7 petition on April 23, 2012. At the time of the filing of the petition, the Debtor had three accounts at Wells Fargo with deposits totaling $7,790.47. It is alleged that Wells Fargo froze the funds in the accounts without notice to the Debtor. Wells Fargo has a nation-wide policy of placing an administrative hold on the accounts of customers who have filed a Chapter 7 petition. Wells Fargo (“the Bank”) employs a third party vendor to provide a list of customers who have filed for bankruptcy. Upon receipt of notice from its vendor, the Bank sends a letter to the Chapter 7 trustee requesting instructions on what should be done with the funds in the debtor’s account and puts a hold on the account pending notification from the Chapter 7 trustee as to whom the funds should be released. The Bank also notifies the Debtor, and Debtor’s counsel of the hold on the account.

Discussion

The Amended Complaint contains four counts: (1) turnover of funds pursuant to 11 U.S.C. § 542; (2) civil liability under 12 C.F.R. § 229.21 (“Regulation CC”); (3) class action civil liability under Regulation CC; and (4) violation of the automatic stay.1 The Bank argues, and the Debtor agrees, that Count 1 is moot as the money has been turned over and that Count 1 should be dismissed. The bank argues that the Debtor does not have standing to pursue a claim under Regulation CC; that even if the Debtor does have standing, the Debtor has not stated a claim upon which relief can be granted under Regulation CC; and that the Court lacks jurisdiction to consider a nationwide class action. The bank also argues that the Debtor lacks standing to pursue a claim based on a violation of the automatic stay; and that the Bank did not violate the stay as a matter of law.

I. Standard for Dismissal

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12 provides that a complaint may be dismissed for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). In order to avoid dismissal on a 12(b)(6) motion, the plaintiff must have plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1974, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (U.S. 2007). The plausibility standard requires “a plaintiff to demonstrate more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully. It requires the plaintiff to articulate facts, when accepted as true, that show that the plaintiff has stated a claim entitling him to relief, i.e., the plausibility of entitlement to relief.” Glassman v. Arlington County, 628 F.3d 140, 145-146 (4th Cir.2010) (internal quotations omitted). Well-pled allegations of a complaint are taken as true and viewed in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Ibarra v. United States, 120 F.3d 472, 474 (4th [537]*537Cir.1997). Similarly, reasonable inferences from the facts are drawn in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Id. Courts construe a plaintiffs allegations liberally, because the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure only require general or “notice pleading,” rather than detailed “fact pleading.” 2-12 Moore’s Federal Practice-Civil § 12.34.

II. Standard for Summary Judgment

This Court set forth the relevant law regarding summary judgment in In re Pittman, 442 B.R. 485, 2010 WL 5629440 (Bankr.W.D.Va. Dec. 15, 2010). Pittman held that

Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7056 governs summary judgment in bankruptcy; it expressly incorporates Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. The News and Observer Publishing Co. v. Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority, 597 F.3d 570 (4th Cir.2010) sets forth the standard for granting motions for summary judgment. The News Observer holds:
Summary judgment should be granted if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials on file, and any affidavits show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c)(2). Facts are material when they might affect the outcome of the ease, and a genuine issue exists when the evidence would allow a reasonable jury to return a verdict for the nonmoving party. See Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986). The moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law when the nonmoving party fails to make an adequate showing on an essential element for which it has the burden of proof at trial. See Cleveland v. Policy Mgmt. Sys. Corp., 526 U.S. 795, 119 S.Ct. 1597, 143 L.Ed.2d 966 (1999). [I]n ruling on a motion for summary judgment, the nonmoving party’s evidence is to be believed, and all justifiable inferences are to be drawn in that party’s favor. Hunt v. Cromartie, 526 U.S. 541, 552, 119 S.Ct. 1545, 143 L.Ed.2d 731 (1999) (internal quotations omitted).
Id. at 576.
A party seeking summary judgment bears the burden to show that no genuine issue of material fact exists. See Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 325, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986); Brewster of Lynchburg, Inc. v. Dial Corp., 33 F.3d 355, 361 (4th Cir.1994).

Pittman, 442 B.R. at 488-89.

III.

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Bluebook (online)
475 B.R. 535, 2012 WL 3218522, 2012 Bankr. LEXIS 3663, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jernigan-v-wells-fargo-bank-na-in-re-jernigan-vawb-2012.