Jonathan L. Cline and Elizabeth A. Cline v. Real Time Resolutions, Inc. et al.

District Court, E.D. California·Decided September 12, 2025·No. 2:25-cv-02001·Unknown

Opinion

JONATHAN L. CLINE and ELIZABETH A. CLINE, No. 2:25-cv-02001-TLN-AC Plaintiffs,

v. REAL TIME RESOLUTIONS, INC. et al., Defendants.

This matter is before the Court on Plaintiffs Jonathan L. Cline and Elizabeth A. Cline’s (“Plaintiffs”) Motion for a Preliminary Injunction. (ECF No. 6.) Defendant Real Time Resolutions, Inc. (“Defendant”) filed an opposition. (ECF No. 7.) Plaintiffs filed a reply. (ECF No. 10.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs’ Motion. /// /// /// The instant action arises out of a dispute related to a loan transaction and an upcoming foreclosure sale. In June 2004, Plaintiffs obtained title to a piece of property located at 1716 Gateforth Drive, Roseville, CA 95747 (“Property”). (ECF No. 1 ¶ 22.) In 2006, Plaintiffs obtained a $48,671.00 line of credit from American General Financial Services. (Id. ¶ 25.) The loan was a junior loan, secured by the Property via a Deed of Trust. (Id.) The Deed of Trust was recorded on September 13, 2006, in the Office of the Recorder, Placer County, California as document number 2006-0098098. (Id.) In November 2011, Plaintiff Elizabeth Cline (“Ms. Cline”) was communicating with American General Financial Services about modifying their line of credit. (Id. ¶ 27.) Around this time, an American General Financial Services manager in the Folsom, California office told Ms. Cline the mortgage could be modified, and she would provide paperwork for Ms. Cline to sign after the holidays. (Id. ¶ 28.) In January 2012, Ms. Cline contacted the Folsom office after not hearing back from the American General Financial Services manager. (Id. ¶ 29.) Ms. Cline was informed the modification was still “going through” and would be ready within a few weeks. (Id.) On February 22, 2012, Ms. Cline stopped by the Folsom office and was told the modification had not yet been approved. (Id. ¶ 31.) Ms. Cline continued to follow up and each time was told the modification was still pending. (Id. ¶ 32.) In 2012, Plaintiffs stopped receiving mortgage statements and correspondence and were never contacted again about the modification. (Id. ¶¶ 32–33.) In March 2013, Ms. Cline attempted to follow up with the Folsom office. (Id. ¶ 35.) She was told the “loan had been closed and charged off” and Plaintiffs did not need to do anything further. (Id.) In July 2016, Plaintiffs pulled a title report and realized the Deed of Trust still showed up and American General Financial Services had changed its name to Springfield Financial Services. (Id. ¶ 36.) Plaintiffs attempted to get information from Springfield Financial Services but received no response. (Id. ¶ 37.) / / / Plaintiffs received no further communication about the loan until March 13, 2024, when Defendant wrote to Plaintiffs regarding a delinquent mortgage. (Id. ¶¶ 38–39.) On April 13, 2024, Ms. Cline wrote to Defendant stating she was unaware of the debt and noted that Plaintiffs’ mortgage with Rushmore Loan Servicing was in good standing. (Id. ¶ 40.) Plaintiffs received no response. (Id. ¶ 41.) In February 2025, Defendant notified Plaintiffs there was a Notice of Default for their Property. (Id. ¶ 42.) Plaintiffs responded asking Defendant to validate the debt and provide specific information and documentation. (Id. ¶ 43.) On May 12, 2025, Real Time responded to Plaintiffs, providing: a copy of the Lost Note Affidavit, reflecting the original loan amount of $48,671.00; a copy of the signed Open-End Deed of Trust, the instrument that secures the loan to the associated property; a copy of the Assignment of Deed of Trust dated February 26, 2025; copies of all available Notice of Servicing Transfer letters; a copy of the Notice of Assignment, Sale or Transfer of Your Mortgage Loan letter dated May 7, 2020; and a loan history summary. (Id. ¶ 45.) Plaintiffs allege they never received any of the documents Defendant provided and never changed their mailing address for the loan. (Id. ¶ 46.) Further, Plaintiffs allege they were never advised the loan was accruing interest while no collection efforts were made on the loan, particularly when they were told the loan was closed and charged off. (Id. ¶ 47.) On March 17, 2025, Defendant recorded a Notice of Default on the Property and Election to Sell under Deed of Trust.1 (Id. ¶ 48; ECF No. 7 at 7.) The trustee’s sale was originally scheduled for July 12, 2025, but was rescheduled to September 17, 2025. (ECF No. 7 at 7.) On July 17, Plaintiffs filed a Complaint alleging several claims including: breach of the

1 Plaintiffs request the Court take judicial notice of both the Assignment of Deed of Trust and the Notice of Default and Election to Sell under the Deed of Trust. (ECF No. 6-3 at 2.) The Court finds these documents not subject to reasonable dispute and GRANTS Plaintiffs’ request for judicial notice. See Fed. R. Evid. 201(b); Wilkinson v. PHH Mortg. Corp., No. 2:24-CV-1416 TLN AC PS, 2025 WL 565971, at *2 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 20, 2025), report and recommendation adopted, No. 2:24-CV-01416-TLN-AC, 2025 WL 1262873 (E.D. Cal. May 1, 2025) (taking judicial notice of Deed of Trusts). All other requests for judicial notice of documents upon which this Court does not rely are DENIED as moot. implied covenant (claim Two); violation of the Federal Truth in Lending Act (Claim Three); violation of California Civil Code § 2924.17 (Claim Four); Promissory Estoppel (Claim Five); violation of California Civil Code § 2924.13 (Claim Six); Violation of Business and Professions Code § 17200 (Claim Seven).2 (See generally ECF No. 1.) On July 22, 2025, Plaintiff filed the instant motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to enjoin the foreclosure sale of their home on September 17, 2025. (ECF No. 6.) A preliminary injunction is “an extraordinary remedy that may only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief.” Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22 (2008). “A plaintiff seeking a preliminary injunction must establish that he is likely to succeed on the merits, that he is likely to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of preliminary relief, that the balance of equities tips in his favor, and that an injunction is in the public interest.” Id. at 20. A plaintiff must “make a showing on all four prongs” of the Winter test to obtain a preliminary injunction. Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1135 (9th Cir. 2011). In evaluating a plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction, a district court may weigh the plaintiff's showings on the Winter elements using a sliding-scale approach. Id. A stronger showing on the balance of the hardships may support issuing a preliminary injunction even where the plaintiff shows that there are “serious questions on the merits . . . so long as the plaintiff also shows that there is a likelihood of irreparable injury and that the injunction is in the public interest.” Id. Simply put, Plaintiff must demonstrate, “that [if] serious questions going to the merits were raised [then] the balance of hardships [must] tip[ ] sharply in the plaintiff's favor,” in order to succeed in a request for preliminary injunction. Id. at 1134–35 (emphasis added). Plaintiffs argue they are likely to prevail on the merits or at least raise serious questions going to the merits of each of the causes of action –– (1) California Civil Code § 2924.13; (2)

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Jonathan L. Cline and Elizabeth A. Cline v. Real Time Resolutions, Inc. et al., (E.D. Cal. 2025).

Jonathan L. Cline and Elizabeth A. Cline v. Real Time Resolutions, Inc. et al. (Jonathan L. Cline and Elizabeth A. Cline v. Real Time Resolutions, Inc. et al.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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