Juergens v. Urban Title Services, Inc.

246 F.R.D. 4, 69 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 545, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38002, 2007 WL 1549097
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedMay 25, 2007
DocketCivil Action No. 06-1524 (CKK)
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 246 F.R.D. 4 (Juergens v. Urban Title Services, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Juergens v. Urban Title Services, Inc., 246 F.R.D. 4, 69 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 545, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38002, 2007 WL 1549097 (D.D.C. 2007).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

Plaintiff has brought this thirty-two count action against seven individual and corporate Defendants, asserting various claims based on two disparate loans extended to Plaintiff, each of which was secured by a condominium located at 1230 23rd Street, N.W., Apartment 505, Washington, D.C. 20037 (the “Condo”). Plaintiff alleges that the first loan was extended by Urban Title Services, Inc. (“UTS”), and that Defendants William Kenney (“Kenney”), Robert William Carney (“Carney”), and Paul Erb (“Erb”) (collectively, with UTS, the “UTS Defendants”), each played a role in the extension of the UTS Loan. Plaintiff alleges that the second loan was extended by a combination of Defendants First Mount Vernon Industrial Loan Association, Inc. (“FMVILA”), First Mount Vernon Mortgage, L.L.C. (“FMVLLC”) and Dale Duncan (“Duncan”) (collectively the “FMV Defendants”).

Currently pending before the Court are two motions to dismiss, the first brought by FMVILA, and the second brought jointly by FMVLLC and Duncan.1 In passing, each of the FMV Defendants’ motions to dismiss additionally moves to sever Plaintiffs claims against the UTS Defendants from her claims against the FMV Defendants. Also pending before the Court is Plaintiffs Motion for Partial Summary Judgment, in which she asks that the Court grant partial summary judgment on the issue of whether Plaintiff transferred legal ownership to the Condo to a limited liability corporation via a properly executed and acknowledged deed in accordance with District of Columbia law. Upon a searching review of the motions and legal memoranda filed by Plaintiff and the FMV Defendants, the exhibits thereto, the relevant case law and statutes, and the entire record herein, the Court shall deny without prejudice Plaintiffs motion for partial summary judgment, and shall further deny without prejudice the motions to sever brought by the FMV Defendants.

Furthermore, the Court concludes that the motions to dismiss brought by the FMV Defendants have been converted to motions for summary judgment by virtue of the numerous documents outside the pleadings attached thereto, and therefore must be addressed pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 56. In her Opposition to the FMV Defendants’ motions, Plaintiff has raised a number of allegations that, if substantiated by factual support, might preclude summary judgment in favor of Defendants. However, as these allegations are largely absent from Plaintiffs Amended Complaint, the Court shall deny without prejudice the motions to dismiss brought the FMV Defendants, and shall grant Plaintiff leave to amend her Complaint in order to clarify the grounds on which she alleges that she is entitled to relief. If Plaintiff determines to amend her complaint, she shall do so on or before June 15, 2007; and all Defendants shall respond to Plaintiffs amended complaint on or before July 5, 2007.

I. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff, Mary Juergens, alleges that she resided in and owned a condominium unit located at 1230 23rd Street, N.W., Apartment 505, Washington, D.C. 20037 (the “Condo”), and that, prior to October 2003, she owned the Condo free and clear of any encumbrances or liens, other than a condominium fee assessment of approximately $8000. Am. Compl. ¶¶ 13, 21. However, in October 2003, she required a loan of $60,000 to pay off her condominium fee assessment and to perform renovations on the Condo. Id. ¶ 14. Thus, according to Plaintiff, she spoke with Defendant Kenney, who presented himself as an agent of Defendant UTS, about securing a loan, and Defendants Kenney and UTS agreed to act as lender on a loan to be [7]*7funded by the “George Owen Trust” and secured by a deed of trust on the Condo (the “UTS Loan”). Id. ¶¶ 15-16, 20. According to Plaintiff, the proceeds of the UTS Loan were to be used to pay Plaintiffs $8000 condominium fee assessment in full and Plaintiff was to receive approximately $52,000 in cash, less reasonable settlement costs, at closing. Id. ¶ 22. Under the terms of the UTS Loan, Plaintiff was responsible for paying off the UTS Loan within one year of the date of the closing, and was also responsible for paying UTS interest at a rate of 10% per annum. Id. ¶ 23. Plaintiff alleges, on information and belief, that the George Owen Trust did provide $60,000 to Defendants Kenney and UTS in order to fund the UTS Loan; however, Plaintiff asserts that she never received full use of the proceeds of the UTS Loan or received an accounting of the distributions of the UTS Loan. Id. ¶¶ 17-19.

The UTS Loan allegedly closed at the UTS office on October 20, 2003, with Defendant Carney acting as settlement attorney and Defendant Erb acting as Notary Public. Id. ¶¶ 24-25, 28. Plaintiff asserts that she was not physically present at the closing of the UTS Loan and therefore did not sign any papers before a Notary Public at the closing of the UTS Loan. Id. ¶¶ 26-27. After the closing, the condo fee assessment was paid off, and Plaintiff received an escrow cheek in the amount of approximately $24,597.06. Id. ¶ 29. Plaintiff asserts that she never received an accounting for the other $27,402.84 of the UTS Loan. Id. ¶ 33. According to Plaintiff, Defendants UTS, Kenney, and Carney have claimed that they used the proceeds of the UTS Loan to pay off tax liens on the Condo, including an IRS lien of approximately $7,500 and a Fairfax County lien of approximately $1,700. Id. ¶ 34. However, Plaintiff asserts that she never gave the UTS Defendants permission to pay off any tax liens on the Condo, and further asserts that the IRS and Fairfax County records do not reflect such a payoff, but rather show that the liens were discharged as time-barred. Id. ¶¶ 35-37. In addition, with respect to the UTS Loan, Plaintiff alleges that she never received a variety of procedural documents required by various District of Columbia statutes. Id. ¶¶ 38-41.

Plaintiff next alleges that, in August 2005, she went to Defendant Duncan and “the First Mount Vernon Defendants” in order to obtain a loan on the Condo, that would be used to pay off the UTS Loan. Id. ¶ 44.2 According to Plaintiffs Amended Complaint, FMVILA and FMVLLC—acting through Defendant Duncan—indicated that they would not extend a loan as small as $60,000, and instead encouraged Plaintiff to take out a loan of $250,000 (hereinafter the “FMV Loan”). Id. ¶ 46. Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Duncan told her that in order to obtain the FMV Loan, she needed to establish a limited liability corporation, known as “1230 23rd Street, LLC” (hereinafter the “LLC”), move out of the Condo, transfer title to the LLC, and then have the LLC rent out the Condo to a third party. Id. ¶ 47. According to Plaintiff, the FMV Loan proceeds would be used to pay off the UTS loan (plus accrued interest), and Plaintiff would receive approximately $190,000 in cash at closing, less reasonable settlement costs. Id. ¶¶ 52, 181.3

Plaintiff asserts that she never indicated that she wanted to establish the LLC or have the LLC take title to the Condo. Id. ¶ 48. Nevertheless, Plaintiff alleges, Defendant Duncan registered the LLC with the Virginia State Corporation Commission on Plaintiffs behalf, listing Plaintiff as the registered [8]

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Bluebook (online)
246 F.R.D. 4, 69 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 545, 2007 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 38002, 2007 WL 1549097, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/juergens-v-urban-title-services-inc-dcd-2007.