Lemieux v. America's Servicing Co. (In re Lemieux)

520 B.R. 361
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedNovember 18, 2014
DocketBankruptcy No. 12-40104-MSH; Adversary No. 14-04042
StatusPublished
Cited by24 cases

This text of 520 B.R. 361 (Lemieux v. America's Servicing Co. (In re Lemieux)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lemieux v. America's Servicing Co. (In re Lemieux), 520 B.R. 361 (Mass. 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION REGARDING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS

MELVIN S. HOFFMAN, Bankruptcy Judge.

This matter arises from an adversary proceeding brought by the debtors in the main case, Denis P. Lemieux and Robin M. Lemieux, in which the Lemieuxs seek a judgment of contempt, money damages and attorneys’ fees against America’s Servicing Company (“ASC”) and Wells Fargo Home Mortgage for violating the discharge injunction codified in § 524(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. The Lemieuxs allege that various post-discharge communications sent by ASC and Wells Fargo violated § 524(a)(2) because they were actions to collect a debt. ASC and Wells Fargo have moved to dismiss the Lemieuxs’ complaint under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), made applicable to this proceeding by Fed. R. Bankr.P. 7012, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. For the reasons discussed below, the motion to dismiss will be allowed, in part.

I. Facts

Denis and Robin Lemieux filed a joint petition for relief under chapter 7 of the Bankruptcy Code (which is title 11 of the United States Code) on January 12, 2012. In the chapter 7 individual debtor’s statement of intention and on schedule A of the schedules of assets' and liabilities accompanying their petition, the Lemieuxs indicated their intention to surrender 72 Hill Road in Groton, Massachusetts, which was their primary residence at the time of [363]*363filing. Both the statement of intention and schedule D of the schedules list ASC as a creditor1 with a mortgage or security interest in. the Groton property. According to the complaint, ASC is a division of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

On April 19, 2012, the Lemieuxs received their bankruptcy discharges pursuant to Bankruptcy Code § 727. Two months later, on June 18, 2012, HSBC Bank USA, National Association, as Trustee for Deutsche Alt-A Securities Mortgage Loan Trust, Series 2006-AR4,2 holder of the mortgage on the Groton property, obtained relief from the automatic stay under Bankruptcy Code § 362 to exercise its rights with respect to the property.

According to the complaint, the Lem-ieuxs vacated the Groton property in July 2012. The Lemieuxs allege that, sometime after July 2012, they began receiving written communications from ASC and Wells Fargo. The communications were addressed to them at 248 Mansur Street, Lowell, Massachusetts, which appears to be the residence of Mr. Lemieux’s mother. All of the documents included in the written communications from ASC and Wells Fargo are dated as of 2014 and are addressed to Denis P. Lemieux and Robin M. Lemieux. These documents consisted of: (i) monthly mortgage loan statements, (ii) one notice of change in interest rate and (iii) documents and letters regarding hazard insurance coverage. The Lemieuxs concede in their complaint that they brought the written communications to the attention of their bankruptcy attorney, who repeatedly assured them of the “efficacy” of the discharge injunction, which I take to mean he told them that ASC and Wells Fargo could not legally pursue the Lemieuxs personally for payment of the mortgage debt. Nevertheless, the Lem-ieuxs claim they feared that ASC and Wells Fargo “have so much financial power that [they] may eventually be compelled to pay the discharged debt.” In any event, the Lemieuxs claim the act of sending the written communications itself constitutes a violation of the discharge injunction.

II. Positions of the Parties

The Lemieuxs allege that the various post-discharge communications sent by ASC and Wells Fargo were actions to collect a debt in violation of § 524(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code. They request that the court invoke its authority under Bankruptcy Code § 105 to hold ASC and Wells Fargo in contempt and award them money damages and attorneys’ fees.

ASC and Wells Fargo have moved to dismiss the Lemieuxs’ complaint under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), for failure to state a ■claim upon which relief can be granted. They argue that the Lemieuxs have no claim because there is no private right of action under § 524 and that a debtor’s only recourse in situations like this is to file a motion in the bankruptcy main case seeking to have the offending creditor held in contempt. On the merits, ASC and Wells Fargo argue that their written correspondence, consisting of “non-collection communications containing a ‘for informational purposes’ disclaimer sent in connection with a secured mortgage that has not been discharged,” is permissible for a variety of reasons. First, they assert that the communications fall within the exception to the discharge injunction contained in [364]*364Bankruptcy Code § 524(j). Second, they suggest that the written communications did not violate the discharge injunction because Wells Fargo retained a continuing claim in the form of a mortgage on the Groton property unaffected by the Lem-ieuxs’ bankruptcy discharge. Third, ASC and Wells Fargo stress that the communi-. cations did not demand that the Lemieuxs pay any debt. Finally, they point out that, despite having surrendered and in fact abandoned the Groton property, the Lem-ieuxs, as owners, retain continuing responsibilities with respect to the property.

III. Discussion

For the Lemieuxs’ complaint to survive a motion to dismiss under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6), it must contain sufficient facts, accepted as true and read in the light most favorable to the Lemieuxs, to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face. Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 677-78, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); Rederford v. U.S. Airways, Inc., 589 F.3d 30, 35 (1st Cir.2009). The decision is not “whether a plaintiff will ultimately prevail,] but whether the claimant is entitled to offer evidence to support [his] claims.” Romano v. Defusco (In re Defusco), 500 B.R. 664, 668 (Bankr.D.Mass.2013) (quoting Gilbert v. Essex Group, Inc., 930 F.Supp. 683, 686 (D.N.H.1993)).

Section 524(a)(2) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that a discharge “operates as an injunction against ... an act, to collect, recover or offset any [discharged] debt as a personal liability of the debt- or....” This injunction, which is to be applied broadly, embodies the fresh start policy of the Bankruptcy Code, by which honest but unfortunate debtors are relieved of personal liability for their discharged debts. See Canning v. Beneficial Maine, Inc. (In re Canning), 706 F.3d 64, 69 (1st Cir.2013).

A bankruptcy court has the power under § 105 of the Bankruptcy Code to provide relief when a creditor violates § 524. See id.; Bessette v. Avco Fin. Servs., Inc.,

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Bluebook (online)
520 B.R. 361, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lemieux-v-americas-servicing-co-in-re-lemieux-mab-2014.