Lopez v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (In re Lopez)

486 B.R. 221, 2013 WL 49815, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 19
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, D. Massachusetts
DecidedJanuary 3, 2013
DocketBankruptcy No. 09-45463-HJB; Adversary No. 10-04057
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 486 B.R. 221 (Lopez v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (In re Lopez)) 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
Lopez v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (In re Lopez), 486 B.R. 221, 2013 WL 49815, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 19 (Mass. 2013).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

HENRY J. BOROFF, Bankruptcy Judge.

There are two matters before the Court: (1) a “Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay” (the “Motion for Relief’) filed by Consumer Solutions REO, LLC (“Consumer REO”); and (2) a “Motion for Summary Judgment Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 56” (the “Summary Judgment Motion”) filed by defendants Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”) and Consumer Solutions, LLC (“Consumer”) (together, the “Defendants”) with respect to all counts of the First Amended Complaint (the “Complaint”) filed by Luisa E. Lopez and Amilcar F. Lopez (together, the “Debtors”).

I. FACTS AND TRAVEL OF THE CASE

The Debtors allege the following in their Complaint.

In 2005, Decision One Mortgage Company, LLC (“Decision One”) agreed to provide the Debtors with a refinancing of the first mortgage on their home in Andover, Massachusetts (the “Property”). In support of that loan, Luisa Lopez executed a promissory note payable to Decision One in the amount of $382,400.00 (the “Note”)1 and both Debtors executed a mortgage on the Property (the “Mortgage”) in favor of MERS, as nominee for Decision One, to secure repayment of the Note (together, the “Loan”). Both the Note and the Mortgage were recorded in the Essex County Registry of Deeds (the “Registry”). The Loan was an adjustable rate mortgage loan (“ARM”) with an introductory interest rate of 7.81%. The Note provided for interest rate and monthly payment changes commencing December 7, 2007 and every six months thereafter (the “change dates”), based on rate indexing as set forth in the Note; except that the interest rate on the first change date would be no greater than 10.81% and subsequent changes no more than an additional 1%.

The Debtors ultimately fell behind on their Loan payments, and at some point, Consumer, representing itself as the then current holder of the Mortgage, executed and filed a complaint with the Land Court Department of the Massachusetts Trial Court (the “Land Court”) pursuant to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, 50 U.S.C.App. §§ 501-591 (the “Servieemem-ber’s Act”). Exactly when it did so is the subject of some dispute, as the Debtors say that Consumer signed the Service-member’s Act complaint on July 31, 2008, but did not file that complaint with the Land Court until October 1, 2009.

On January 9, 2009, MERS, as nominee for Decision One, executed an assignment of the Mortgage to Consumer (the “Assignment”), which Assignment was recorded on February 2, 2009. On March 11, 2009, Consumer sold the Property at a foreclosure auction (the “Foreclosure Sale”) to Consumer REO. The foreclosure [225]*225deed was recorded in the Registry on October 1, 2009.

On December 23, 2009, the Debtors filed the instant Chapter 13 bankruptcy case. Consumer REO filed its Motion for Relief on April 6, 2010. The Debtors responded by filing an objection to the Motion for Relief and by commencing the instant adversary proceeding through which the Debtors seek, inter alia, a declaratory judgment that the Foreclosure Sale was invalid. The Motion for Relief and adversary proceeding were thereafter consolidated for trial. The Defendants have now filed the Summary Judgment Motion with respect to all counts in the Complaint and the Debtors have filed an opposition thereto. After a hearing on the Summary Judgment Motion, the Court took the matter under advisement.

II. POSITIONS OF THE PARTIES

In their nine-count Complaint, the Debtors seek: a declaratory judgment that the Foreclosure Sale was invalid (Count I); a declaratory judgment that the Defendants violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Count II); a declaratory judgment for breach of contract (Count III); damages for the Defendants’ alleged violation of the Truth in Lending Act and the Massachusetts Consumer Credit Cost Disclosure Act (Count IV); damages for the Defendants’ alleged negligent lending practices (Count V); damages for alleged emotional distress (Count VI); damages for the Defendants’ alleged abuse of process (Count VII); a declaratory judgment that the Defendants committed fraud and/or fraudulent concealment (Count VIII); and damages for the Defendants’ alleged predatory lending (Count IX).

A. Violation of M.G.L. ch. 244 Wrongful Foreclosure (Count I)

The Debtors contend that, at the time of the Foreclosure Sale, Consumer had no legal right to foreclose on the Mortgage, because the Assignment to Consumer was invalid for two reasons:2 (1) the mailing address for Consumer listed on the Assignment was the address of a dissolved corporation; and (2) a certain Vickie Roper, who executed the Assignment on behalf of MERS as “Vice President,” was not a principal officer of MERS, but rather an agent of Consumer, and was therefore without authority to sign on MERS’ behalf.

As for the allegedly faulty address, the Defendants maintain that the use of an address of a defunct corporation or an errant address for an existing corporation does not invalidate the effectiveness of a mortgage assignment. The Defendants explain that the address for Consumer which appears on the Assignment was merely outdated. According to the Defendants, Consumer is a Delaware Corporation in good standing and a duly registered foreign corporation in Massachusetts. And the use of an incorrect address for Consumer did not invalidate the Assignment because, under Massachusetts law, [226]*226even the failure to provide any address at all is not invalidating. Nor do the Defendants consider the late execution of the Assignment (after the filing of the Service-member’s Act complaint) material to the validity of the Assignment or the Land Court judgment thereon,3 because the Land Court action was commenced solely to ensure that no owner of the Property was entitled to the protections of the Ser-vicemember’s Act.

And finally, the Defendants’ argue that the Debtors cannot challenge the validity of the Assignment based upon Ms. Roper’s execution, because, as non-parties to the Assignment, they lack standing to challenge it.

B. Violation of Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Count II)

The Debtors assert that the Defendants violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA”) when Consumer misrepresented its authority to commence the foreclosure process and knowingly conducted an illegal foreclosure of the Mortgage. In support of this claim, the Debtors cite to Title 209 of the Code of Massachusetts Regulations, which provides that knowingly or recklessly facilitating an illegal foreclosure of real property is an unfair or unconscionable means of a servicing a loan.

The Defendants argue that the Debtors lack standing to enforce the Code of Massachusetts Regulations as it pertains to the Massachusetts Division of Banks, because Title 209 does not create a private right of action for the benefit of mortgagors.

C. Breach of Contract (Count III)

Relying on their characterization of the Note and the Mortgage as contracts, the Debtors argue the Defendants failed to deal with the Debtors fairly and in good faith because they failed to provide truthful notices to the Debtors as required by the Note and the Mortgage.

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Bluebook (online)
486 B.R. 221, 2013 WL 49815, 2013 Bankr. LEXIS 19, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lopez-v-mortgage-electronic-registration-systems-inc-in-re-lopez-mab-2013.