Lubbers v. Flagstar Bancorp. Inc.

162 F. Supp. 3d 571, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15918, 2016 WL 520944
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Michigan
DecidedFebruary 10, 2016
DocketCivil Action No. 14-cv-13459
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 162 F. Supp. 3d 571 (Lubbers v. Flagstar Bancorp. Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lubbers v. Flagstar Bancorp. Inc., 162 F. Supp. 3d 571, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15918, 2016 WL 520944 (E.D. Mich. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER GRANTING DEFENDANTS’ MOTION TO DISMISS PLAINTIFF’S AMENDED COMPLAINT

BERNARD A. FRIEDMAN, SENIOR UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

This matter is presently before the Court on defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiffs Amended Complaint [docket entry 19]. Plaintiff has filed a response in opposition and defendants have filed a reply. Pursuant to E.D. Mich. LR 7.1(f)(2), the Court shall decide this motion without a hearing. For the following reasons, the Court shall grant defendants’ motion to dismiss.

I. Background

Plaintiff brings this federal securities class action against Flagstar Bancorp., Inc. (“Flagstar”) and two of its officers, Ales-sandro P. DiNello, Chief Executive Officer, and Paul D. Borja, former Chief Financial Officer and current Senior Deputy General Counsel on behalf of all persons and entities that purchased shares of Flagstar common stock during the period from October 22, 2013, to August 26, 2014 (“the class period”). Plaintiff alleges that during the class period, Flagstar omitted material information and included misleading statements in its public disclosures in violation of § 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (“Securities Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 78j(b), and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Further, plaintiff asserts that defendants DiNello and Borja, as controlling persons of Flags-tar, are liable under § 20(a) of the Securities Act for Flagstar’s § 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 violations.

Flagstar is the holding company for non-party Flagstar Bank, which, among other activities, originates, acquires, sells, and services mortgage loans. Plaintiff alleges that after the collapse of the mortgage industry in 2008, Flagstar began to cut corners and violate various consumer protection laws. Am. Compl. ¶ 27. Plaintiff claims that in 2011, with mortgage origination declining and mitigation and default servicing rising, Flagstar was forced to reduce its non-interest expenses to boost retained earnings and meet the Federal Reserve’s stress tests. Id. ¶ 33. One way Flagstar allegedly kept expenses low was by reducing personnel and investment in technology systems. Id. ¶ 34. As a result, Flagstar allegedly experienced a backlog in processing loan modification and loss mitigation applications, such that in September 2011 Fannie Mae threatened to terminate Flagstar’s servicing rights on loans owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae. Id. ¶¶ 34-35. Plaintiff alleges that this reduction in personnel caused Flagstar to cut corners and violate federal consumer protection laws and regulations, which caused the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) to investigate Flagstar’s mortgage-related practices. Id. ¶ 3.1

On August 26, 2014, Flagstar filed a Form 8-K with the SEC that disclosed it had commenced discussions with the CFPB regarding a potential settlement relating to “alleged violations of various federal consumer financial laws arising from the Bank’s loss mitigation practices and default servicing operations dating back to 2011.” Id. ¶ 120. In that disclosure, Flags-tar stated that “[w]hile the Bank intends [575]*575to vigorously defend against any enforcement action that may be brought, it has commenced discussions with the CFPB staff to determine if a settlement can be achieved.” Id. In response to this disclosure, Mark Palmer, an analyst at BTIG, LLC, downgraded Flagstar’s rating and noted that the “allegations raise questions regarding servicing operations amid uncertainty of potential rebound of its mortgage business.” Id. ¶ 121. On August 27, 2014, Flagstar’s stock fell $0.83 per share and closed at $17.66. Id. ¶ 122. With the market speculating that “ a material settlement may be imminent” because “[Flags-tar] felt it was necessary to mention the company was in discussion with the CFPB,” Flagstar’s stock price continued to decline and closed at $17.33 per share on August 28, 2014. Id. ¶¶ 123-24.

A month later, on September 29, 2014, the CFPB filed a Consent Order in an administrative proceeding captioned, In the Matter of: Flagstar Bank, FSB, File No. 2014-CFPB-0014, wherein the CFPB stated that Flagstar had violated §§ 1036(a)(1)(B) and 1031(C)(1) of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (“CFPA”) by (1) failing to review loss mitigation applications in a reasonable amount of time from at least 2011 to September 2013, id. ¶¶ 88-89; (2) withholding information that borrowers needed in order to complete their loss mitigation applications for at least a nine-month period from 2012 to 2013, id. ¶ 90; (3) denying loan modifications to qualified borrowers by regularly miscalculating borrower income, id. ¶ 91; and (4) improperly prolonging borrowers’ trial period plans for loan modifications, id. ¶ 92. The CFPB also found that Flagstar violated various loss mitigation procedures and general servicing policies. Id. ¶ 93. Pursuant to the stipulation, Flagstar did not admit or deny any of the findings of fact or conclusions of law, except those facts necessary to establish the CFPB’s jurisdiction over Flagstar and the subject matter of the action. Id. ¶ 88.

On September 5, 2014, about a month before the CFPB filed the Consent Order, this federal securities class action was filed. On February 3, 2015, plaintiff Rodney Boone, who purchased shares of Flagstar’s common stock during the class period, filed an amended complaint. Id. ¶ 18. Plaintiff alleges that he and others similarly situated suffered an investment loss because Flagstar withheld material information from investors. Id. ¶ 13. Specifically, plaintiff alleges that Flagstar’s public disclosures during the putative class period were misleading because they failed to inform investors that the CFPB was investigating Flagstar. See id. ¶ 96. Plaintiff also alleges that “[t]he threat of termination by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2011 and the risk of violations evidenced in the audit by CFPB during the Class Period were known material events” that should have been disclosed and that Flags-tar “further materially misled investors by touting the efficiency of their loss mitigation and default servicing practices in periodic filings with the SEC.” Id. ¶ 95. Finally, plaintiff alleges that Flagstar misled investors when it sold its non-performing and defaulted loans to Matrix Financial Services Corporation (“Matrix Financial”), but did not disclose to investors that this sale did not absolve Flagstar of its liabilities relating to alleged violations of consumer protection laws dating from 2011. Id. ¶¶ 98,101.

Count I of the amended complaint asserts a violation of § 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 promulgated thereunder by the SEC against all defendants. Count II asserts a violation of '§ 20(a) of the Securities Act against DiNello and Borja. Defendants move for dismissal of all claims.

[576]*576II. Legal Standards

A. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6)

To survive a motion to dismiss, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter .. .to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct.

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162 F. Supp. 3d 571, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15918, 2016 WL 520944, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lubbers-v-flagstar-bancorp-inc-mied-2016.