Makreas v. First National Bank

856 F. Supp. 2d 1097, 2012 WL 1144275, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47847
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedApril 4, 2012
DocketNo. C 11-02234 JSW
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 856 F. Supp. 2d 1097 (Makreas v. First National Bank) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Makreas v. First National Bank, 856 F. Supp. 2d 1097, 2012 WL 1144275, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47847 (N.D. Cal. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER REGARDING T.D. SERVICE COMPANY’S MOTION TO DISMISS

JEFFREY S. WHITE, District Judge.

Now before the Court is the motion to dismiss filed by defendant T.D. Service Company (“T.D.”). The Court has considered the parties’ papers, relevant legal authority, and it finds these matters suitable for disposition without oral argument. See N.D. Civ. L.R. 7 — 1(b). Accordingly, the hearing set for April 13, 2012 is VACATED. The Court grants in part and denies in part T.D.’s motion to dismiss.1

BACKGROUND

In this action, Plaintiff Nick Makreas (“Plaintiff’) is challenging the foreclosure upon the property located at 285 Sylvan Way, Emerald Hills, California 94062. Plaintiff has asserted the following four claims against T.D.: (1) wrongful foreclosure, (2) violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), (3) quiet title, and (4) violation of California’s Business and Professions Code § 17200 (“Section 17200”).

The Court shall address specific additional facts in the remainder of this Order.

ANALYSIS

A. Applicable Legal Standards for Motion to Dismiss.

A motion to dismiss is proper under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) where the pleadings fail to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The complaint is construed in the light most favorable to the non-moving party and all material allegations in the complaint are taken to be true. Sanders v. Kennedy, 794 F.2d 478, 481 (9th Cir.1986). The Court may consider the facts alleged in the complaint, documents attached to the complaint, documents relied upon but not attached to the complaint, when the authenticity of those documents is not questioned, and other matters of which the Court can take judicial notice. Zucco Partners LLC v. Digimarc Corp., 552 F.3d 981, 990 (9th Cir.2009).

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a) requires only “a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Even under Rule 8(a)’s liberal pleading standard, “a plaintiffs obligation to provide the ‘grounds’ of his *entitle[ment] to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.” Bell Atlantic Corporation v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) (citing Papasan v. Allain, 478 U.S. 265, 286, 106 S.Ct. 2932, 92 L.Ed.2d 209 (1986)). Pursuant to Twombly, a plaintiff must not merely allege conduct that is conceivable but must instead allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Id. at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955. “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct al[1100]*1100leged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955). “The plausibility standard is not akin to a probability requirement, but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully. ... When a complaint pleads facts that are merely consistent with a defendant’s liability, it stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556-57, 127 S.Ct. 1955) (internal quotation marks omitted).

B. T.D.’s Motion to Dismiss.

1. Plaintiffs Wrongful Foreclosure Sale.

T.D. argues that Plaintiffs alleged errors in connection with the Notice of Default and the Substitution of Trustee fail to state a claim for wrongful disclosure and that, regardless, Plaintiff lacks standing to bring such a claim based on his failure to tender the debt. However, courts have held that a plaintiff may contest the foreclosure where, as here, the plaintiff alleges that an assignment or substitution of trustee was backdated to cover up the fact that it was assigned after the notice of default was posted. Therefore, the party who noticed the default did not, at the time of the notice, have the authority to record the notice of default. Such facts state a claim for wrongful foreclosure. See Tamburri v. Suntrust Mortgage, Inc., 2011 WL 6294472, *11-14 (N.D.Cal. Dec. 15, 2011); Ohlendorf v. Amer. Home Mortg. Servicing, 279 F.R.D. 575, 583 (E.D.Cal.2010) (denying motion to dismiss where plaintiff alleged that recipient of backdated assignment did not have had authority to record notice of default); see also Castillo v. Skoba, 2010 WL 3986953, *2 (S.D.Cal. Oct. 8, 2010) (finding plaintiff was likely to succeed on claim enjoining the sale of his home based on evidence that an assignment was backdated and thus the party did not have authority to record the notice of default); Robinson v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 199 Cal.App.4th 42, 46 n. 5, 130 Cal.Rptr.3d 811 (2011) (holding that “a borrower who believes that the foreclosing entity lacks standing to do so----can seek to enjoin the trustee’s sale or to set aside the sale.”).2

Moreover, where, as here, a plaintiff alleges that the entity lacked authority to foreclose on the property, the foreclosure sale would be void. See Dimock v. Emerald Properties LLC, 81 Cal.App.4th 868, 876, 97 Cal.Rptr.2d 255 (2000). “[Wjhere a sale is void, rather than simply voidable, tender is not required.” Tamburri, 2011 WL 6294472, *4 (citing Miller & Starr California Real Estate 3d § 212); see also Dimock, 81 Cal.App.4th at 878, 97 Cal.Rptr.2d 255. Accordingly, the Court denies T.D.’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s wrongful foreclosure claim.

2. Plaintiffs FDCPA Claim.

T.D. argues that Plaintiffs FDCPA claim cannot survive because foreclosing on a property does not qualify as the collection of a debt under the FDCPA. Courts that have addressed this issue have concluded that foreclosure does not constitute “debt collection” under the FDCPA. See, e.g., Diessner v. Mortgage Elec. Regis. Sys., 618 F.Supp.2d 1184, 1189 (D.Ariz.2009), aff'd 384 Fed.Appx. 609 (9th Cir.2010); Landayan v. Washington Mutual Bank, 2009 WL 3047238, at *3 (N.D.Cal. [1101]*1101Sept. 18, 2009) (citing Maguire v. Citicorp Retail Svcs., Inc., 147 F.3d 232, 236 (2d Cir.1998) and Perry v. Stewart Title Co., 756 F.2d 1197, 1208 (5th Cir.1985)).

However, to the extent Plaintiff alleges that T.D. engaged in efforts to collect a debt which is separate from T.D.’s involvement in the foreclosure proceedings, Plaintiff may be able to state a claim under the FDCPA. See Johnson v.

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Related

Tamburri v. Suntrust Mortgage, Inc.
875 F. Supp. 2d 1009 (N.D. California, 2012)

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Bluebook (online)
856 F. Supp. 2d 1097, 2012 WL 1144275, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47847, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/makreas-v-first-national-bank-cand-2012.