Melstrom v. Green Tree Servicing CA2/5

CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal
DecidedNovember 18, 2015
DocketB259105
StatusUnpublished

This text of Melstrom v. Green Tree Servicing CA2/5 (Melstrom v. Green Tree Servicing CA2/5) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Melstrom v. Green Tree Servicing CA2/5, (Cal. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

Filed 11/18/15 Melstrom v. Green Tree Servicing CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

MICHAEL D. MELSTROM et al., B259105

Plaintiffs and Appellants, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. KC066303) v.

GREEN TREE SERVICING, LLC et al.,

Defendants and Respondents.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of the County of Los Angeles, Robert A. Dukes, Judge. Affirmed. Stephen R. Golden & Associates, Timothy L. McCandless for Plaintiffs and Appellants. Severson & Werson, Jan T. Chilton, Kerry W. Franich for Defendants and Respondents. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs and appellants Michael D. Melstrom and Patra Melstrom appeal from a judgment of dismissal entered after the trial court sustained the demurrer of defendants and respondents Green Tree Servicing LLC (Green Tree) and Federal National Mortgage Association (Federal National) (collectively defendants) without leave to amend. Plaintiffs’ lawsuit essentially challenges a sale of their real property pursuant to a non- judicial foreclosure. Plaintiffs contend that the trial court erred in sustaining the demurrer because defendants made false representations to plaintiffs, plaintiffs were not required to allege tender of the full amount of the debt in order to pursue their claims, they had standing to assert claims that the deed of trust was void based on an alleged violation of a pooling and service agreement to which agreement plaintiffs were not parties, and they were not required to allege that they were damaged regarding their claim for violation of Business & Professions Code section 17200 et seq. (UCL). We affirm the judgment.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND1

In August 2007 plaintiffs obtained a loan from National City Mortgage, a division of National City Bank, which loan was secured by a deed of trust on real property they owned in West Covina, California. National City Bank was the trustee under the deed of trust and National City Mortgage was the beneficiary. In February 2010, the deed of trust was assigned to Green Tree. Green Tree substituted Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. as the trustee under the deed of trust in place of National City Bank. Plaintiffs defaulted on their payments, and in July 2011, a notice of default was recorded. In November 2011, and December 2012, notices of trustee’s sale were recorded.

1 We state the facts as alleged in the operative complaint and from matters of which the trial court took judicial notice.

2 In or about January 2013, plaintiffs entered into negotiations with Green Tree for a short-sale of the property. Plaintiffs alleged in their operative complaint that defendants “led Plaintiffs to believe that their house would not be sold at a foreclosure sale”; plaintiffs were promised that they “could move forward with the short sale if they came out of bankruptcy or got a court order to move forward with the short sale”; Green Tree represented to them that they were “in negotiations for a short-sale, in lieu of a foreclosure sale of their home,” and “in order to go forward with the Short Sale” plaintiffs would either have to obtain a court order approving the sale or “come out of Bankruptcy”; defendants represented by, inter alia, “repeatedly postponing the scheduled sale date of the PROPERTY, and informing Plaintiffs or their agents that their file was being reviewed, on multiple occasions,” that defendants “would proceed with the review of a short sale if Plaintiffs were no longer in bankruptcy”; and defendants “led Plaintiffs to believe” that their property would not be sold at a foreclosure sale during the short-sale negotiations. Plaintiffs also alleged that in July 2013 they “removed” the bankruptcy proceeding. Prior to September 5, 2013, the deed of trust was assigned to Federal National (aka Fannie Mae). In or about September 2013, defendants foreclosed on the property, and it was purchased by Federal National (aka Fannie Mae) at the trustee’s sale.2 Plaintiffs alleged in their operative complaint that the foreclosure sale was void because their loan was not transferred into a securitized trust by the deadline required by a pooling and servicing agreement.

2 The assignment was made to, and the purchase of the property was made by, “Federal National Mortgage Association a/k/a Fannie Mae.”

3 PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In September 2013, plaintiffs filed their complaint, and defendants filed a demurrer to it. Plaintiffs thereafter filed a filed a first amended complaint,3 and defendants again filed a demurrer.4 Plaintiffs filed the operative, second amended complaint, asserting causes of action for promissory estoppel (first cause of action), negligent misrepresentation (second cause of action), quiet title (third cause of action), wrongful foreclosure (fourth cause of action), declaratory relief (fifth cause of action), to set aside trustee sale (sixth cause of action), to cancel trustee sale (seventh cause of action), and violation the UCL (eighth cause of action). Defendants demurred to the second amended complaint. The trial court sustained the demurrer to the first cause of action for promissory estoppel on the basis that plaintiffs did not allege that defendants made the clear promise or specific agreement that they would not sell the home at a foreclosure sale; to the second cause of action for negligent misrepresentation on the basis that plaintiffs did not allege that defendants promised “not” to conduct a sale; to the third through seventh causes of action for quiet title, wrongful foreclosure, declaratory relief, to set aside trustee sale, and to cancel trustee sale on the basis that plaintiffs did not allege that they tendered the debt, they admit they have no equity in the property, and they do not have standing to assert a claim based on alleged violations of the securitized trust’s pooling and service agreement that allegedly rendered the assignment of the deed of trust void; and to the eighth cause of action for violation of the UCL on the basis that plaintiffs lacked standing to pursue the claim. Judgment was thereafter entered in favor of defendants. Plaintiffs filed a timely notice of appeal.

3 According to defendants, plaintiffs filed their first amended complaint before defendants’ demurrer to the original complaint was heard. 4 Defendants’ state that their demurrer to the first amended complaint was sustained with leave to amend.

4 DISCUSSION

A. Record of Appeal Because the record does not contain a reporter’s transcript of the hearing on the demurrer, we asked the parties to brief whether plaintiffs’ failure to provide a reporter’s transcript or a suitable substitute warrants affirmance based on the adequacy of the record. Plaintiffs did not brief the issue, but defendants state that “the failure to provide a reporter’s transcript does not warrant a summary affirmance. . . . . [W]hat might have been said at the demurrer hearing is irrelevant in determining the legal sufficiency of the causes of action the [plaintiffs’] tried to allege in the complaint.” As noted below, we review a ruling on a demurrer under a de novo standard. (Phillips v. Bank of America, N.A. (2015) 236 Cal.App.4th 217, 224.) Under the circumstances, the record is adequate to address the trial court’s ruling on the demurrer despite the lack of a reporter’s transcript.

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Bluebook (online)
Melstrom v. Green Tree Servicing CA2/5, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/melstrom-v-green-tree-servicing-ca25-calctapp-2015.