Miszczyszyn v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 19, 2019
Docket1:18-cv-03633
StatusUnknown

This text of Miszczyszyn v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (Miszczyszyn v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Miszczyszyn v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., (N.D. Ill. 2019).

Opinion

IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION EVELINA MISZCZYSZYN, individually ) and as the representative of a class of ) similarly-situated persons, ) Case No. 18-cv-3633 ) Plaintiff, ) Judge Robert M. Dow, Jr. ) v. ) ) JPMORGAN CHASE BANK, N.A., ) ) Defendant. ) MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER Plaintiff Evelina Miszczyszyn filed this putative class action against Defendant J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“Chase”), alleging that Chase violated the parties’ contract (Count I) or, in the alternative, unjustly enriched itself at Plaintiff’s expense (Count II); and violated the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, 815 ILCS 505/2 (Count III). Currently before the Court is Chase’s motion to dismiss Plaintiff’s complaint [18] pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(6). For the reasons explained below, Chase’s motion [18] is granted under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. Plaintiff’s complaint is dismissed without prejudice and with leave to file an amended complaint consistent with this opinion no later than April 19, 2019. The motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(2) for lack of personal jurisdiction is denied without prejudice to re- raising the argument in response to any amended complaint. The case is set for further status on April 24, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. I. Background1 On February 27, 2013, Plaintiff entered into a mortgage with Guaranteed Rate, Inc. for her home in Chicago. [1-1, ¶ 17.] The mortgage was insured through the Federal Housing Administration, which rendered it subject to certain regulations of the U.S. Department of Housing

and Urban Development. [Id. ¶¶ 5, 17.] Chase acquired the servicing rights to the mortgage on February 22, 2016. [Id. ¶ 20.] On May 17, 2016, Chase served Plaintiff with a complaint for foreclosure at her home alleging that she had defaulted on the mortgage on December 1, 2015. [Id. ¶ 21.] In that complaint, Chase sought a judgment of foreclosure and the sale of the property. [Id.] As part of the Foreclosure Action in the Illinois Circuit Court, Chase filed a motion for judgment of foreclosure, attached to it an affidavit from Cynthia L. Erving (the “Erving Affidavit”) detailed the amounts “due and owing” under the mortgage. [Id. ¶ 22]; see also [id. at 27–32]. One of line items in the Erving Affidavit was a charge for the property inspections conducted at Chase’s direction after Plaintiff allegedly defaulted on her mortgage. [Id. ¶ 23.] At the time, the charges totaled $70.2

[Id.] Chase continued to charge for property inspections after the submission of the Erving Affidavit, however, which included a charge for $14 on September 17, 2016. [Id. ¶ 24.]

1 For purposes of the motion to dismiss, the Court accepts as true all of Plaintiff’s well-pleaded factual allegations and draws all reasonable inferences in Plaintiff’s favor. Killingsworth v. HSBC Bank Nev., N.A., 507 F.3d 614, 618 (7th Cir. 2007). The Court also takes judicial notice of the records in the state court foreclosure action: JPMorgan Chase v. Evelina Miszcyzyszyn, No. 2016-CH-6629 (Ill. Cir. Ct.) (“the Foreclosure Action”). The Court may take judicial notice of matters of the public record, including court records, on a motion to dismiss brought under Rule 12(b)(6). See Henson v. CSC Credit Servs., 29 F.3d 280, 284 (7th Cir. 1994) (“The district court properly considered the public court documents in deciding the defendants’ motions to dismiss, thus we proceed to [the] merits of the Hensons’ claims.”); see also Menominee v. Indian Tribe of Wis. v. Thompson, 161 F.3d 449, 456 (7th Cir. 1998) (judicially noticing historical documents).

2 By comparison, at the time the Erving Affidavit was filed, Chase sought a total of $310,454.60 under the mortgage, of which $301,603.77 was principal loan balance. [1-1, at 30.] Moreover, as discussed in greater detail below in Section III(C), Chase has since submitted a motion for summary judgment in the Foreclosure Action in which the fees have been dropped. Plaintiff’s complaint asserts two claims on behalf of Plaintiff and a nationwide class: common law breach of contract (Count I)—or, in the alternative, unjust enrichment (Count II)— and a violation of the Illinois Consumer Fraud Act, 815 ILCS 505/2 (“the ICFA”) (Count III). [1- 1, ¶¶ 37–67.] Plaintiff alleges that after conducting its first inspection on or about January 28,

2016, Chase knew or should have known that Plaintiff had not abandoned her home and that, at the latest, Chase had to know she was still living at the property when it served her with notice of the Foreclosure Action at her home. [Id. ¶¶ 25–26.] Plaintiff further complains that even though Chase knew Plaintiff had not abandoned her home, it continued to charge her for visual inspections of her house. [Id. ¶ 27.] As of the date of the complaint, these fees totaled $84. [Id. ¶ 31.] Plaintiff alleges that the assessment of these fees violated certain HUD regulations that were incorporated into her mortgage and seeks to represent a nationwide class of similarly aggrieved mortgagees. See generally [1-1]. Plaintiff originally filed this claim as a class action counterclaim in the Foreclosure Action; however, the circuit court severed the counterclaim and granted her leave to file it as a separate

action, which she did. [25, 9 n.1]; [1-1, 1–15]. Chase subsequently removed the case to this Court. See generally [1-1.] II. Legal Standard When personal jurisdiction over a defendant is challenged by way of a motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(2), the plaintiff bears the burden of proving that jurisdiction exists and must make a prima facie showing of jurisdiction. See Hyatt Int’l Corp. v. Coco, 302 F.3d 707, 713 (7th Cir. 2002). When a court decides a motion on the basis of paper submissions (as is the case here), a court accepts as true the plaintiff’s undisputed allegations and resolves any disputes in the evidence in favor of jurisdiction. See Purdue Research Found. v. Sanofi–Synthelabo, S.A., 338 F.3d 773, 782 (7th Cir. 2003). 3 To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the complaint first must comply with Rule 8(a) by providing “a short and plain

statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief,” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2), such that the defendant is given “fair notice of what the * * * claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (quoting Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47 (1957)) (alteration in original). Second, the factual allegations in the complaint must be sufficient to raise the possibility of relief above the “speculative level.” E.E.O.C. v.

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Bluebook (online)
Miszczyszyn v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/miszczyszyn-v-jpmorgan-chase-bank-na-ilnd-2019.