Moody v. CitiMortgage, Inc.

32 F. Supp. 3d 869, 2014 WL 3501051, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95111
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Michigan
DecidedJuly 14, 2014
DocketNo. 1:13-CV-1104
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 32 F. Supp. 3d 869 (Moody v. CitiMortgage, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Michigan primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Moody v. CitiMortgage, Inc., 32 F. Supp. 3d 869, 2014 WL 3501051, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95111 (W.D. Mich. 2014).

Opinion

OPINION

ROBERT HOLMES BELL, District Judge.

This case is" brought by a homeowner against a mortgage servicer and its law firm for: violation of the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act (RESPA), 12 U.S.C. § 2605(e); violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1962,1964; common law fraud; and for declaratory judgment. Defendants have filed independent Motions to Dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). (ECF Nos. 7, 11.) Plaintiff has filed a Response (ECF No. 13) only to Defendant CitiMort-gage, Inc.’s (CMI) motion, to which Defendant CMI has filed a Reply (ECF No. 14). Finally, Defendant CMI has filed a Motion to Cite New Authority (ECF No. 15). The Court holds that oral argument is unnecessary for disposition of the motions.

For the reasons that follow, the Court will grant both motions to dismiss and will dismiss with prejudice Plaintiffs complaint. Because the motions are decided without reference to Defendant CMI’s new authority, the Court will deny its motion to cite the same as moot.

I.

In 2002, Plaintiff bought residential real estate in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He financed the purchase through a mortgage. Defendant CMI became the servicer of the loan by assignment. Defendant CMI told Plaintiff in Fall 2008 that “he could skip his. payment for December at Christmastime, and make up the payment by paying increased payments starting in January, 2009.” (Compl. ¶ 8, ECF No. 1.) Plaintiff was supposed to receive written confirmation of this arrangement, but never did. Plaintiff began receiving statements requiring what amounted to double payments in January 2009. In February 2009, Plaintiff contacted Defendant CMI about the increased payment amount and was told it was a clerical error that was being corrected. However, late fees and penalties were assessed that Plaintiff was told he would later have to dispute.

In April 2009, Plaintiff began closely monitoring his payments to Defendant CMI and obtaining confirmation numbers of each payment. He continued this practice through April 2010. In March through May of 2010, Plaintiff began to receive notices from Defendant CMI, informing him of overdue balances, late fees, and delinquency fees. Plaintiff did not understand why his account was seemingly in arrears and over the next few months [871]*871he attempted to speak to management at Defendant CMI and bring his account up to date.

On August 16, 2010, Plaintiff received a letter from Defendant Trott & Trott, Defendant CMI’s counsel, stating that the amount to reinstate his loan was $5,735.79. The letter was dated July 8, 2010, and stated that the reinstatement amount was due on August 16, 2010.

Finally, on October 8, 2010, Plaintiff sent a letter (the Letter) to Defendant CMI, mailing it to Defendant Trott & Trott. The Letter outlined “the events that had transpired between the fall of 2008 and October 2010” and requested “clarification regarding the irregularities in connection with the servicing” of Plaintiffs loan. (Compl. ¶23.) Plaintiff received a letter in late October acknowledging his inquiry and stating that his account was in foreclosure. In mid-November he received a letter that stated his account had been investigated and that the fees assessed were valid per his loan agreement, and included a copy of his payment history, the note, and the mortgage. The letter included a toll-free number and a Default Research Specialist’s name for Plaintiff to contact. Plaintiff attempted to call the Default Research Specialist, but the number on the letter connected him to an unrelated party. Between November 2010 and March 2011, Plaintiff continued unsuccessfully to attempt to get more information about the charges on his account.

In March 2011, Plaintiff retained counsel, who began to attempt to negotiate with Defendant Trott & Trott on Plaintiffs behalf. That same month, Defendant CMI informed Plaintiff that his property was in foreclosure and that it could not accept payments directly. In May 2011, Plaintiff paid the current reinstatement amount to Defendant Trott & Trott.

II.

A. Motion Standards

In reviewing a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, the Court must “ ‘construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, accept its allegations as true, and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff,’ ” Hunter v. Sec’y of U.S. Army, 565 F.3d 986, 992 (6th Cir.2009) (quoting Jones v. City of Cincinnati, 521 F.3d 555, 559 (6th Cir.2008)), but “need not accept as true legal conclusions or unwarranted factual inferences, and conclusory allegations or legal conclusions masquerading as factual allegations will not suffice.” Terry v. Tyson Farms, Inc., 604 F.3d 272, 276 (6th Cir.2010) (internal citations omitted). Under the federal notice pleading standards, a complaint must contain “a short and plain statement of the claim showing how the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2). The purpose of this statement is to “give the defendant fair notice of what the claim is and the grounds upon which it rests.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The complaint need not contain detailed factual allegations, but it must include more than labels, conclusions, and formulaic recitations of the elements of a cause of action. Id. “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955).

To survive a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must allege facts that “state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face,” and that, if accepted as true, are sufficient to “raise a right to [872]*872relief above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 570, 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.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. “A claim is plausible on its face if the ‘plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.’ ” Ctr. for Bio-Ethical Reform, Inc. v. Napolitano, 648 F.3d 365, 369 (6th Cir.2011) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 677, 129 S.Ct. 1937), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 132 S.Ct. 1583, 182 L.Ed.2d 172 (2012).

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Bluebook (online)
32 F. Supp. 3d 869, 2014 WL 3501051, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/moody-v-citimortgage-inc-miwd-2014.