Munroe v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC

207 F. Supp. 3d 232, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124017, 2016 WL 4766244
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 13, 2016
Docket15-CV-0879 (MKB)
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 207 F. Supp. 3d 232 (Munroe v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Munroe v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, 207 F. Supp. 3d 232, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124017, 2016 WL 4766244 (E.D.N.Y. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM & ORDER

MARGO K. BRODIE, United States District Judge

On February 19, 2015, Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, commenced the above-captioned action against Nationstar Mortgage LLC (“Nationstar”), alleging that Nationstar violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681 (the “FCRA”), and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p (the “FDCPA”), and asserting claims for unconscionable and deceptive trade practices in violation of New York City Administrative Code, N.Y. City Admin. Code § 20-493 (“City Admin Code”), and the New York State General Business Law, N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 349 (“GBL”).1 (Compl. ¶¶ 1, 15-48, Docket Entry No. 1.) On November 16, 2015, Na-tionstar moved to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Rules 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for failure to state a claim. (Def. Mot. to Dismiss (“Def. Mot.”), Docket Entry No. 14; Def. Mem. of Law in Supp. of Def. Mot. (“Def. Mem.”), Docket Entry No. 14-6; Def. Reply Mem. of Law in Supp. of Def. Mot. (“Def. Reply”), Docket Entry No. 15.) For the reasons set forth below, the Court grants in part and denies in part Nationstar’s motion to dismiss the Complaint.

I. Background

The following facts are taken from the Complaint and are accepted as true for the purposes of deciding the motion.

On July 17, 2006, Plaintiff executed a promissory note for $300,000 payable to Aegis Wholesale Corporation (the “Loan”) and secured by a mortgage (the “Mortgage”) on real property located at 210-21 89th Avenue, Queens Village, New York 11428 (the “Property”).2 (Note, annexed to [235]*235Compl. as Ex. I.) According to Plaintiff, he incurred the debt “primarily for personal, family or household purposes.” (Compl. ¶ 5.) On March 10, 2009, Aurora Loan Services LLC (“Aurora”) initiated a foreclosure proceeding in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Queens County (the “Foreclosure”). (Summons, .annexed to Compl. as Ex. Ill; see Compl. ¶ 7.) On October 22, 2012, Aurora assigned the Mortgage to Nationstar (the “Assignment”).3 (Assignment of Mortgage, annexed to Compl. as Ex. IV; see Compl. ¶ 8.)

On or about January 22, 2014, Plaintiff filed a “Consumer Notice of Dispute” in the pending foreclosure action, demanding validation of the mortgage debt pursuant to the FDCPA (the “Notice of Dispute”). (Notice of Dispute, annexed to Compl. as Ex. V; see Compl. ¶ 9.) In a letter dated February 4, 2014, Nationstar responded to Plaintiffs Notice of Dispute and stated that it enclosed copies of the promissory note, mortgage, and assignment to “verify the proof of debt.” (Verification Letter, annexed to Compl. as Ex. VI; see Compl, ¶ 10.) According to Plaintiff, the legal documents provided to him by Nationstar, which are not attached to the Complaint, “name[ ] an entirely different entity” than Nationstar. (Compl. ¶ 10.)

Plaintiff states that Nationstar began “reporting [the] alleged debt to the credit reporting agencies” and that the “amounts alleged to be due and owing” in Plaintiffs credit report were “in conflict with the alleged amounts” reported in the documentation mailed to Plaintiff to verify the Loan, (Id.) In a letter dated February 1, 2014, the credit reporting agency, Tran-sUnion notified Plaintiff of a change in his credit report, identifying Nationstar as a new creditor. (TransUnion Letter, annexed to Compl. as Ex. VII.) Plaintiff states that he then “obtained his consumer credit report from the three major” credit reporting- agencies—Equifax, Experian and TransUnion—and that Plaintiff “discovered” that Nationstar had reported “this alleged debt” to all three agencies. (Compl. ¶ 11.) On April 13, 2014, Plaintiff “filed disputes with the credit agencies,” pursuant to the FCRA (Id.) On or about May 13, 2014, each of the three major credit reporting agencies informed him that, after conducting an investigation with Na-tionstar, they determined the debt was valid and owed by Plaintiff. (Id.) Plaintiff asserts that the credit reporting was “erroneous.” (Id. ¶ 12.) Plaintiff states that Nationstar has failed to verify or validate the debt, causing him economic harm. (Id.) Plaintiff further asserts that Nationstar is not a “[c]reditor[ ], [l]ender[ ], nor [m]ort-gagee[ ]” and that it did not “provide any credit or services” to Plaintiff. (Id. ¶ 13.)

II. Discussion

a. Standards of review

i. Motion to dismiss

In reviewing a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a court must “accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true and draw inferences from those allegations in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Tsirelman v. Daines, 794 F.3d 310, 313 (2d Cir.2015) (quoting Jaghory v. N.Y. State Dep’t of Educ., 131 F.3d 326, 329 (2d Cir. 1997)); see also Matson v. Bd. of Educ., 631 F.3d 57, 63 (2d Cir.2011) (quoting Connecticut v. Am. Elec. Power Co., 582 F.3d 309, 320 (2d Cir.2009)). A complaint must plead “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is-plausible on its face.” Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 [236]*236S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A claim is plausible “when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Matson, 631 F.3d at 63 (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009)); see also Pension Ben. Guar. Corp. ex rel. St. Vincent Catholic Med. Ctrs. Ret. Plan v. Morgan Stanley Inv. Mgmt. Inc., 712 F.3d 705, 717-18 (2d Cir.2013). Although all allegations contained in the complaint are assumed true, this principle is “inapplicable to legal conclusions” or “[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937. In reviewing a pro se complaint, the court must be mindful that the plaintiffs pleadings should be held “to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers.” Hughes v. Rowe, 449 U.S. 5, 9, 101 S.Ct. 173, 66 L.Ed.2d 163 (1980) (internal quotation marks omitted); Harris v. Mills, 572 F.3d 66, 72 (2d Cir.2009) (noting that even after Twombly, the court “remain[s] obligated to construe a pro se

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
207 F. Supp. 3d 232, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124017, 2016 WL 4766244, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/munroe-v-nationstar-mortgage-llc-nyed-2016.