Nathan G. Daniel v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.

CourtDistrict Court, C.D. California
DecidedSeptember 15, 2020
Docket2:20-cv-06644
StatusUnknown

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

Bluebook
Nathan G. Daniel v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., (C.D. Cal. 2020).

Opinion

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Case No. 2:20-cv-06644-RGK-JEM Date September 15, 2020 Title Nathan G. Daniel v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. et al

Present: The Honorable R. GARY KLAUSNER, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE Sharon L. Williams Not Reported N/A Deputy Clerk Court Reporter / Recorder Tape No. Attorneys Present for Plaintiff: Attorneys Present for Defendants: Not Present Not Present Proceedings: (IN CHAMBERS) Order Re: Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss [DE 12]; Plaintiff's Motion to Remand [DE 14] I. INTRODUCTION On June 5, 2020, pro se Plaintiff Nathan Daniel (“Plaintiff”) filed a Complaint against Defendant JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“Defendant”) in state court. Plaintiff's Complaint alleges four claims: (1) breach of contract, (2) intentional misrepresentation, (3) breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and (4) accounting. On June 17, 2020 Plaintiff filed a First Amended Complaint (“FAC”). On July 24, 2020, Defendant removed the case to federal court, invoking the Court’s diversity jurisdiction. Presently before the Court are: (1) Plaintiff's Motion to Remand, and (2) Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss. For the following reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiff's Motion and GRANTS in part Defendant’s Motion. Il. FACTUAL BACKGROUND! On November 4, 2003, Plaintiff obtained a loan in the principal amount of $105,000 from Washington Mutual Bank (“WaMu”) (the “Loan”). (RJN, Ex. 1, ECF No. 12-2.) Repayment of the Loan was secured by a deed of trust that encumbered real property located in Los Angeles, California (the “Property”). (Id.)

! Under Federal Rule of Evidence 201, a court may take judicial notice of “matters of judicial record,” including documents recorded by a county recorder’s office. Grant v. Aurora Loan Servs., Inc., 736 F. Supp. 2d 1257, 1264 (C.D. Cal. 2010). The Court therefore takes judicial notice of Exhibits 1-8 to Defendant’s Request for Judicial Notice (“RJN”). CV-90 (06/04) CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Page 1 of 10

CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Case No. 2:20-cv-06644-RGK-JEM Date September 15, 2020 Title Nathan G. Daniel v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. et al

In June 2005, Plaintiff obtained a home equity line of credit in the amount of $250,000 from WaMu (the “HELOC’”). (RJN, Ex. 2, ECF No. 12-3.) Repayment of the HELOC was secured by a second deed of trust that encumbered the Property. (/d.) In November 2007, Plaintiff recorded a quitclaim deed seeking to transfer title to the Property to The Justice League Living Trust. (RJN, Ex. 4, ECF No. 12-5; see also FAC § 25, ECF No. 1) In June 2010, a notice of default and election to sell under deed of trust was recorded with regard to the Loan. Ex. 5, ECF No. 12-6.) In September 2011, a notice of default and election to sell under deed of trust was recorded with regard to the HELOC. (RJN, Ex. 6, ECF No. 12-7.) That same year, Plaintiff filed suit against Defendant? in state court. (FAC § 25.) Ultimately, in February 2016, Plaintiff and Defendant settled the lawsuit and executed a Stipulation re Settlement (the “Agreement”). (FAC § 27.) The Agreement provided, among other things, that Defendant would pay Plaintiff $80,000, and that Defendant would waive all arrearages on the Loan and the HELOC. (Compl., Ex. 2.) The Agreement also provided that Defendant would use best efforts to remove derogatory remarks on Plaintiff's credit history regarding the Loan and the HELOC. (/d.) On May 19, 2016, counsel for Defendant sent Plaintiff's attorney a check for $80,000 and advised that the “loans at issue” had been reinstated. (Compl., Ex 4; FAC § 35.) Counsel advised that the next principal and interest payment on the Loan was due on June 1, 2016, while the next payment for the HELOC was due on May 28, 2016. (/d.) In July 2017, after Plaintiff refinanced and paid off the Loan and the HELOC, Chase recorded a deed of reconveyance of the first and second deeds of trust. (RJN, Ex. 7, ECF No. 12-8; RJN, Ex. 8, ECF No. 12-9.) Approximately four years after executing the Agreement and approximately three years after Plaintiff paid off the Loan and the HELOC, Plaintiff initiated this action.

? In September 2008, Defendant acquired certain assets and liabilities of WaMu from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation as Receiver of WaMu (“FDIC-Receiver’’) pursuant to a Purchase and Assumption Agreement Whole Bank among the FDIC-Receiver and Chase. 3 Plaintiff attached several exhibits to his original Complaint, including the Stipulation re Settlement. He did not attach any exhibits to his FAC. CV-90 (06/04) CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Page 2 of 10

CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL Case No. 2:20-cv-06644-RGK-JEM Date September 15, 2020 Title Nathan G. Daniel v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. et al

Il. JUDICIAL STANDARD A. Plaintiff's Motion to Remand Under 28 U.S.C. § 1441(a), a defendant may remove an action from state court to federal court if the case could have been brought in federal court originally. Generally, federal courts have original jurisdiction in two situations. The first is if the action “aris[es] under the Constitution, laws or treaties of the United States” (“federal question jurisdiction”). 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The second is if the action is between citizens of different states and involves an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000 (“diversity jurisdiction’). 28 U.S.C. § 1332. Under 28 U.S.C. § 1447(c), the court must remand an action to state court if it finds that it lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the removed action. Remand may also be appropriate based on a procedural defect in the removal process. Courts must “strictly construe the removal statute against removal jurisdiction” and must remand an action “if there is any doubt as to the nght of removal in the first instance.” Gaus v. Miles, Inc., 980 F.2d 564, 566 (9th Cir. 1992). B. Defendant’s Motion to Dismiss Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 8(a), a complaint must contain a “short and plain statement of the claim showing that the [plaintiff] is entitled to relief.” Bel/ Ati. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007). If a complaint fails to adequately state a claim for relief, the defendant may move to dismiss the claim under Rule 12(b)(6) to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 570). A claim is facially plausible if the plaintiff alleges enough facts to allow the court to draw a reasonable inference that the defendant is liable. Jd. A plaintiff need not provide detailed factual allegations, but must provide more than mere legal conclusions. Zwombly, 550 U.S. at 555.

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Bluebook (online)
Nathan G. Daniel v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/nathan-g-daniel-v-jpmorgan-chase-bank-na-cacd-2020.