Plascencia v. Lending 1st Mortgage

259 F.R.D. 437, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79585, 2009 WL 2569732
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedAugust 21, 2009
DocketNo. C 07-4485 CW
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 259 F.R.D. 437 (Plascencia v. Lending 1st Mortgage) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Plascencia v. Lending 1st Mortgage, 259 F.R.D. 437, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79585, 2009 WL 2569732 (N.D. Cal. 2009).

Opinion

[440]*440ORDER GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFFS’ MOTION FOR CLASS

CLAUDIA WILKEN, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Armando and Melania Plascencia charge Defendants Lending 1st Mortgage, Lending 1st Mortgage, LLC (collectively, Lending 1st) and EMC Mortgage Corp. with violating the Truth in Lending Act and California statutory and common law in connection with the sale of certain residential mortgage products. Plaintiffs now move for class certification. Defendants oppose the motion. The matter was heard on April 9, 2009. Having considered oral argument and all of the papers submitted by the parties, the Court grants the motion in part and denies it in part.

BACKGROUND

According to the complaint, Lending 1st sells a variety of home loans, including option adjustable rate mortgages (OARMs). EMC is in the business of purchasing, packaging, and securitizing some or all of Lending lst’s OARMs. In May, 2006, Plaintiffs purchased an OARM in the amount of $395,000 from Lending 1st to refinance their primary residence in San Leandro, California. The terms of their mortgage are complex and are set out in extensive detail in an Adjustable Rate Note (the Note).

As with all adjustable rate loans, the interest rate on Plaintiffs’ loan was pegged to a variable index and thus changed over time. One unusual feature of Plaintiffs’ loan, however, was a low initial interest rate of one percent. This “teaser” rate resulted in an initial minimum monthly payment of $1,270, which is equal to the monthly payment on a fully amortized thirty-year loan with a one-percent interest rate. On July 1, 2006 — the date of Plaintiffs’ first loan payment — the interest rate on their mortgage increased substantially from the teaser rate of one percent. As of that date, the loan began accruing interest at a variable rate that changed each month and was calculated by adding 3.375% to an Index equal to the twelve month average of the annual yields on actively traded U.S. Treasury Securities adjusted to a constant maturity of one year.1

Although Plaintiffs’ interest rate rose almost immediately, their minimum monthly payment did not. This is because the Note limited to once a year the frequency of initial increases to the minimum monthly payment. Because of this limit, Plaintiffs’ minimum monthly payment did not increase until July, 2007. In addition, the Note imposed a “payment cap” on the amount of each initial increase to the minimum monthly payment. Under this cap, the minimum monthly payment could only increase by 7.5% for each of the first four years. However, subsequent increases were not limited by the payment cap. Instead, with the fifth increase, the payment would reset so that the remaining principal would be paid off with equal monthly payments over the remaining term of the loan.

Because Plaintiffs’ initial minimum monthly payment was based on a one-percent interest rate and did not go up along with the almost immediate increase in their interest rate, their mortgage began accruing more interest each month than the entire amount of their minimum payment. The interest that was left unpaid at the end of each month was added to the outstanding principal and began accumulating interest itself. As a result, Plaintiffs’ principal grew even while they made the minimum payment each month. This process is known as negative amortization. Assuming the value of the property subject to a mortgage remains constant, the effect of negative amortization is to reduce the borrower’s equity in the property.

The Note limited the amount of negative amortization that could occur on Plaintiffs’ loan such that the principal could never rise to more than 115% of its original amount. Once the principal rose to this level, Plaintiffs’ minimum monthly payment would be reset so that the principal would be paid off with equal monthly payments over the remaining term of the loan. This provision [441]*441overrode the ordinary rule that the minimum monthly payment could rise only once a year and could increase by only 7.5% for each of the first four years.

In addition to the Note, Plaintiffs were given a Federal Truth-in-Lending Disclosure Statement (the Statement) before finalizing their mortgage. The Statement specified that the annual percentage rate (APR) on the mortgage was 7.68%. The Statement also included a schedule of estimated payments based on the initial one-percent interest rate and the subsequent interest rate increase described above.2 The schedule listed an initial minimum payment of $1,270 that increased by 7.5% on July 1 of each year until September 1, 2010. On that date, which is just over four years into the repayment term, the minimum monthly payment was shown to increase from $1,697 to $3,314. It was set to remain at this level until the loan was paid off in 2036. The dramatic increase is apparently attributable to the projection that the principal would reach 115% of its original amount in or about August, 2010, due to negative amortization. The schedule assumed that Plaintiffs would make no more than the minimum monthly payment at any time.

Plaintiffs claim they were unaware that their loan was subject to negative amortization. They assert that the disclosures they were provided were inadequate to inform them that, although the minimum monthly payment would remain low for several years, the interest rate would increase almost immediately, causing negative amortization and a consequent loss of equity.

EMC is not a direct lender. Rather, it purchases mortgages from lenders, then bundles, securitizes and sells them. EMC purchased Plaintiffs’ mortgage from Lending 1st and began servicing it shortly after the loan was issued. In May, 2007, Plaintiffs refinanced their home again with a new mortgage. In doing so, they repaid in full the OARM that Lending 1st had issued them.

Plaintiffs brought this action on behalf of themselves and similarly situated individuals who purchased OARMs from Lending 1st. They claim that Defendants violated the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq., because Lending 1st did not clearly and conspicuously disclose: 1) the actual interest rate on Plaintiffs’ mortgage; 2) the fact that the one-percent interest rate was a discounted rate; and 3) the fact that negative amortization was certain to occur. Plaintiffs also charge Defendants with violating California’s Unfair Competition Law (UCL), Cal. Bus. & Prof.Code § 17200 et seq., by committing unlawful, unfair and fraudulent business practices. Finally, Plaintiffs charge Defendants with common law fraud.

Plaintiffs now seek certification of three classes. They originally defined the classes as follows:

1. National Class: All individuals in the United States who, between August 29, 2006 and the date Notice is mailed to the Class, have an ARM loan that was sold or owned by Defendants which was secured by real property on their primary residence located within the United States.
2. The California Category I Class: All individuals who, between August 29, 2003 and the date Notice is mailed to the Class, have an ARM loan that was sold or owned by Defendants which was secured by real property located in the State of California.
3. The California Category II Class:

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Bluebook (online)
259 F.R.D. 437, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 79585, 2009 WL 2569732, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/plascencia-v-lending-1st-mortgage-cand-2009.