Policemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago v. Bank of America, NA

943 F. Supp. 2d 428, 80 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 741, 2013 WL 1877618, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64499
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedMay 6, 2013
DocketNo. 12 Civ. 2865 (KBF)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 943 F. Supp. 2d 428 (Policemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago v. Bank of America, NA) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Policemen's Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago v. Bank of America, NA, 943 F. Supp. 2d 428, 80 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 741, 2013 WL 1877618, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64499 (S.D.N.Y. 2013).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

KATHERINE B. FORREST, District Judge:

At its core, this is a breach of contract case. The contract at issue defines the parties’ rights and obligations; plaintiffs assert that defendants failed to fulfill their obligations and that they were damaged [430]*430thereby. Rule 8 governs the pleading standard plaintiffs must meet.

Determining whether plaintiffs in a breach of contract case have pled a claim should not present unusual complexity. It is primarily a question of whether they have pled sufficient plausible facts in support of their theory. Many contract cases that do not survive this initial motion practice fail because the language of thé contract at issue simply does not impose the obligations alleged; or as a matter of law, the obligations could not be breached in the manner alleged. Neither of those scenarios is at issue here.

The complexity in this case comes not from the theory pled, but rather from the fact that the contract at issue is a Pooling and Servicing Agreement (“PSA”) relating to mortgage-backed securities (“MBS”). Put more bluntly, defendants assert that allowing a contract claim to proceed on the theory plaintiffs here propose would open the floodgates to a new era of litigation relating to losses arising from MBS. It is not, however, the job of this Court to pass judgment on the desirability of a particular type of litigation — that is left to Congress. The job of this Court is to determine whether a set of facts states a plausible claim. Here, for the reasons set forth below, the answer is yes.

On December 7, 2012, this Court granted in part and denied in part a motion to dismiss the first amended complaint in this action. Thereafter, the existing plaintiffs joined additional plaintiffs, appended additional allegations, and filed a second amended complaint (“SAC”). Defendants also stated an intention to move for reconsideration as to the Court’s December 7 decision. In light of the already inevitable motion practice with respect to the SAC, this Court said that it would allow and consider any reconsideration arguments in the context of defendants’ motion to dismiss-the SAC — that is, in one consolidated motion rather than two. Accordingly, pending before the Court is defendants’ motion to dismiss the entirety of the SAC. To the extent that some of those arguments in effect “reargue” that which this Court previously decided and allowed (that is, as the Court had suggested, combining the reconsideration motion), the Court’s ruling here provides a single and integrated Opinion and Order.

I. THE GOVERNING AGREEMENTS

Plaintiffs purchased and sold a number of MBS certificates issued by Washington Mutual Bank (“WaMu”) or its affiliates. (Second Am. Comp. (“SAC”) ¶ 1, ECF No. 57.) In total, plaintiffs’ suit concerns 19 “substantially similar trusts” in which they invested (the “Covered Trusts”). (Id.) Bank of America (“B of A”) and U.S. Bank are both sued in their capacities as trustees of the Covered Trusts (“Trustees”). B of A is the successor-in-interest by merger of LaSalle Bank National Association (“LaSalle”), the original Trustee of the Covered Trusts; U.S. Bank succeeded B of A as Trustee. (Id.)

Plaintiffs allege that various WaMu entities were involved in the creation, sale and servicing of the MBS here at issue. WaMu securitized a large number of mortgage loans (a number of which WaMu or affiliated entities also originated) into “bond-like” instruments referred to as MBS. (Id. ¶22.) WaMu then assembled groups of these mortgage loans into pools; the pools were then sliced and diced into separate securities (that is, a pool of mortgages was treated as a unit, and securities were developed based on that grouping as the underlying asset class). Through this process, a group of standalone mortgage loans was transformed into a “mortgage-backed” security. (Id. ¶¶ 23-25.)

[431]*431The Covered Trusts at issue here were, like many such securities, further grouped into tranches. (Id.) Each tranche of a particular trust is associated with its own level of credit risk and reward (which plaintiffs refer to as the “interest” or “yield”). (Id.) Payments follow a “waterfall” structure in which the tranches are paid in order of credit risk, with the least risky paid first and the most risky paid last. (Id.) “At initiation of the Trust, the most senior and least risky tranches typically receive triple A ratings” from rating agencies. (Id.)

Another WaMu entity, the WaMu Acceptance Corp. (“WAAC”), was a special purpose entity formed to act as the “Depositor”. (Id. ¶ 25.) The Depositor transferred the pool of mortgages to the Trustee; in exchange, the Trustee transferred the MBS to the Depositor.1 (Id. ¶ 26.) The Depositor sold the MBS to an underwriter. In the instant case, that underwriter also happened to be a WaMu entity, WaMu Capital Corp. (“WCC”). (Id. ¶ 27.) The WaMu underwriter then marketed and sold the MBS to investors, including plaintiffs. (Id.)

An entity designated as the “Servicer” was responsible for the collection of mortgage payments and, if necessary, foreclosure or putback, of the underlying loans. (Id. IT 29.) Here, another WaMu entity was designated as the Servicer. As holders of the MBS, plaintiffs were entitled to cash flows generated from the underlying pool of mortgages. (Id. ¶ 28.) Plaintiffs hold what are referred to as “certificates” in the trusts consisting of MBS.

The Depositor, Trustee and the Servicer entered into a series of governing eontractual documents, of which the PSA is the primary agreement. (Id. ¶ 32.) The Trustee and the WaMu Servicer also entered into a Custodial Agreement. (See, e.g., Custodial Agreement WaMu Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates Series 2006-AR16 Trust (“Custodial Agreement”) at 1, Aff. of Irina Palchuck (“Palchuck Aff.”) Ex. B., ECF No. 22.) Pursuant to the Custodial Agreement, a WaMu entity was designated to act as the Custodian to fulfill various of the Trustee’s obligations under the PSA.

Plaintiffs’ contract claim is based on an assertion that defendants (as Trustees) breached their obligations under the PSA — obligations meant to ensure an independent actor would protect plaintiffs and the other investors in the MBS trusts.2

Several provisions of the PSA are particularly relevant here: Section 2.05 sets forth the Trustee’s duties with respect to the delivery of mortgage files, § 2.07 relates to acceptance of those mortgage files by the Trustee, § 2.09 sets forth certain representations and warranties, § 8.01 sets forth the Trustee’s pre-default duties, and § 8.02 sets forth other duties, including when the Trustee has a duty to investigate potential breaches or events of default. (See generally, Pooling and Servicing Agreement (“PSA”), SAC Ex. 5, ECF No. 57.)

Section 2.05 provides the Trustee authorization “to appoint on behalf of the Trust any bank or trust company ... as Custodian of the documents or instruments referred to in this Section 2.05, in Section 2.12 or in Section 2.15, and to enter into a Custodial Agreement for such [432]*432purpose.”3 The “Custodian” for the Trusts is defined as “[t]he Initial Custodian and any other custodian which is appointed by the Trustee with the consent of the Servicer ...

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
943 F. Supp. 2d 428, 80 A.L.R. Fed. 2d 741, 2013 WL 1877618, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 64499, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/policemens-annuity-benefit-fund-of-chicago-v-bank-of-america-na-nysd-2013.