(PS) Eddy v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation

District Court, E.D. California·Decided September 1, 2020·No. 2:18-cv-02267·Unknown

Opinion

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 9 FOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 10 11 MARK EDDY; BOBBIE EDDY, No. 2:18-cv-2267-KJM-EFB PS 12 Plaintiffs, 13 v. ORDER AND FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 14 FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION (As Trustee for Freddie 15 Mac MultiClass Certificates Series 3450); BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION 16 (As Parent to Bank of America, M.A., as Successor in Interest By Merger with 17 Countrywide Bank, FSB); SERVICE LINK, LLC; MICHAEL M. BAKER, Esq.; 18 Does 1-5, 19 Defendants. 20 21 This case is before the court on defendants Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation 22 (“FHLMC”) and Bank of America, N.A.’s (“BofA”) motion to dismiss plaintiffs’ first amended 23 complaint for failure to state a claim pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Rule”) 24 12(b)(6).1 ECF No. 46. Also pending is the court’s March 27, 2020 order directing the plaintiffs 25 to show cause to show cause why sanctions should not be imposed for their failure to timely 26 respond to defendants’ motion (ECF No. 47) and plaintiffs’ renewed request to file documents 27 1 This case, in which plaintiff is proceeding pro se, is before the undersigned pursuant to 28 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and Eastern District of California Local Rule 302(c)(21). 1 electronically (ECF No. 50). For the following reasons, the order to show cause is discharged, 2 plaintiffs’ request to file documents electronically is denied, and it is recommended that 3 defendants’ motion to dismiss be granted. 4 I. Order to Show Cause 5 Defendants noticed their motion for hearing on April 1, 2020. ECF No. 46. Plaintiffs 6 failed to timely file either an opposition or statement of non-opposition in the time prescribed by 7 Local Rule 230. See E.D. Cal. L.R. 230(c) (requiring an opposition or statement of non- 8 opposition to be filed not less than 14 days prior to the hearing). Accordingly, the hearing was 9 continued, and plaintiffs were ordered to ordered to show cause why sanctions should not be 10 imposed for their failure to timely file a responsive pleading. ECF No. 49. 11 In response, plaintiffs requested a further continuance of the hearing due to, among other 12 things, the current Covid-19 pandemic. ECF No. 48. The request was granted, and the hearing 13 was continued.2 ECF No. 47. Plaintiffs subsequently filed an opposition to defendants’ motion 14 (ECF No. 52), as well as a response to the court’s order to show cause (ECF No. 51). Plaintiffs 15 explained that they initially failed to file an opposition because they did not receive a copy of 16 defendants’ motion. Id. at 2. Plaintiffs add that once they obtained a copy of the motion from 17 PACER they were able to prepare their response to defendants’ motion. Id. 18 In light of plaintiffs’ representations, and given that they have since filed their opposition, 19 the order to show cause is discharged without the imposition of sanctions. 20 II. Plaintiffs’ Request to File Documents Electronically 21 Plaintiffs request permission to electronically file documents with the court. ECF No. 50. 22 As explained below, plaintiffs’ amended complaint must be dismissed without leave to amend. 23 Consequently, granting plaintiffs’ request at this juncture is unnecessary. Accordingly, the 24 request is denied as moot. 25 ///// 26

27 2 Thereafter, the court determined that oral argument would not materially assist in the resolution of the defendants’ motion and it was ordered submitted on the briefs. See E.D. Cal. 28 L.R. 230(g). 1 III. Defendants’ Motions to Dismiss 2 A. Factual Background 3 Plaintiffs previously purchased a home located at 125 Crowley Lake, Dr., Mammoth 4 Lake, California. Am. Compl. (ECF No. 45) ¶ 1. In 2008, plaintiffs refinanced their existing 5 home loan and acquired a new loan, which was secured by a deed of trust (“DOT”), in the amount 6 of $417,000 from Countywide Bank FSB. Defs. FHLMC & BofA’s Req. Judicial Notice (ECF 7 No. 46-2), Ex. A.3 In January 2012, Countrywide assigned its interest in the DOT to BofA. Id. at 8 Ex. B. Two years later, plaintiffs received a loan modification from BofA. Id. at Ex. C. On 9 January 26, 2016, a Notice of Default—which reflected plaintiffs were behind on their payments 10 in the amount of $22,994.34—was recorded with the Mono County Recorder’s Office. Id. at Ex. 11 D. On May 13, 2016, a Notice of Trustee’s Sale was recorded. Id. at Ex. E. Shortly thereafter, 12 BofA assigned its interest in the deed of trust to defendant FHLMC. Id. at Ex. F. A Trustee’s 13 Deed Upon Sale reflects that the property was sold on December 22, 2016. Id. at Ex. G. 14 The first amended complaint alleges that prior to foreclosure, defendants BofA and 15 FHLMC4 violated Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act 16 (“RESPA”). Both claims are predicted on plaintiffs’ contention that defendants failed to respond 17 to their written requests for information concerning the loan’s payoff amount and the identify and 18 contact information for the owner of the loan. Defendants now move to dismiss the amended 19 complaint for failure to state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). ECF No. 46. 20 B. Rule 12(b)(6)’s Standards 21 A complaint may be dismissed for “failure to state a claim upon which relief may be 22 granted.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). To survive a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, a 23 3 FHLMC and BofA’s request for judicial notice of documents recorded with the Mono 24 County Recorder’s Office is granted. See Mir v. Little Co. of Mary Hosp., 844 F.2d 646, 649 (9th Cir. 1988) (“In addition to the complaint, it is proper for the district court to take judicial notice of 25 matters of public record outside the pleadings and consider them for purposes of the motion to 26 dismiss.”) (internal quotations omitted).

27 4 Plaintiffs’ original complaint also asserted claims against defendant Michael Baker. ECF No. 1. The court previously dismissed the claims against Baker without leave to amend. 28 ECF Nos. 41 & 44. Accordingly, FHLMC and BofA are the only remaining defendants. 1 plaintiff must allege “enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Bell 2 Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570 (2007). A claim has “facial plausibility when the 3 plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the 4 defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) 5 (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. at 556). The plausibility standard is not akin to a “probability 6 requirement,” but it requires more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully. 7 Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678. 8 Dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) may be based on either: (1) lack of a cognizable legal 9 theory, or (2) insufficient facts under a cognizable legal theory. Chubb Custom Ins. Co., 710 F.3d 10 at 956. Dismissal also is appropriate if the complaint alleges a fact that necessarily defeats the 11 claim. Franklin v. Murphy, 745 F.2d 1221, 1228-1229 (9th Cir. 1984). 12 Pro se pleadings are held to a less-stringent standard than those drafted by lawyers. 13 Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93 (2007) (per curiam).

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(PS) Eddy v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, (E.D. Cal. 2020).

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