Residential Funding Co. v. Academy Mortgage Corp.

59 F. Supp. 3d 935
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedNovember 12, 2014
DocketCase Nos. 13-cv-3451 (SRN/JSM), 13-cv-3453 (SRN/JJK), 13-cv-3485 (SRN/TNL), 13-cv-3515 (SRN/SER), 13-cv-3519 (SRN/JSM), 13-cv-3525 (SRN/JSM)
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 59 F. Supp. 3d 935 (Residential Funding Co. v. Academy Mortgage Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Residential Funding Co. v. Academy Mortgage Corp., 59 F. Supp. 3d 935 (mnd 2014).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

SUSAN RICHARD NELSON, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

This matter is before the Court on a Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint filed by each Defendant in the above-captioned mátters. For the reasons set forth below, the Motions are denied.

II. BACKGROUND

These lawsuits arise out of Defendants’ sale of allegedly defective mortgage loans lo Plaintiff Residential Funding, LLC (“RFC”). (First Am. Compl. ¶ 1.)1 Priqr to May 2012, RFC was “in the business of acquiring and securitizing residential mortgage loans.” (Id. ¶ 2.) RFC acquired the loans from “ ‘correspondent lenders,’ ” such as Defendants, who were responsible for collecting and verifying information from the borrower and underwriting the loans. (Id. ¶¶ 3, 20.)2

As alleged in the First Amended Complaints, RFC’s relationship with each Defendant was .governed by a Seller Contract that incorporated the terms and conditions of the RFC Client Guide (collectively, “the Agreements”). (Id. ¶¶ 17-18 & Exs. A, B.)3 Those Agreements, or excerpts thereof, are attached to the First Amended Complaints as Exhibits A and B, respectively. Pursuant to the Agreements, Defendants made many representations and warranties regarding the loans, including: (1) Defendants’ origination and servicing of the loans was “legal, proper, prudent and customary”; (2) Defendants would “promptly notify” RFC of any material acts or omissions regarding the loans; (8) .all loan-related information that Defendants provided to RFC was “true, complete and accurate”; (4) all loan documents were “genuine” and “in recordable form”; (5) all loan documents were in compliance with local and state laws; (6) there was [939]*939“no default, breach, violation or event of acceleration” under any note transferred to RFC; (7) each loan was “originated, closed, and transferred” in compliance with all applicable laws; (8) none of the loans were “high-cost” or “high-risk”; (9) there were no existing circumstances that could render the loans an “unacceptable investment,” cause the loans to become “delinquent,” or “adversely affect” the value of the loans; (10) the loans were underwritten in compliance with the Client Guide; (11) appropriate appraisals were conducted when necessary; (12) the market value of the premises was at least equal to the appraised value stated on the loan appraisals; and (13) there was no fraud or misrepresentation by the borrower or Defendants regarding the origination or underwriting of the loans. (Id. ¶ 24.)4 RFC considered these representations and warranties to be material, and any failure to comply constituted an “Event of Default” under the Agreements. (Id. ¶¶ 25-26.)5 RFC retained sole discretion to declare an Event of Default, and the available remedies include repurchase of the defective loan, substitution of another loan, or indemnification against liabilities resulting from the breach, (Id. ¶¶ 29-33.)6 The Agreements do not, however, require that RFC provide Defendants with notice or an opportunity to cure, or demand repurchase within a particular amount of time. (Id.)

RFC alleges that, pursuant to these Agreements, it purchased: (1) over 600 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $77 million, from Defendant Academy Mortgage Corporation (“Academy”); (2) over 300 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $125 million, from Defendant First California Mortgage Company (“First California”); (3) over 6,900 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $2.6 billion, from Defendant Provident Funding Associates, L.P. (“Provident”); (4) over 600 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $227 million, from Defendant T.J. Financial, Inc. (“T.J. Financial”); (5) over 3,000 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $800 million, from Defendant Universal American Mortgage Company, LLC (“Universal”); and (6) over 3,700 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $155 million, from Defendant Wells Fargo Financial Retail Credit, Inc. f/k/a Norwest Financial Acceptance, Inc. (“Wells Fargo”). (Id. ¶¶4, 17.)7 RFC then either pooled those loans to sell into residential mortgage-backed securitization (“RMBS”) trusts or sold them to whole loan purchasers. (Id. ¶¶ 3, 36.)8 A list of the loans sold to RFC by each Defendant and securitized is attached to the respective First Amended Complaints as Exhibit C.

In passing on its own representations and warranties to its buyers, RFC relied on the information provided to it by Defendants. (Id. ¶ 37.)9 However, RFC alleges that, in many instances, Defendants violated their representations and warranties. (Id.) According to RFC, many of the loans eventually defaulted or became delinquent and sustained millions of dollars in losses. (Id. ¶ 39.)10 After conducting an internal review, RFC determined that hundreds of [940]*940loans sold by each Defendant violated the Agreements and resulted in an Event of Default. (Id ¶ 41.)11 The types of defects included income and employment misrepresentation, owner occupancy misrepresentation, appraisal misrepresentations or inaccuracies, undisclosed debt, insufficient credit scores, lien position, and/or missing or inaccurate documents, among others. (Id. ¶ 42.)12

RFC alleges that it has incurred liabilities and losses resulting from Defendants’ defective loans and litigation regarding the quality of those loans. (See id. ¶¶46-60.)13 Beginning in 2008, RFC faced claims and lawsuits resulting from defective loans it had purchased from Defendants, (id. ¶ 49),14 and by May 2012, RFC had spent millions of dollars repurchasing defective loans, including loans sold to it by Defendants, (id. ¶ 61).15 And, on May 14, 2012, RFC filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. (Id. ¶ 6216; In re Residential Capital, LLC, Case No. 12-12020(MG) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.).) According to RFC, hundreds of proofs of claim related to allegedly defective mortgage loans, including those sold to RFC by Defendants, were filed in connection with the bankruptcy proceedings. (First Am. Compl. ¶ 63.)17 The Bankruptcy Court eventually approved a global settlement that provided for resolution of the RMBS-related liabilities for more than $10 billion. (Id. ¶ 67.)18 The Bankruptcy Court confirmed the Chapter 11 Plan on December 11, 2013, and the Plan became effective on December 17, 2013. (Id; Findings of Fact at 1, In re Residential Capital, LLC, Case No. 12-12020(MG) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. Dec. 11, 2013) (Doc. No. 6066).) Under the Plan, the ResCap Liquidating Trust succeeded to RFC’s rights and interests, including its claims against Defendants. (First Am. Compl. ¶ 67.)19

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59 F. Supp. 3d 935, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/residential-funding-co-v-academy-mortgage-corp-mnd-2014.