Scott Turner v. AmericaHomeKey, Incorporated, et a

514 F. App'x 513
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
DecidedFebruary 22, 2013
Docket12-10277
StatusUnpublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 514 F. App'x 513 (Scott Turner v. AmericaHomeKey, Incorporated, et a) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Scott Turner v. AmericaHomeKey, Incorporated, et a, 514 F. App'x 513 (5th Cir. 2013).

Opinion

PER CURIAM: *

Pro se plaintiff Scott Turner filed suit against multiple defendants seeking to quiet title to certain real property and obtain associated declaratory relief. After concluding that Turner’s complaint did not state a claim upon which relief could be granted, the district court dismissed the suit with prejudice. Turner now appeals, arguing that the district court erred in concluding that his complaint failed to state a claim. Alternatively, Turner asserts that if his complaint was inadequate, the district court erred in failing to allow him to amend it. For the reasons that follow, we AFFIRM.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

In September 2004, Scott Turner (“Turner”) and his wife, Toni Turner, obtained a loan for a home in Dallas, Texas. To finance the loan, the Turners signed both a promissory note and a deed of trust, both of which defined the Turners as the “Borrower” and AmericaHomeKey, Inc. (“AHK”), as the “Lender.” Further, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”), was identified as a beneficiary of the deed of trust, “solely as nominee for Lender ... and Lender’s successors and assigns.” The deed of trust provided that MERS had the right “to take any action required of Lender,” including exercising “the right to foreclose and sell the [pjroperty” and to release or cancel the deed of trust.

AHK subsequently transferred its interest in the note to U.S. Bank, N.A. (“U.S. Bank”). Likewise, MERS, “as nominee for the lender, its successors and assigns,” granted, assigned, and transferred to U.S. Bank “all rights accrued and to accrue under” the deed of trust. Eventually, U.S. Bank initiated foreclosure proceedings, though it is unclear whether the foreclosure process was ever completed. In any event, after the foreclosure proceedings commenced, Turner filed suit against the defendants in Texas state court. Turner’s complaint alleged, inter alia, that AHK and U.S. Bank failed to provide all necessary disclosures of the material terms of his mortgage loan; failed to inform him that U.S. Bank had obtained a legal inter *515 est in the loan; and failed to notify him of the foreclosure. Turner also averred that MERS “failed to have written Authorization for the principle [sic],” and that none of the defendants “have the original note to prove that they are in fact the party authorize[d] to conduct the foreclosure on [his] property.”

Joined by AHK and MERS, U.S. Bank timely removed the suit to federal court. U.S. Bank and MERS then filed a motion to dismiss, alleging that Turner failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted. 1 The district court granted the motion, and also dismissed sua sponte Turner’s claims against AHK. Recognizing that Turner was acting pro se, however, it expressly granted him “leave to file an amended complaint.”

On September 15, 2011, Turner filed an amended complaint that narrowed his lawsuit to an action seeking to quiet title to his property and obtain related declaratory relief. The complaint asserted that, to foreclose, U.S. Bank and MERS “were required to provide proof that they were the owner[s] and holder[s] of the promissory note”; that “[a] broken chain of title invalidates the claim(s) on the promissory note”; and that “[i]f the defendants’ [sic] cannot produce the original note and produce a valid chain of custody in the form of a valid assignment back to the holder of the note, the court lacks jurisdiction over the case.” 2 Turner averred that U.S. Bank and MERS were noneompliant with these last “requirements,” because when the original note was transmitted to MERS, MERS scanned it to create an “eNote,” and then shredded the original document. Turner argued that this resulted in cancellation of the debt, such that the deed of trust under which the defendants asserted an interest in his mortgage, “although appearing valid on it’s [sic] face,” “is in fact invalid and of no force or effect.” Turner thus sought a declaration from the district court that U.S. Bank and MERS do not own the note and therefore have no interest in, or right to foreclose on, his property. Additionally, Turner sought an order from the court quieting title and compelling U.S. Bank “to transfer legal title and possession of the subject property” to him.

Once again, joined by AHK, U.S. Bank and MERS moved to dismiss for failure to state a claim. The court granted the motion and dismissed Turner’s action with prejudice. Turner now appeals, arguing that the court erred in dismissing his claim. Alternatively, Turner argues that if his complaint failed to state a claim, he should have been provided another opportunity to amend it before his case was dismissed.

II. ANALYSIS

A. Dismissal Under Rule 12(b)(6)

(1) Standard of Review

We review de novo a district court’s dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. Turner v. Pleasant, 663 F.3d 770, 775 (5th Cir.2011). “When considering a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, we liberally construe the complaint in favor of the plaintiff and accept all well-pleaded factual allegations as true.” Colony Ins. Co. v. Peachtree Constr., Ltd., 647 F.3d 248, 252 (5th Cir.2011). “To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to *516 ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’ ” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). “A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. “Rule 12(b)(6),” however, “authorizes a court to dismiss a claim on the basis of a dispositive issue of law.” Neitzke v. Williams, 490 U.S. 319, 326, 109 S.Ct. 1827, 104 L.Ed.2d 338 (1989). A claim must be dismissed “if as a matter of law ‘it is clear that no relief could be granted under any set of facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations.’ ” Id. (quoting Hishon v. King & Spalding, 467 U.S. 69, 73, 104 S.Ct. 2229, 81 L.Ed.2d 59 (1984)).

(2) Request to Quiet Title

As noted, Turner’s complaint sought to quiet title to the property in his favor. A suit to quiet title is an action in which the plaintiff seeks to remove from his title a cloud created by an allegedly invalid claim. Jones v. Cont’l Royalty Co., 115 F.2d 731

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

Related

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
514 F. App'x 513, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/scott-turner-v-americahomekey-incorporated-et-a-ca5-2013.