Sitgraves v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.

265 F. Supp. 3d 411
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. New York
DecidedSeptember 15, 2017
Docket17 Civ. 2157 (LLS)
StatusPublished
Cited by18 cases

This text of 265 F. Supp. 3d 411 (Sitgraves v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp.) 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
Sitgraves v. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., 265 F. Supp. 3d 411 (S.D.N.Y. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

Louis L. Stanton, United States District Judge

Defendants Bank of America, N.A. (“BANA”) and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“Freddie Mac”) move that this Court abstain from hearing Ms. Sitgraves’ challenges to the enforcement of the subject note and mortgage on the basis of the factors in Colorado River Water Conservation Dist. v. United States, 424 U.S. 800, 96 S.Ct. 1236, 47 L.Ed.2d 483 (1976). For the following reasons, the motion is granted.

BACKGROUND

On May 15, 2007, Ms. Sitgraves borrowed $615,700.00 from BANA for a mortgage on the subject property. Compl. ¶ 8. On June 25, 2007, BANA recorded the mortgage with the New York County Department of Finance, Office of the City Register. Id. ¶9. Ms. Sitgraves subsequently faced financial hardship and defaulted on her mortgage repayment obligations in or about 2009. Id. ¶ 10. On August 30, 2010, BANA tiled a judicial foreclosure action in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, New York County, which was disposed of (Ms. Sitgraves claims erroneously) on July 3, 2013. See Bank of Am., N.A. v. Sitgraves, Index No. 651405/2010 (Doc. No. 120) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. July 3, 2013).

Ms. Sitgraves tiled the instant action on March 24, 2017. Before she had served any of the defendants in this action, on April 3, BANA tiled a foreclosure action in the New York County Supreme Court. See Bank of Am., N.A. v. Sitgraves, Index No. 850086/2017 (Doc. No. 1) (N.Y. Sup. Ct. Apr. 3, 2017) (the “State Action”). On June 21, 2017, Ms. Sitgraves tiled a Verified Answer with Counterclaims in the State Action, see id. (Doc. No. 13), where the note and mortgage remain at issue.

In this Court, Ms. Sitgraves argues that BANA and Freddie Mac cannot enforce the note and mortgage on the subject property, based primarily on the claim that under New York State Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law § 1515 the statute of limitations for enforcement of the mortgage has expired. Ms. Sitgraves also seeks damages based on claims for fraud, civil conspiracy to commit fraud, aiding and abetting fraud, breach of the duty of good faith and fair dealing, and violating New York’s Deceptive Practices Act. These are the same claims as she asserts in the New York St'áte court.

DISCUSSION

In Colorado River, the Supreme Court determined that a federal court may decline to proceed with a case, which is properly before it, when parallel litigation' is pending in a state court. Theré must be “exceptional circumstances,” based on “considerations of ‘[wjise judicial administration, giving regard to conservation of judicial resources and comprehensive disposition of litigation.’ ” Colorado River, 424 U.S. at 813, 817-18, 96 S.Ct. 1236 (quoting Kerotest Mfg. Co. v. C-O-Two Fire Equip. Co., 342 U.S. 180, 183, 72 S.Ct. 219, 96 L.Ed. 200 (1952)). The Supreme Court delineated criteria for the dismissal of a federal matter in favor of parallel state proceedings, see Colorado River, 424 U.S. at 817-19, 96 S.Ct. 1236; Moses H. Cone Mem’l Hosp. v. Mercury Constr. Corp., 460 U.S. 1, 23-27, 103 S.Ct. 927, 74 L.Ed.2d 765 (1983), which is a decision that “does not rest on a mechanical checklist, but on a careful balancing of the important factors as they apply in a given case, with the balance heavily weighted in favor of the exercise of jurisdiction” (he., against abstention). Moses H. Cone Mem’l Hosp., 460 U.S. at 16, 103 S.Ct. 927.

A. The State and Federal Actions Are Parallel

“[A] finding that the concurrent proceedings are ‘parallel’ is a necessary prerequisite to abstention under Colorado River.” Dittmer v. Cnty. of Suffolk, 146 F.3d 113, 118 (2d Cir. 1998). “Suits are parallel when substantially the same parties are contemporaneously litigating substantially the same issue in another forum.” Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. v. Hudson River-Black River Regulating Dist., 673 F.3d 84, 100 (2d Cir. 2012) (quoting Dittmer, 146 F.3d at 118) “Perfect symmetry of parties and issues is not .required. Rather, parallelism is achieved where there is a substantial likelihood that the state litigation will dispose of all claims presented in the federal case.” Abe v. New York Univ., No. 14 Civ. 9323 (RJS), 2016 WL 1275661, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 30, 2016) (citing Shields v. Murdoch, 891 F.Supp.2d 567, 577 (S.D.N.Y. 2012)).

This action and the New York State Action are parallel. The issues are the same in both actions — whether BANA may enforce the subject note and mortgage. Ms. Sitgraves asserts the same claims in this action as she does in the State Action. Compare Compl. (Dkt. No. 1) with Saydah Aff. Ex. B (Dkt. No. 15-4). Although she argues the actions are not parallel because Freddie Mae is a party here but not in the State Action,' she cannot contest that BANA is substantially the same as Freddie Mac. There is a substantial likelihood that the State Action will dispose of all claims raised in the instant action.

B. Colorado River Factors

The four factors which the Supreme Court identified in Colorado River are:' (1) whether the state or federal court has assumed jurisdiction over a case, (2) the inconvenience of the federal forum, (3) the desirability of avoiding piecemeal litigation, and (4) the order in which the concurrent forums obtained' jurisdiction. Colorado River, 424 U.S. at 818-19, 96 S.Ct. 1236. In a later case, the Supreme Court identified two more elements: (5) whether state or federal law controls, and (6)the adequacy of the state forum to protect the parties’ rights. Moses H. Cone Mem’l Hosp., 460 U.S. at 23-26, 103 S.Ct. 927.

1.Jurisdiction over a Res

The first factor counsels in favor of abstention. The New York State court has jurisdiction

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Bluebook (online)
265 F. Supp. 3d 411, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/sitgraves-v-federal-home-loan-mortgage-corp-nysd-2017.