Tatten v. Bank of America Corp.

912 F. Supp. 2d 1032, 2012 WL 6568475, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178049
CourtDistrict Court, D. Colorado
DecidedDecember 17, 2012
DocketCivil Action No. 12-cv-00459-KMT
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 912 F. Supp. 2d 1032 (Tatten v. Bank of America Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Colorado primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Tatten v. Bank of America Corp., 912 F. Supp. 2d 1032, 2012 WL 6568475, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178049 (D. Colo. 2012).

Opinion

ORDER

KATHLEEN M. TAFOYA, United States Magistrate Judge.,

This matter is before the court on “Defendants’ Renewed Motion to Dismiss Complaint Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6)” (Doc. No. 27 [Mot.], filed June 20, 2012). Plaintiff did not file a response to the motion. This matter is ripe for ruling.

I. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

In his Complaint, Plaintiff states in November 2008, he suffered a head injury and was hospitalized for intensive inpatient rehabilitation. (Doc. No. 3, ¶¶ 2-5.) Plaintiff states in January 2009, he notified Defendant Bank of America (“BOA”) that he was being treated for traumatic brain injury and that he would need assistance of his family in “identifying and handling his financial matters, including, his accounts with Bank of America.” (Id, ¶ 6.) Plaintiff alleges after January 2009, Defendant BOA “engaged in wrongful and unlawful conduct directed at Plaintiff Tat-ten’s and his account(s), loan modification(s) and real property....” (Id, ¶7.) Plaintiff alleges Defendant BOA made “statements to mislead, misrepresent and deceive the terms, conditions, costs and effect of loan modification” and coerced Plaintiff into signing a mortgage loan modification. (Id, ¶ 9.)

At some point, Plaintiff stopped making his monthly loan payments (id, ¶ 36), and on June 15, 2009, he received a letter from BOA’s counsel advising foreclosure proceedings had begun. (Id, ¶ 37.) Plaintiff alleges on July 15, 2009, he received assur[1037]*1037anees from BOA that his account was “on hold” and his home was not in foreclosure. (Id., ¶ 38.) On August 29, 2009, Plaintiff received another loan modification agreement from BOA, which Plaintiff was instructed to review, sign, and deliver to BOA on or before September 28, 2009. (Id., ¶ 42.) Plaintiff alleges on September 17, 2009, he received a “wrongful and incorrect notice of cancelation [sic]” from BOA, and on September 22, 2009, BOA’s counsel wrote to Plaintiff to advise him that BOA had instructed them to proceed with foreclosure. (Id., ¶¶ 43-44.)

Plaintiff states that he wrote letters to BOA’s counsel, and on September 28, 2009, “under duress, amended, signed, notarized and delivered” the loan modification to BOA. (Id., ¶¶ 45 — 47.) On October 8, 2009, the Public Trustee for Denver County set the auction of Plaintiffs property for October 15, 2009. (Id., ¶ 48.)

Plaintiff alleges on October 27, he received another letter from BOA “contain[ing] statements of material facts that are misleading, false and fraudulent.” (Id., ¶ 50.) On October 28, 2011, Plaintiff filed Consumer Complaint with the United States Department of Treasury, Comptroller of the Currency, Administrator of National Banks. (Id., ¶ 51.) On January 18, 2012, Plaintiff received notice from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency that his request for review of BOA’s foreclosure action was received. (Id., ¶ 52.) Plaintiff states a Rule 120 foreclosure hearing was held on January 20, 2012, BOA’s attorney “made statements to the Court that mislead and misrepresented documents, terms, conditions and business decisions material to the case ... thereby convincing the Court to authorize [BOA] to proceed with a wrongful and unlawful foreclosure.” (Id., ¶ 53.)

Plaintiff asserts four claims for relief against all defendants, including a claim for fraudulent misrepresentation, intentional infliction of emotional distress, breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, and violation of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (“RESPA”). (See id. at 14-22.)

Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiffs claims under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) on the bases that (1) Plaintiff has failed to plead his fraud claim with specificity; (2) Plaintiff has not alleged any outrageous conduct; (3) Plaintiff has failed to plead any of the elements of breach of contract; (4) Plaintiff cannot establish the existence of a fiduciary duty owed by the defendants; and (5) Plaintiffs RESPA claim is barred by the statute of limitations. (See Mot.)

II. LEGAL STANDARDS

A. Pro Se Plaintiff

Plaintiff is proceeding pro se. The court, therefore, “review[s] his pleadings and other papers liberally and hold[s] them to a less stringent standard than those drafted by attorneys.” Trackwell v. United States, 472 F.3d 1242, 1243 (10th Cir.2007) (citations omitted); see also Haines v. Kerner, 404 U.S. 519, 520, 92 S.Ct. 594, 30 L.Ed.2d 652 (1972) (holding allegations of a pro se complaint “to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers”). However, a pro se litigant’s “conclusory allegations without supporting factual averments are insufficient to state a claim upon which relief can be based.” Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1110 (10th Cir.1991) (citations omitted). A court may not assume that a plaintiff can prove facts that have not been alleged, or that a defendant has violated laws in ways that a plaintiff has not alleged. Associated Gen. Contractors of Cal., Inc. v. Cal. State Council of Carpenters, 459 U.S. 519, 526, 103 S.Ct. 897, 74 L.Ed.2d 723 (1983); see also Whitney v. New Mexico, 113 F.3d 1170, 1173-74 (10th Cir.1997) (a court may not “supply addi[1038]*1038tional factual allegations to round out a plaintiffs complaint”); Drake v. City of Fort Collins, 927 F.2d 1156, 1159 (10th Cir.1991) (the court may not “construct arguments or theories for the plaintiff in the absence of any discussion of those issues”).

B. Failure to State a Claim Upon Which Relief Can Be Granted

Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) provides that a defendant may move to dismiss a claim for “failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) (2007). “The court’s function on a Rule 12(b)(6) motion is not to weigh potential evidence that the parties might present at trial, but to assess whether the plaintiffs complaint alone is legally sufficient to state a claim for which relief may be granted.” Dubbs v. Head Start, Inc., 336 F.3d 1194, 1201 (10th Cir.2003) (citations and quotation marks omitted).

“A court reviewing the sufficiency of a complaint presumes all of plaintiffs factual allegations are true and construes them in the light most favorable to the plaintiff.” Hall v. Bellmon, 935 F.2d 1106, 1109 (10th Cir.1991).

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912 F. Supp. 2d 1032, 2012 WL 6568475, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 178049, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/tatten-v-bank-of-america-corp-cod-2012.