Teeuwissen v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.

902 F. Supp. 2d 826, 2011 WL 9375322, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133406
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedNovember 17, 2011
DocketCivil Action No. 3:11CV46TSL-FKB
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 902 F. Supp. 2d 826 (Teeuwissen v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Mississippi primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Teeuwissen v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., 902 F. Supp. 2d 826, 2011 WL 9375322, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133406 (S.D. Miss. 2011).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

TOM S. LEE, District Judge.

Plaintiffs Pieter and Lisa Teeuwissen originally filed this action in the Chancery Court of Hinds County, Mississippi on December 7, 2010 seeking, first, to enjoin the imminent foreclosure of their home by defendants JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. a/k/a Chase Home Finance, LLC (Chase) and Nationwide Trustee Services, Inc. (Nationwide), and also asserting a variety of claims for affirmative relief relating to Chase’s alleged improper handling of then-mortgage loan. Plaintiffs were unable to get a hearing scheduled on their request for an injunction prior to the date and time of the scheduled foreclosure,1 and the foreclosure sale went forward on December 21, 2010, at which Chase purchased the property. On December 22, 2010, a hearing was held in chancery court on plaintiffs’ complaint for injunctive relief, following which the chancellor enjoined Chase and Nationwide were enjoined from taking any action against plaintiffs “related to or in any way connected with foreclosure of the Plaintiffs’ real property” pending a hearing on the merits of the case, which was set for January 10, 2011. However, prior to the date of the scheduled hearing, Chase removed the case to this court on the basis of diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332, and federal question jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331. The case is now before the court on a motion by Chase to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, or in the alternative, for summary judgment pursuant to Rule 56. Plaintiffs have responded in opposition to the motion, and the court, having considered the memoran[830]*830da of authorities submitted by the parties, concludes the motion should be granted in part and denied in part, as set forth herein.

The Teeuwissens’ claims in this case all ultimately stem from Chase’s decision in April 2009 to establish an escrow account for the payment of plaintiffs’ property taxes on their Jackson, Mississippi home and its eventual foreclosure of their home. While plaintiffs’ deed of trust required that their monthly mortgage payment include “a sum ... to provide for payment of amounts due for: (a) taxes and assessments and other items which can attain priority over” the deed of trust as a lien or encumbrance on the property, it provided for a waiver of this requirement, as follows: “Borrower shall pay Lender the Funds for Escrow Items unless Lender waives Borrower’s obligation to pay the Funds for any or all Escrow Items.” The Teeuwissens had been granted such a waiver. The deed of trust recited:

In the event of such waiver, Borrower shall pay directly, when and where payable, the amounts due for any Escrow Items for which payment of Funds has been waived by Lender and, if Lender requires, shall furnish to Lender receipts evidencing such payment within such time period as Lender may require. Borrower’s obligation to make such payments and to provide receipts shall for all purposes be deemed a covenant and agreement contained in this Security Instrument, as the phrase “covenant and agreement” is used in Section 9. If Borrower is obligated to pay Escrow Items directly, pursuant to a waiver, and Borrower fails to pay the amount due for an Escrow Item, Lender may exercise its rights under Section 9 and pay such amount and Borrower shall then be obligated under Section 9 to repay to Lender any such amount. Lender may revoke the waiver as to any or all Escrow Items at any time by a notice given in accordance with Section 15 and, upon such revocation, Borrower shall pay to Lender all Funds, and in such amounts, that are then required under this Section 3.

In March 2009, Chase, which held the note and deed of trust on plaintiffs’ Jackson, Mississippi residence, received notice that the 2008 real property taxes on the property were delinquent.2 On March 26, 2009, Chase wrote to plaintiffs, advising that under the terms of their mortgage, plaintiffs were responsible for the timely payment of all real property taxes and providing Chase with verification of such payment. Chase wrote:

If you have not paid these taxes, you are responsible for remitting payment to the taxing authority’s office immediately....
Your failure to pay outstanding taxes within fifteen (15) days from the date of this letter may result in Chase’s establishing an escrow account on your behalf and a subsequent increase in your mortgage payment amount. The increased amount will include the delinquent tax payments and funds for the payment of all future real estate tax bills.
Please note that if any taxes remain delinquent, Chase may immediately establish an escrow account and pay the taxes on your behalf.

Subsequently, by letter dated April 15, 2009, Mr. Teeuwissen forwarded to Chase a copy of a receipt from the Hinds County Tax Collector reflecting the Teeuwissens’ payment at 3:27 p.m. on that date of the outstanding taxes on the subject property, [831]*831in the amount of $2,908.77. However, on April 16, 2009, Chase sent plaintiffs a second notice of delinquency,3 advising that Chase had transmitted payment of the taxes totaling $2,824.05 to Hinds County for their delinquent taxes, and informing plaintiffs as follows:

As permitted under the terms of your mortgage Note, Chase has established an escrow account to make this and all future tax payments on your behalf for your property.... Chase will complete an escrow analysis, and you will receive a new mortgage statement that includes your adjusted mortgage payment amount....

Thereafter, in July, Chase notified plaintiffs of the amount they were required to pay for escrow. However, taking the position that Chase had no legitimate basis for requiring payment into escrow for taxes since the property tax had already been paid, the Teeuwissens refused to pay the additional amount assessed by Chase for the escrow of property taxes and instead, continued to remit their regular monthly mortgage payment of $739.19. As a result, on September 4, 2009, Chase - sent notice to plaintiffs that they were in default on their mortgage. In response, plaintiffs, through their attorney, notified Chase that they disputed Chase’s purported attempt to collect and disputed that they were in default. Over the next few months, plaintiffs continued to make the monthly payment of $739.19. And during this time, plaintiffs’ attorney repeatedly wrote to Chase, advising that plaintiffs disputed the validity of the debt, as well as Chase’s imposition of and/or calculations of escrow. Eventually, according to plaintiffs, Chase informed Mr. Teeuwissen in a December 2009 phone call that it would no longer accept a monthly payment of $739.19, and that the Teeuwissens would be required to pay the additional amount to cover the escrow for taxes. From that point forward, the Teeuwissens, maintaining their position that Chase had no authority to impose an escrow requirement, stopped making mortgage payments, which ultimately culminated in Chase’s proceeding to foreclose on the property.

According to plaintiffs, they learned in late November of 2010 that their property was scheduled to be sold through foreclosure.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
902 F. Supp. 2d 826, 2011 WL 9375322, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 133406, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/teeuwissen-v-jp-morgan-chase-bank-na-mssd-2011.