Trokie v. U.S. Bank Trust Nat'l Ass'n (In re Trokie)

590 B.R. 663
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedOctober 5, 2018
DocketCase Number: 1:15-bk-05003-RNO; Adversary Number: 1:18-ap-00018-RNO
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 590 B.R. 663 (Trokie v. U.S. Bank Trust Nat'l Ass'n (In re Trokie)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Trokie v. U.S. Bank Trust Nat'l Ass'n (In re Trokie), 590 B.R. 663 (Pa. 2018).

Opinion

Robert N. Opel, II, Chief Bankruptcy Judge (BI)

Chapter 13 Debtor filed a three-count adversary Complaint claiming a creditor, creditor's servicing agent, and creditor's counsel violated the automatic stay, Debtor's confirmed Chapter 13 Plan, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In separate motions, all of the Defendants moved to dismiss the adversary Complaint. For the reasons stated below, the US Bank and SN Servicing Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is granted in part and denied in part, and the TAPC Defendants' Motion to Dismiss is granted in full.

I. JURISDICTION

This Court has jurisdiction over this matter pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 157 and 1334. Counts I and II of the Complaint are core proceedings under 28 U.S.C. § 157(b)(2)(G) & (O ). Count III of the Complaint is a non-core proceeding under 28 U.S.C. § 157(c)(1).

II. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Kelli S. Trokie ("Debtor" or "Plaintiff") filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 13 of the Bankruptcy Code on November 23, 2015. This adversary proceeding was commenced by a Complaint ("Complaint") filed on March 6, 2018. Debtor filed this Complaint against U.S. Bank Trust National Association ("US Bank"), SN Servicing Corporation ("SN Servicing"), Tucker Arensberg *669PC, Brett A. Solomon, Michael C. Mazack, Kevin L. Hall, and Kenneth J. McDermott (collectively, "Defendants").

The Complaint provides that US Bank holds a mortgage loan secured by Debtor's principal residence located at 5906 Shope Place, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and that SN Servicing handles the servicing of that loan. The Complaint also alleges that, on October 2, 2017, counsel for US Bank and SN Servicing filed a Motion for Relief from the Automatic Stay ("Motion for Relief") regarding an alleged delinquency on Debtor's loan payments. Motion for Relief, 1:15-bk-05003-RNO, ECF No. 46. Furthermore, the Complaint alleges that, before and after the filing of the Motion for Relief, Debtor's counsel communicated with Defendants multiple times where she expressed concerns regarding the accuracy of Debtor's payment history account held by Defendants.

In sum, the Complaint alleges that Defendants filed and pursued the Motion for Relief under knowingly faulty and false payment history records of Debtor's loan account, and in turn violated the automatic stay imposed by 11 U.S.C. § 362(a)2 , violated the terms of Debtor's confirmed Chapter 13 Plan under § 1327(a), and violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") under 15 U.S.C. § 1692e.

On April 6, 2018, US Bank and SN Servicing (collectively, "US Bank and SN Servicing Defendants") filed a Motion to Dismiss ("US Bank and SN Servicing Defendants' Motion to Dismiss") at docket number 8. On the same day, Tucker Arensberg PC, Kevin L. Hall, Michael C. Mazack, Kenneth J. McDermott, and Brett A. Solomon (collectively, "TAPC Defendants"), as counsel for US Bank and SN Servicing, filed a Motion to Dismiss ("TAPC Defendants' Motion to Dismiss") (collectively, "Motions to Dismiss") at docket number 7. Both Motions to Dismiss seek dismissal of the Complaint, with prejudice. A hearing on the Motions to Dismiss was held on July 26, 2018. The Motions to Dismiss have been briefed and are now ripe for decision.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Standard of Review for a Motion to Dismiss Pursuant to Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure 7012(b)(6)

Federal Rule of Bankruptcy Procedure ("FRBP") 7012(b) makes Federal Rule of Civil Procedure ("FRCP") 12(b)-(i) applicable to bankruptcy adversary proceedings. FRCP 12(b)(6) requires dismissal of a complaint which fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Generally, a complaint must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). However, the Supreme Court heightened this pleading standard by holding that for a complaint to withstand a motion to dismiss, a claim must be more than possible, it must be plausible. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1973, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). Additionally, Twombly advises that while detailed factual allegations are not required in a complaint, "a plaintiff's obligation to provide the grounds of his entitlement to relief requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Id. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Two years later, the Supreme Court went further to define "facial plausibility":

A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable *670inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged. The plausibility standard is not akin to a probability requirement, but it asks for more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully. Where a complaint pleads facts that are merely consistent with a defendant's liability, it stops short of the line between possibility and plausibility of entitlement to relief.

Ashcroft v. Iqbal ,

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Bluebook (online)
590 B.R. 663, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/trokie-v-us-bank-trust-natl-assn-in-re-trokie-pamb-2018.