Villanueva v. Liberty Acquisitions Servicing, LLC

215 F. Supp. 3d 1045, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112404, 2016 WL 8488382
CourtDistrict Court, D. Oregon
DecidedAugust 19, 2016
DocketNo. 3:14-cv-01610-HZ (Lead Case), No. 3:15-cv-02354-HZ
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 215 F. Supp. 3d 1045 (Villanueva v. Liberty Acquisitions Servicing, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Oregon primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Villanueva v. Liberty Acquisitions Servicing, LLC, 215 F. Supp. 3d 1045, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112404, 2016 WL 8488382 (D. Or. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION & ORDER

HERNANDEZ, District Judge:

Plaintiff Jesus Villanueva brings this putative class action alleging a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p (FDCPA), against certain Defendants. He also brings a fraudulent transfer claim against all Defendants. Two Defendants, Javlin One, LLC and Javlin Capital, LLC, move to [1048]*1048dismiss the fraudulent transfer claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). For the reasons discussed below. I grant the motion in part and deny it in part.

BACKGROUND

Plaintiff alleges that Defendants Liberty Acquisitions Servicing, LLC (“Liberty Servicing”) and Liberty Holdings LLC (“Liberty Holdings”) (referred to together as the “Liberty Parties”) violated the FDCPA by collecting a debt they were not entitled to collect. First Am. Compl. ¶¶ BOSS.1 More specifically, Plaintiff had a Demand Deposit Account (DDA) with U.S. Bank which allowed overdrafts in certain situations. Id. ¶ 12. Although overdraft fees were charged, U.S. Bank did not charge interest on overdrawn DDA accounts. Id. U.S. Bank had no contractual right to do so. Id. Generally, U.S. Bank would attempt to collect the overdue fees from DDA account holders but eventually, if unsuccessful, U..S. Bank would “charge off’ the delinquent accounts, declare the debts uncollectable, and claim certain tax advantages as a result. Id. ¶ 13.

Liberty Servicing is a wholly-owed subsidiary of Liberty Holdings. Id. ¶ 14. Liberty Holdings also owns Liberty Acquisitions II, which is not a named Defendant in this case. Id. According to Plaintiff, U.S. Bank sold the “charged off’ debts to United Credit Recovery, LLC, which sold them to Liberty Acquisitions II, which sold them to Liberty Servicing. Id

Plaintiff apparently incurred DDA account overdraft charges and did not pay them. See id. ¶ 20 (Plaintiff was sued for alleged overdraft charge). On September 13, 2013, Liberty Servicing sued Plaintiff for the DDA overdraft debt in Jackson County Circuit Court. Id. In that lawsuit, Liberty Servicing alleged that Plaintiff owed an unpaid balance but also owed interest. Id. ¶¶ 24, 29. A default judgment was entered by the Jackson County Circuit Court on December 13, 2013. Id. ¶ 27. That judgment included the principal amount owed, as well as pre- and post-judgment interest. Id. ¶¶ 27, 28. Eventually, Liberty Servicing garnished Plaintiffs wages to satisfy the judgment. Id. ¶ 30.

Plaintiff alleges that by attempting to collect charged-off DDA account debts with interest, in lawsuits and demand letters, the Liberty Parties violated various provisions of the FDCPA. Id. ¶¶ 29, 32, 33, 50-51. Plaintiff seeks actual and statutory damages as well as attorney’s fees and costs. Iff Plaintiff alleges that Liberty Servicing and Liberty Holdings are both liable on the FDCPA claim because Liberty Servicing was acting as Liberty Holdings’s agent or alter ego. Id. ¶ 53.

Javlin One, LLC and Javlin Capital, LLC (referred to together as the “Javlin Parties”) are not named as Defendants in the FDCPA claim. Id. ¶¶ 50-53. The allegations against them are limited to a fraudulent transfer claim. Id. ¶¶ 54-62.2 In Count One of that claim, Plaintiff alleges that after the initial Complaint in the 14-1610 case was filed3, the Liberty Parties [1049]*1049transferred, or caused to be transferred, approximately $7.6 million to the Javlin Parties to pay off a preexisting debt allegedly owed to Javlin One by “Liberty Acquisitions I”4 or Liberty Acquisitions II. ¶ 55. In allegations specified in more detail below, Plaintiff alleges that the Javlin Parties are affiliates of the Liberty Parties, that the Javlin Parties knew or had reasonable cause to believe that the $7.6 million transfer would render the Liberty Parties insolvent, and that as a result of the transfer, Plaintiff and putative class members are limited in their ability to collect monetary damages from the Liberty Parties that may be awarded to them on the FDCPA claim. Id. ¶¶ 57-58. Plaintiff seeks equitable relief, including the avoidance of the transfer necessary to satisfy any such money damages, and an order allowing Plaintiff to levy execution of any judgment obtained in this case against the funds transferred to the Javlin Parties. Id. ¶ 59.

In Count Two of the fraudulent transfer claim, Plaintiff incorporates all preceding paragraphs of the First Amended Complaint and then alleges that when the Liberty Parties transferred the $7.6 million to the Javlin Parties, the Liberty Parties and the Javlin Parties intended to hinder or delay the ability of Plaintiff and other members of the proposed class to execute any monetary damage award they obtain in the FDCPA claim against the Liberty Parties. Id ¶¶ 60-61. They seek the same relief under Count Two as they did under Count One. Id. ¶ 62.

Finally, Plaintiff brings a breach of fiduciary duty claim against the Liberty Parties. Id. ¶¶ 63-65. Neither the FDCPA nor the breach of fiduciary duty claims are at issue in this motion.

STANDARDS

A motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim may be granted when there is no cognizable legal theory to support the claim or when the complaint lacks sufficient factual allegations to state a facially plausible claim for relief. Shroyer v. New Cingular Wireless Servs., Inc., 622 F.3d 1035, 1041 (9th Cir. 2010). In evaluating the sufficiency of a complaint’s factual allegations, the court must accept all material facts alleged in the complaint as true and construe them in the light most favorable to the non-moving party. Wilson v. Hewlett-Packard Co., 668 F.3d 1136, 1140 (9th Cir. 2012). However, the court need not accept unsupported conclusory allegations [1050]*1050as truthful. Holden v. Hagopian, 978 F.2d 1115, 1121 (9th Cir. 1992).

DISCUSSION

The Javlin Parties argue that the fraudulent transfer claim against them should be dismissed because (1) Count One fails to properly plead that the Javlin Parties are “affiliates” of the Liberty Parties; (2) Count Two is supported by “information and belief’ allegations which are not sufficiently particular under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 9(b); and (3) the claim is barred by the statute of limitations.

I. Applicable Law & Alleged Fraudulent Transfer Violations

The parties agree that Delaware law applies to the fraudulent transfer claim. Javlin Mot. 3-4, ECF 106; Pl.’s Resp. 8 n.1, ECF 111. As both parties note, Oregon and Delaware law are substantially similar because both states have adopted the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act. Del Code Ann. (D.C.A.) tit. 6, §§ 1301-1311 (Delaware UFTA); Or. Rev. Stat. §§ (O.R.S.) 95.200-95.310.1 agree with the parties and therefore, I do not engage in a choice-of-law analysis. I apply Delaware law.

The First Amended Complaint does not cite to a particular section of the Delaware UFTA allegedly violated.

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215 F. Supp. 3d 1045, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 112404, 2016 WL 8488382, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/villanueva-v-liberty-acquisitions-servicing-llc-ord-2016.