Vinal v. Federal National Mortgage Ass'n

131 F. Supp. 3d 529, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125052, 2015 WL 5535191
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. North Carolina
DecidedSeptember 18, 2015
DocketNo. 7:13-CV-159-D
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 131 F. Supp. 3d 529 (Vinal v. Federal National Mortgage Ass'n) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Vinal v. Federal National Mortgage Ass'n, 131 F. Supp. 3d 529, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125052, 2015 WL 5535191 (E.D.N.C. 2015).

Opinion

[532]*532ORDER

JAMES C. DEVER III, Chief Judge.

On June 26, 2013, Peter S. Vinal (“Vinal” or “plaintiff”) sued SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. (“SunTrust”), several of SunTrust’s employees, the Federal National Mortgage Association (“Fannie Mae”), and Safeguard Properties, LLC (“Safeguard”), in New Hanover County Superior Court. See Compl. [D.E. 1-2] 1-19. SunTrust financed Vinal’s purchase of several properties in Wilmington, North Carolina, and the lawsuit arises out of the parties’ interactions after Vinal failed to make payments on the loans. Vinal alleged a litany of claims, including breach of contract, trespass, tortious interference’ with contract, fraudulent inducement, fraudulent misrepresentation, constructive fraud, unfair and deceptive trade practices, violation of North Carolina’s Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (“RICO”) Act, civil conspiracy, and unjust enrichment. See id. 5-18. On July 31, 2013, with Safeguard’s consent, SunTrust and its defendant-employees and Fannie Mae removed the case to this court. See [D.E, 1].

Vinal subsequently dropped all claims against Fannie Mae and the individual SunTrust employees, leaving only Sun-Trust and Safeguard as defendants. See [D.E. 24, 31]. Against the remaining defendants, Vinal voluntarily dismissed all but four claims. See ,[D.E. 24]. On August 30, 2013, SunTrust moved to dismiss 'those claims against it for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted [D.E. 19]. On February 14, 2014, the court granted SunTrust’s motion to dismiss and dismissed SunTrust as a defendant [D.E. 36].

The only remaining claim is Vinal’s trespass claim against Safeguard. On October 14, 2014, Safeguard moved for summary judgment [D.E. 47] and filed a supporting affidavit [D.E.-48] and a supporting memorandum with attached exhibits [D.E. 49]. On November 4, 2014, Vinal responded in opposition to Safeguard’s motion for summary judgment [D.E. 51]. As explained below, the court grants Safeguard’s motion for summary judgment.

I.

Vinal is a real-estate broker in Wilmington, North Carolina. Vinal Dep. [D.E. 49-8] 7-8 (deposition pages 15-16, 20-21). Between 2(305 and 2007, Vinal purchased five properties in Wilmington, at 1153 Arboretum Drive, 619 Sandfiddler Pointe, 1233 Edgewater Club Road, 1530 South 41st Street, and 1536 South 41st Street. Compl. [D.E. 1-2] ¶ 6; of. Vinal Dep. [D.E. 49-8] 8-9 (deposition pages 21-22, 24-25). To finance those purchases, Vinal took out nine interest-only loans with SunTrust. Vinal Dep. [D.E.,49-8] 810, 19 (deposition pages 22-23, 25, 27, 63-64). The loans were secured by deeds of trust on the five properties. See Compl., Exs. A-E. Each deed of trust contained the following provisions:

Preservation, Maintenance and Protection of the Property; Inspections. Borrower shall not destroy, damage or impair the Property, allow the Property to deteriorate or commit waste on the Property. Whether or not Borrower is residing in the Property, Borrower shall maintain the Property in order to prevent the Property from deteriorating or decreasing in value due to its condition. Unless it is determined pursuant to Section 5 that repair or restoration is not economically feasible, Borrower shall promptly repair the Property if damaged to avoid further deterioration or damage. If insurance or condemnation proceeds are paid in connection with damage to, or the taking of, the Property, Borrower shall be responsible for repairing or restoring the Property only if Lender has released proceeds for such purposes. Lender may disburse pro[533]*533ceeds for the repairs and restoration in a single payment or in a series of progress payments as'the work is completed. If the insurance or condemnation proceeds are not sufficient to repair or restore the Property, Borrower is not relieved of Borrower’s obligation for the completion of such repair or restoration. Lender or its agent may make reasonable entries upon and inspection of-the Property. .If it has reasonable cause, Lender may inspect the interior of the improvements on the Property. Lender shall give Borrower notice at the time of or prior to such an interior inspection specifying such reasonable cause.
# * *
Protection of Lender’s Interest in the Property and Rights Under this Security Agreement. If ... Borrower fails to perform the covenants and agreements contained in this Security Instrument, ... then Lender may do and pay for whatever is reasonable or appropriate to protect Lender’s interest in the Property and rights under this Security Instrument, including protecting and/or assessing the value of the Property, and securing and/or repairing the Property____ Securing the Property includes, but is not limited to, entering the Property to make repairs, change locks, replace or board up doors and windows, drain water from pipes, eliminate building or other code violations or dangerous conditions, and have utilities turned on or off.

Id. Most of the loans were long-term mortgages, with maturity dates between 2035 and 2037. See id., Exs. B-E. The loan associated with the Arboretum Drive property, though, matured On September 1, 2008. Id., Ex. A.

At first, Vinal made timely payments on the loans. After the housing market crashed in 2008, Vinal suffered a “drastic reduction” in his income and began struggling to meet his mortgage obligations. Id. ¶ 7. In March 2009, SunTrust and Vinal met to discuss the status of the loan associated with the Arboretum Drive property. Id. ¶ 8; cf. Vinal Dep; [D.E. 49-8] 15, 20, 37-(deposition pages 50, 67,137-38). Vinal had hoped to refinance his debt to make it more manageable, but at the meeting, Sun-Trust informed him that, due to a change in Fannie Mae guidelines, he was ineligible for refinancing,. Compl. ¶ 8; cf. Vinal Dep. [D.E. 49-8] 15, 20, 37 (deposition page 50, 67, 13738). At that point, Vinal notified SunTrust that he would soon become unable to make timely payments on his loans. Compl. ¶ 8.

After that March 2009 meeting,’ Vinal began efforts to avoid- foreclosure. First, he contacted SunTrust’s loss mitigation department. Id. ¶ 41; cf. Vinal Dep. [D.E. 49-8] 15, 37 (deposition pages 50, 138). Employees in'the loss mitigation department told Vinal that, if he missed his payments for’ three months, he would become eligible for “several modification or refinancing programs.” Compl. ¶ 41. Starting in June 2009, Vinal defaulted on his mortgage payments. Id. ¶¶ 10, 42.

In late 2009, the fair market value of Vinal’s properties had diminished to well below the remaining principal on his loans. Id. ¶ 8; Vinal Dep. [D.E. 49-8] 39 (deposition pages 145-46). Vinal then began attempting to short-sell his . properties. Compl. ¶ 11; Vinal Dep. [D.E. 49-8] 12,14, 18, 20, 22 (deposition pages 36, 44-45, 59-62, 68-70, 76). On three of his properties — the Arboretum Drive property, the Sandfiddler Pointe property, and the Edgewater Club property — Vinal received offers to purchase, and entered into purchase contracts with the potential buyers. Compl. ¶¶ 11, 32; see [D.E. 16-2]; Vinal Dep. [D.E. 49-8] 12, 20, 22, 38 (deposition page 35-37, 69-70, 76, 139). For each of the purchase contracts, SunTrust’s approv[534]*534al of the short sale was a condition precedent to any contractual obligations arising, and each contract specifically noted that SunTrust was not obligated to give that approval. See [DIE.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
131 F. Supp. 3d 529, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125052, 2015 WL 5535191, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vinal-v-federal-national-mortgage-assn-nced-2015.