Ware v. U.S. Bank National Ass'n

131 F. Supp. 3d 573, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124282
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Mississippi
DecidedSeptember 17, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 3:13cv387-DPJ-FKB
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 131 F. Supp. 3d 573 (Ware v. U.S. Bank National Ass'n) 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
Ware v. U.S. Bank National Ass'n, 131 F. Supp. 3d 573, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124282 (S.D. Miss. 2015).

Opinion

ORDER

DANIEL P. JORDAN III, District Judge.

This case is before the Court on the Motion for Summary Judgment [86] filed by Defendant JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (“Chase”). Finding no genuine issue of material fact, the Court grants Chase’s motion.

I. Facts and Procedural History

Plaintiffs Adrian and Tonya Ware purchased a home in the Bridgewater neighborhood of Ridgeland, Mississippi, in December 2004. Plaintiffs financed the purchase by executing two promissory notes and deeds of trust in favor of Metrocities Mortgage, LLC. Plaintiffs’ mortgage loans were refinanced several times, and Plaintiffs ultimately paid off one of their loans by February 2012.

As to the remaining loan, in 2011, Plaintiffs began experiencing financial difficulty, so Mr. Ware called a federal agency to inquire into the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). Mr. Ware learned that his loan would not qualify for a HAMP modification because the principal amount of the loan was too high but that Chase, the loan servicer, “had a program that mirrored HAMP.” A. Ware Dep. [86-9] at-69.

Mr. Ware then contacted Chase and submitted an application for a loan modification. After submitting the application, Mr. Ware called Chase to check on its status on more than one occasion. During the second such phone conversation, a Chase representative told Mr. Ware that “loans, that are current are not ... reviewed” but “only loans that are delin[575]*575quent are reviewed.” Id. at 92. Other Chase representatives, in other phone calls with Mr. Ware, confirmed “that in order for the loan to be reviewed, that it has to be, you know, delinquent.” Id. at 95. The Wares thereafter stopped making payments on their loan.

In the-meantime,- the Wares submitted four loan modification requests to Chase, each of which was denied without explanation. Mr. Ware testified that throughout this time, he “would write [Chase] and ask them things and would not get a lot of responses to my questions____” A. Ware Dep. [89-1] at 97. Mr. Ware also recalls that “at one time [he] was told that [his] time expired on getting something ... back to [Chase], which [he] didn’t think was true, because [he] thought [he] was pretty prompt with responding” to Chase’s requests for information. Id. at 105.

Eventually, the Wares began receiving letters indicating that their loan was being foreclosed upon, but Chase representatives told Mr. Ware that his “loan modification was being processed, and they didn’t know why [he] was getting letters.” Id. at 112.

In April 2012, the beneficiary of the Wares’ deed of trust assigned it to U.S. Bank, which appointed a substitute trustee. On May 22, 2013, the substitute trustee issued a notice of sale, setting a foreclosure sale for June 20, 2013. The Wares filed this lawsuit in Madison County Circuit Court on June 12, '2013, and Chase removed it to this Court. Following the Court’s ruling on a Motion to Dismiss [8], the Wares’ sole remaining claims are for negligence and gross negligence against Chase. See Dec. 20, 2013 Order [19]; Apr. 15, 2014, Order [48],

At the close of discovery, Chase filed its Motion for Summary Judgment [86]. After briefing concluded, the Court held oral argument and then gave the parties an extended period to pursue a settlement. When that failed,. the Court requested additional briefing, which was completed August 27, 2015. Personal and subject-matter - jurisdiction exist and the Court is prepared to rule.

II. Standard

Summary judgment is warranted under Rule 56(a) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure when evidence reveals ho genuine dispute regarding any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. The rule “mandates the entry of summary judgment, after adequate time for discovery and upon motion, against a party who fails to make a showing sufficient to establish the existence of an element essential to that party’s case, and on which that party will bear the burden of proof at trial.” Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986).

The party moving for summary judgment “bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of [the record] which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact.” Id. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The nonmoving party must then “go beyond the pleadings” and “designate ‘specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.’ ” Id. at 324,106 S.Ct. 2548 (citation omitted), Conclusory allegations, speculation, unsubstantiated assertions, and legalistic arguments are not an adequate substitute for specific facts showing a genuine issue for trial. TIG Ins. Co. v. Sedgwick James of Wash., 276 F.3d 754, 759 (5th Cir.2002); Little v. Liquid Air Corp., 37 F.3d 1069, 1075 (5th Cir.1994) (en banc); SEC v. Recile, 10 F.3d 1093, 1097 (5th Cir.1993).

III. Analysis

Chase makes three primary arguments in support of its motion. First, it asserts [576]*576that the Wares are judicially estopped from pursuing their claims because they did not disclose them in their bankruptcy case. Second, Chase claims the Wares cannot establish that it breached any duty it owed them. Finally, Chase argues that the Wares’ claims .fail for lack of proof of any damages. The Court will examine the first tyro.

A. Judicial Estoppel

On September 26, 2012, the Wares filed a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Petition, and they filed their schedules on October 25, 2012. Those schedules failed to mention their potential claims against Chase. But on February 25, 2013, the bankruptcy court entered an Agreed Order Granting Trustee’s Motion to Dismiss [86-Í5], and the bankruptcy case was closed without the court confirming the Wares’ Chapter 13 plan.

Chase maintains that the Wares are judicially estopped from pursuing their claims for failure to include them as an asset in their bankruptcy schedules. “Judicial estoppel is a common law doctrine that prevents a party from assuming inconsistent positions in litigation.” In re Superior Crewboats, Inc., 374 F.3d 330, 334 (5th Cir.2004). The Fifth Circuit applies a three-part test to determine the applicability of the doctrine: “(1) the party is judicially estopped only if its position is clearly inconsistent with the previous one; (2) the court must have accepted the previous position; and (3) the non-disclosure must not have been inadvertent.” Id. at 335.

The Wares concede that the first and third requirements are satisfied, so the sole dispute centers on whether the bankruptcy court accepted the Wares’ previous position that they did not have, as an asset, the potential claims they now assert in this lawsuit. “The second requirement for the application of judicial estoppel, judicial acceptance, ensures that judicial estoppel is only applied in situations where the integrity of .the'judiciary is jeopardized.” In re Oparaji,

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131 F. Supp. 3d 573, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 124282, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ware-v-us-bank-national-assn-mssd-2015.