Williams v. Fannie Mae

District Court, E.D. California·Decided August 5, 2022·No. 1:21-cv-00848·Unknown

Opinion

APRIL PREMO WILLIAMS, Case No. 1:21-cv-00848-AWI-HBK Plaintiff, FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO GRANT DEFENDANTS’ REQUEST FOR v. JUDICIAL NOTICE AND MOTION TO DISMISS FIRST AMENDED COMPLAINT1 NATIONAL MORTGAGE FOURTEEN-DAY OBJECTION PERIOD (Doc. Nos. 31-1, 31) Defendants.

Pending before the Court the motion to dismiss Plaintiff April Premo Williams’s First Amended Complaint (Doc. No. 30, “FAC”) with prejudice, filed on behalf of Defendants Bank of America, N.A. and Federal National Mortgage Association d/b/a Fannie Mae on May 6, 2022. (Doc. No. 31, “Motion”). Defendants accompanied their Motion with a Request for Judicial Notice or Notice of Incorporation by Reference of certain documents in support of their Motion. (Doc. No. 31-1). On June 3, 2022, Plaintiff filed a “request for accommodation and appointment of counsel,” which the Court construes as Plaintiff’s opposition to Defendants’ Motion. (Doc. No. 34). Defendants did not file a reply. The undersigned recommends the district court: (1) grant Defendants’ Request for Judicial Notice, including incorporation by reference and (2) grant Defendants’ Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint with prejudice.

1 The district court referred the Motion to the assigned United States magistrate judge. (Doc. No. 35). Federal Rule of Evidence 201 permits a court to take judicial notice of facts that are “not subject to reasonable dispute” because they are either “generally known within the trial court's territorial jurisdiction,” or they “can be accurately and readily determined from sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned.” Fed. R. Evid. 201(b). The Court may take judicial notice on its own or at the request of any party. Id. 201(c). Defendants request the Court to take judicial notice of the deeds of trust for Plaintiff’s two properties (attached as Exhibits A and B) and by way of the doctrine of incorporation by reference also take notice of two promissory notes executed by Plaintiff (Exhibits C and D). (See Doc. No. 31 at 7, fn. 1 (citing Howerton v. Earthgrains Baking Cos., 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 75944, at *6-*7 (E.D. Cal. 2015); see also 31-1 at ¶¶1-4). Although the motion to dismiss stage typically does not involve considering matters outside the pleadings, the court may consider items that are properly judicially noticed. Rosal v. First Fed. Bank of Cal., 671 F. Supp. 2d 1111, 1120 (N.D. Cal. 2009). The Court may take judicial notice of the deeds of trust because they are official documents. Fed. R. Evid. 201(b)(2); see also Rosal, 671 F. Supp. 2d at 1120-21 (taking judicial notice of deed of trust); Paulhus v. Fay Servicing, LLC, Case No. 14-736, 2014 WL 3845051, *1, fn. 2 (E.D. Cal. Aug. 6, 2014) (taking judicial notice of “several recorded documents pertaining to plaintiff's property,” including a deed of trust). The undersigned recommends that the Court take judicial notice of Exhibits A and B attached to Doc. No. 31-1 consisting of the deeds of trust for purposes of ruling on the instant motion to dismiss. Defendants similarly request the Court to consider two promissory notes executed by Plaintiff by way of incorporation by reference. (Doc. Nos. 31-1 at ¶¶ 3-4). Documents extensively referenced or relied on in a complaint may be considered incorporated by reference in Rule 12(b)(6) proceedings. Ecological Rights Found. V. Pac. Gas & Elec., 713 F.3d 502, 511 (9th Cir. 2013). Here, Plaintiff extensively references and relies upon the promissory notes related to her purchase of the properties and related claims set forth in her FAC. (See Doc. No. 30 at 5-11). Thus, the undersigned recommends the Court consider these two promissory notes attached as Exhibit B and C because they are incorporated by reference into the FAC. BACKGROUND and SUMMARY OF OPERATIVE PLEADING Plaintiff initiated this action proceeding pro se by filing a complaint on May 26, 2021 against Defendants Bank of America, N.A.; Federal National Mortgage Association d/b/a Fannie Mae), Hugh Frater, Brian Moynihan, Adriana Rodriquez, and Mark Calabria alleging claims of discrimination under the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and breach of contract. (Doc. No. 1). Plaintiff paid the full filing fee to proceed in this case. See docket. In response, Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint on August 23, 2021. (Doc. No. 9). On December 17, 2021, the undersigned issued a findings and recommendations recommending in relevant part that the district court grant the motion to dismiss filed by Defendants Frater, Moynihan, and Rodriquez, without leave to amend, and grant the motion to dismiss as to Bank of America and Fannie Mae, with leave to amend. (Doc. No. 14). The district court adopted the findings and recommendations in full on March 28, 2022, permitting Plaintiff to file an amended complaint no later than April 25, 2022. (Doc. No. 22). Plaintiff filed her operative FAC on April 22, 2022. (Doc. No. 30). The FAC proceeds against Defendants Bank of America and Fannie Mae. (Doc. No. 30). The claims at issue in the FAC stem from the same facts previously asserted in the original complaint. Plaintiff’s states she is both physically and mentally disabled. (Id. at 3)(stating Plaintiff is “borderline mentally retarded concerning visual perception, visual analysis with coordination and visual motor dexterity,” and has the inability to concentrate and distractibility, among other issues). The FAC identifies claims of discrimination arising under the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) and the Rehabilitation Act, as well as breach of contract claims against Bank of America, the loan servicer, and Fannie Mae, the loan owner, in connection with two properties Plaintiff owns. (Id. at 5-10). According to the FAC, Plaintiff owned two rental properties, one located on Pyramid Drive in Ceres, California, and another on Algen Court in Modesto, California since 2008 and 2009, respectively. (Id. at 5, 8). For nearly a decade Plaintiff paid the mortgage on time at either Countrywide Bank or Bank of America and received a receipt. (Id. at 5). Plaintiff states she paid the insurance and property taxes on her own. (Id.). Starting in 2016 and continuing through 2020, however, a series of unfortunate events occurred, including the deaths of Plaintiff’s mother and sister and Plaintiff’s involvement in a serious car accident. (Id.at 5). These series of events necessitated Plaintiff having to travel extensively and caused Plaintiff to forget to pay her property taxes.2 (Id. at 6). Bank of America paid the delinquent property taxes and recovered the payment from Plaintiff. (Id. at 6). Plaintiff re-paid the bank for the taxes plus penalties. (Id.). Thereafter, Bank of America began to escrow property taxes and insurance, despite Plaintiff’s requests to not escrow for these payments (or what Plaintiff calls “impound” or “impound accounts”) as an accommodation to her under the ADA. (Id. at 6). It appears Plaintiff refused to pay the increased monthly amount to cover the escrow reserves and incurred penalties and late fees. (Id.). Plaintiff believes that the bank’s failure to accommodate her request shows they are discriminating against her by forcing her to deposit funds for property taxes and insurance in an escrow account. (Id.). As further evidence of discrimination by Bank of America, Plaintiff recalls a time she requested the bank to provide her with an estimate for re- financing her loans to a lowe

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