MARCIA S. KRIEGER, Chief District Judge.
Because the Plaintiffs' Complaint
The Sadlers' claims are not well-articulated in either the Complaint or Scheduling Order, They consist largely of an assertion that the Defendants committed "deception [and] fraud" and violated an array of statutes the Sadlers identify only by their initials — the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA"), 12 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq.; the Home Affordable Modification Prograrm ("HAMP"), an uncodified Treasury Department program created pursuant to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, 12 U.S.C. § 5201; the Federal Trade Commission Act ("FTCA"), 15 U.S.C. § 45(a); the Truth In Lending Act ("TILA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1601 et seq.; the Consumer Financial Protection Act ("CFPA"), 12 U.S.C. § 5531 and 5536 — along with "various Colorado statutes" (apparently including the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, C.R.S. § 6-1-101 et seq.) "and other illegal practices."
On March 2, 2018, the Sadlers filed the instant Motion for Preliminary Injunction
The FED action is set for trial on April 2.
The Sadlers seek a preliminary injunction restraining the Defendants from prosecuting the FED action. A party seeking a preliminary injunction is required to show: (i) the party will suffer an imminent and irreparable injury if the injunction is denied; (ii) a likelihood of success on the merits of the claims in the action; (iii) a balancing of the equities tipping in favor of the party seeking the injunction; and (iv) that the requested injunction is not injurious to the public interest. McDonnell v. City and County of Denver, 878 F.3d 1247, 1252 (10th Cir. 2018). In addition, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 65(c), the Court must require the movant to "give[ ] security in an amount that the court considers proper to pay the costs and damages sustained by any party found to have been wrongfully enjoined or restrained."
There are several obstacles that prevent the Court for reaching the Sadlers' request for an injunction on the merits. The Defendants have argued that the Anti-Injunction Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2283, prevents the Court from enjoining the FED action. That statute provides that the Court "many not grant an injunction to stay proceedings in a State Court" unless: (i) a federal statute provides for such injunction, (ii) the Court must enjoin the state proceeding in order to preserve its jurisdiction over the case, or (iii) the Court has issued a judgment that requires such an injunction. Although it is not entirely clear whether the Sadlers request that this Court enjoin the
The Court also has concerns that the Sadlers' request would be barred by the Rooker-Feldman doctrine. That doctrine prohibits a party who lost in a concluded state court proceeding from invoking federal jurisdiction in an effort to upset the state court's judgment. Dillard v. Bank of New York, 476 Fed.Appx. 690, 691-92 (10
The Court also agrees with the Defendants that the doctrine of Younger abstention would also counsel against this Court interfering in the FED action. See e.g. Flemming v. Sims, 2017 WL 8314665 (D.Colo. Aug. 1, 2017); Davis v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co., 2016 WL 8670507 (D.Colo. Dec. 30, 2016); Virostek v. IndyMac Mortgage Servs., 2011 WL 6937185 (D.Colo. Sept. 6, 2011).
Were the Court to proceed to consider the actual preliminary injunction factors, the Sadlers' first difficulty is in establishing that they will be subjected to an irreparable injury if their requested injunction is denied. The existence of such an injury is "the single most important prerequisite for issuance of a preliminary injunction." New Mexico Dept. of Game and Fish v. U.S. Dept. of the Interior, 854 F.3d 1236, 1249 (10
If the FED action proceeds and BNY is successful, the Sadlers will be evicted from the home they currently reside in. The Court is well-aware that such a situation is sad, stressful, and disruptive for all of the home's residents. At the same time, certain facts are undisputed, most significantly, that
If the Court were to turn to the other preliminary injunction factors, the Sadlers face further obstacles. It is difficult to assess whether the Sadlers have any likelihood of succeeding on the merits of their claims because it is not entirely clear to the Court what claims the Sadlers actually assert. The Court can readily eliminate some of their potential claims. It is well-settled that there is no private right of action for aggrieved individuals under the FTCA; all enforcement of that statute's provisions be done by the Federal Trade Commission. See McNees v. Ocwen Loan Servicing, LLC, 2017 WL 1386360 (D.Colo. Feb. 16, 2017), citing Baum v. Great Western Cities, Inc., 703 F.2d 1197, 1209 (10
The Sadlers could conceivably assert claims under RESPA, TILA, FCRA, and even the Colorado Consumer Protection Act, but it is not clear how success under any of these statutes would lead to permanent relief from BNY's FED action. In other words, even if the Sadlers succeeded on any claim under these statutes, the remedies available to them would not include undoing the foreclosure sale and restoring the Sadlers' title to the property; at most, the Sadlers can only recover money damages under these statutes.
Even if the Court were to conclude that the Sadlers could establish the first two elements for a preliminary injunction, the Court finds that the balance of equities does not tip in their favor. The Sadlers apparently admit that the mortgage note on the home is in default, and indeed, it is undisputed that BNY has foreclosed upon the home. The equities would favor the Sadlers if they could allege and prove that they had made all the required mortgage payments, but if they are in default, the equities demand that the relinquish a home for which they are not making payments. The Sadlers' age and family circumstances do not alter this conclusion; many delinquent borrowers are elderly, infirm, have young children, or otherwise possess special circumstances that make foreclosure and eviction particularly awkward. The law does not deprive a lender/owner like BNY the ability to recover the use of its property simply because a delinquent borrower has fallen on hard times (indeed,
Even if the Sadlers could demonstrate all of the elements entitling them to a preliminary injunction enjoining the FED action, the Court would also require the Sadlers to post security to compensate BNY for the loss of its ability to lease or sell the home pending resolution of this case. At a minimum, such security would include the lease amount that the home would command on the open market. BNY estimates that amount to be $2,500 a month, and the Sadlers have not offered evidence to the contrary. Given that this lawsuit would likely continue for a year or more, and given the Sadlers' previous failure to make periodic mortgage payments as required, the Court would be inclined to require a full year's worth of rent — $30,000 — to be posted upfront as security by the Sadlers and held in escrow by the Court. The Sadlers have not represented that they stand ready and willing to post security in that amount.
Accordingly, the Sadlers' Motion for Preliminary Injunction