LOUISE W. FLANAGAN, District Judge.
This matter comes before the court upon defendants' motions to dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. (DE 38, 41, 44). Plaintiff has failed to respond to these motions, and the time for doing so has elapsed. In this posture, the issues raised are ripe for ruling. For the following reasons, the court grants defendants' motions.
Plaintiff, proceeding pro se, commenced this action on June 25, 2018, asserting, as pertinent here, that defendants Branch Banking and Trust Company ("BB&T"); Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital, Inc.; FV-1, Inc.; Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings, LLC; U.S. Bank Trust National Association; and Igloo Series II Trust violated the Truth in Lending Act ("TILA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1601,
On June 3, 2018, defendant BB&T filed the instant motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. On June 6, 2018, defendants FV-1, Inc., Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital Holdings, LLC, and Morgan Stanley Mortgage Capital, Inc. filed the instant motion to dismiss on similar grounds also for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Finally, on June 6, 2018, defendants Igloo Series II Trust and U.S. Bank Trust National Association filed the instant motion to dismiss also for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.
The facts alleged in the complaint may be summarized as follows. On July 7, 2005, plaintiff obtained a mortgage on her property located at 544 Pine Ridge Road, Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina ("the property"), by executing a negotiable promissory note and deed of trust with BB&T for $249,000. (Compl. ¶¶ 36-38, 59). According to the complaint, BB&T failed to disclose material information during this transaction. (
"To survive a motion to dismiss" under Rule 12(b)(6), "`a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to `state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'"
Defendants argue the one-year statute of limitations under TILA bars plaintiff's claim for monetary relief. Additionally, defendants argue that TILA's three-year statute of repose bars plaintiff's claim for rescission of the loan transaction.
TILA requires creditors to disclose material information to borrowers during the execution of a loan. 15 U.S.C. § 1638(a). If a creditor violates this disclosure requirement, a borrower can seek monetary damages by filing suit "within one year from the date of the occurrence of the violation."
Here, the alleged TILA violation occurred on July 7, 2005, when plaintiff executed the negotiable promissory note and defendant BB&T allegedly failed during that transaction to disclose information about the loan to plaintiff. (
Plaintiff suggests that defendants' failure to comply with TILA's disclosure requirement tolled the statute of limitations. (Compl. ¶ 93). The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has recognized that fraudulent concealment can toll a statute of limitations.
TILA allows a borrower to rescind a loan transaction up to three years after execution of the loan. 15 U.S.C. § 1635(f);
Moreover, the United States Supreme Court has classified 15 U.S.C. § 1635(f) as a statute of repose instead of a statute of limitations.
In sum, where TILA's statute of limitations and statute of repose bar plaintiff's claim for monetary relief and rescission respectively, defendants' motions to dismiss must be granted.
Based on the foregoing, the court GRANTS defendants' motions to dismiss. Where plaintiff's TILA claims are time barred, and plaintiff has failed to respond to the instant motions to dismiss, plaintiff's claims addressed herein are DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE. The clerk is DIRECTED to close this case.
SO ORDERED.