ANDREW P. GORDON, District Judge.
Plaintiff Salma Agha-Khan obtained a half-million-dollar mortgage to purchase a house in 2006. A few years later, she stopped making her payments so her lenders foreclosed and sold her house to someone else. Nearly six years after that foreclosure, Agha-Khan filed this lawsuit asserting 16 causes of action against 28 defendants (various people and companies who played some role in her loan, the foreclosure, or the sale). Agha-Khan does not dispute that she remains in default on her loan; instead, she claims that she can rescind her mortgage and acquire clear title to her house because the defendants made some procedural mistakes in her loan documents and during the foreclosure sale.
Most of the defendants now move to dismiss and for summary judgment, arguing that Agha-Khan's claims lack any factual or legal basis. The defendants are right, and I need look no further than the statutes of limitations to say so. The deadlines have passed to file the claims that Agha-Khan brings here. Even if they had not, there is no merit to any of them. I thus grant the defendants' motions. And because there is no indication that Agha-Khan could cure the deficiencies in her complaint, I dismiss with prejudice all of her claims against these defendants.
With the bulk of the defendants out of this case, only a few Wells Fargo-related defendants and two title insurance companies remain. Agha-Khan managed to obtain a default against the Wells Fargo defendants despite that they were never properly served (Agha-Khan served a bank teller rather than a proper agent). As to the title insurance companies, Agha Khan has a pending motion to enter default against them, which the companies oppose.
Wells Fargo requests that I set aside the default, and because it was never properly served, I do. Finally, the title insurance companies have shown good cause for why no default should be entered against them, so I deny Agha-Khan's motions for entry of default.
In early 2006, Agha-Khan purchased a house with a $521,000 mortgage.
In 2009, Agha-Khan defaulted on her mortgage and a Notice of Default was recorded.
Well over five years after the foreclosure sale, in December of 2016, Agha-Khan filed this action. She alleges 16 claims for: (1) Wrongful foreclosure; (2) To Void or Cancel Trustee's Deed of Sale; (3) Negligence; (4) Declaratory Relief; (5) Fraud in the Concealment; (6) Violation of 15 U.S.C. 1691, 1692; (7) Violation of 12 U.S.C. 2605; (8) Slander of Title; (9) Quiet Title; (10) Rescission; (11) Injunctive Relief; (12) Fraud; (13) Violation of NRS 645; (14) Defamation; (15) False Light; and (16) Punitive Damages.
A properly pleaded complaint must provide "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief."
A few of Agha-Khan's claims fail because they are not proper causes of action: declaratory relief, injunctive relief, and punitive damages are not stand-alone claims, but forms of relief.
As to her remaining claims, Agha-Khan's complaint is mostly made up of conclusory legal statements and elements of causes of action, which do not suffice. For example, Agha-Khan's negligence theory is that the defendants "owed a duty" to not "defraud" her, and "owed a duty not to conduct illegal" sales.
But even considering her claims on the merits, they fail.
Her negligence claim is barred by Nevada's two-year limitations period.
As to Agha-Khan's fraud-related claims, they are time-barred under Nevada's four-year limitation period. Any action sounding in fraud must be commenced within four years of the alleged fraudulent act (or for some species of fraud, within two or three years).
Agha-Khan's Truth in Lending Act ("TILA") claim is also time-barred. A claim for TILA damages must be brought "within one year from the date of the occurrence of the violation."
Agha-Khan's RESPA claim fails because she has no private right of action to assert,
Agha-Khan has requested leave to file an amended complaint. Although leave to amend is to be "freely given when justice so requires," I have discretion to deny leave where amendment would be futile or there appears to be bad faith, dilatory motive, or an intent to cause undue delay.
Agha-Khan offers no fact or authority indicating that any of her claims could be saved by amendment. Everything that she alleges that the defendants did predates the applicable statutes of limitations. And in any event, she does not explain how she could allege any specific facts to make her various claims plausible. At bottom, the thrust of her complaint is that she can obtain title to her home despite that she did not pay her mortgage, and the Supreme Court of Nevada has rejected that argument. I thus deny her request for leave to amend and dismiss her claims with prejudice.
Finally, the Wells Fargo and First American Title defendants are either subject to a default or a request for a default.
At any rate, Wells Fargo and First American Title have shown good cause for setting aside or rejecting their defaults. In deciding whether to set aside a default, I consider (1) whether the defendant engaged in culpable conduct that led to the default; (2) whether the defendant had a meritorious defense; or (3) whether reopening the case would prejudice the plaintiff.
There is no indication that any of these defendants knew of this case, so there is no evidence that their culpable conduct led to the default. As I explained above, the defendants have a meritorious defense given that Agha-Khan's claims have no merit. And the defendants moved to set aside or oppose their defaults within days of them being filed, so there will be no prejudice to Agha-Khan. I therefore set aside the default against the Wells Fargo defendants and reject Agha-Khan's motions for default against the First American Title defendants.
IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that the defendants' motions
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the plaintiff's motion for reconsideration
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the plaintiff's motions for entry of default
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the Wells Fargo defendants' motion to set aside default
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the defendant First American Title's motion to enlarge the time to respond to the complaint
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that the clerk of the court shall enter judgment accordingly and close this case.