MATTHEW W. BRANN, District Judge.
On October 17, 2016, Plaintiff, MSCI 2006-IQ11 Logan Boulevard Limited Partnership, a Delaware limited partnership, hereinafter "MSCI" or "Plaintiff" filed commercial mortgage foreclosure action against Defendant, Greater Lewistown Shopping Plaza, L.P., a Pennsylvania limited partnership, hereinafter "Lewistown Shopping Plaza" or "Defendant." Plaintiff filed a Motion to Appoint a Receiver
On November 18, 2016, I granted the motion in part and denied it in part; I indicated that the mortgage did allow for Court appointment of a receiver, but further indicated that the proposed order filed by Plaintiff was broader than the scope of the mortgage, and I was not prepared to grant that ex parte. ECF No. 7. That same date, Plaintiff filed its affidavit of service of summons, indicating that Defendant had been served with process. Prior to Plaintiff filing a renewed motion for appointment of a receiver (which will be disposed of by separate Order), Defendant filed the instant motion to dismiss based on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and (6). This motion then is the subject of the instant Memorandum Opinion.
"If a party asserts several objections and defenses to a complaint, including a F.R.C.P. 12(b)(1) defense for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, "the cases are legion stating that the district court should consider the Rule 12(b)(1) challenge first because if it must dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the accompanying defenses and objections become moot and do not need to be determined by the judge.""
Additionally, "[t]he procedure under a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction is quite different" from the familiar procedure under Rule 12(b)(6).
Lewistown Shopping Plaza asserts that this Court does not have subject matter jurisdiction because there is not diversity of citizenship as required by 28 U.S.C. Section 1332.
Defendant is domiciled in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A third mortgage assignment, to Plaintiff, a State of Ohio domiciliary, was dated on October 13, 2016, but it was not recorded until October 18, 2016, one day after the complaint was filed. Defendant therefore argues that this Court does not have jurisdiction because the mortgage was still held by the second mortgage assignee, a Pennsylvania domiciliary, as of the filing of the complaint.
I respectfully disagree and reject Lewistown Shopping Plaza's argument. Defendant focuses on the recording date. The date that would commence privity of contract between these two parties is, however, the assignment date. "The assignment of a mortgage confers standing to the assignee, even in some cases, unlike the instant case, where the assignment was not recorded."
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a defendant may file a motion to dismiss for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Such a motion "tests the legal sufficiency of a pleading" and "streamlines litigation by dispensing with needless discovery and factfinding."
Beginning in 2007, the Supreme Court of the United States initiated what some scholars have termed the Roberts Court's "civil procedure revival" by significantly tightening the standard that district courts must apply to 12(b)(6) motions.
Accordingly, after Twombly and Iqbal, "[t]o survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to `state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'"
The plausibility determination is "a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense."
When disposing of a motion to dismiss, a court must "accept as true all factual allegations in the complaint and draw all inferences from the facts alleged in the light most favorable to [the plaintiff]."
As a matter of procedure, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has instructed that:
The Court now turns to the specifics of the instant matter, including the taking of the facts alleged in the complaint as true, as I must when considering a failure to state a claim motion to dismiss.
Defendant raises two arguments under Rule 12(b)(6). First, that Plaintiff failed to plead its action in accordance with Pa. R. Civ. P. 1147(a); and second, that it violated Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 in filing its complaint. I respectfully reject both of Defendant's arguments.
"Pennsylvania law requires a foreclosure complaint to include: (1) a specific averment of default, (2) an itemized statement of the amount due, and (3) a demand for judgment of the amount due."
¶ 29. Borrower failed to pay to Lender the outstanding principal balance of the Note, together with all accrued but unpaid interest thereon, on or before the Maturity Date of April 5, 2016.
¶ 30. Borrower's failure to pay the principal and interest in full on the Maturity Date constitutes an Event of Default under the Loan Documents. (See Loan Agreement § 8.1(a).
¶ 31. Lender provided a Notice of Default to Borrower by letter dated May 10, 2016, a copy of which is attached hereto as
¶ 32. Notwithstanding the Notice of Default, Borrower has failed to cure the ongoing Event of Default by paying in full the outstanding principal and interest due under the Note.
¶ 33. Accordingly, Lender brings this action to foreclose the Mortgage.
¶ 34. The following amounts are due and owing by Borrower under the Note and the Mortgage as of October 5, 2016, without defense, deduction, offset, recoupment, or counterclaim:
¶ 35. Additional per diem interest (at the contractual default rate) as well as other fees, charges and costs recoverable under the Loan Documents have continued and continue to accrue on the Loan.
As illustrated, Plaintiff specifically alleged default, itemized the amount due, and demanded the amount due, all in compliance with Pa. R. Civ. P. 1147.
Additionally, Defendant's other argument that the complaint is violative of Fed. R. Civ. P. 8 also fails. That rule states,
I further hold that the complaint is in accordance with Fed. R. Civ. P. 8. The basis for jurisdiction is diversity, the pleadings and attachments show an alleged default, and the demand for relief is clearly stated as a mortgage foreclosure.
Accordingly, a separate Order will issue denying Defendant's Motion to Dismiss for all of the foregoing reasons.