PAUL D. BORMAN, District Judge.
This matter comes before the Court on Defendant Homecomings Financial, LLC's Motion to Dismiss pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). (Dkt. No. 5.) Plaintiff filed a response (Dkt. No. 8) and Defendant filed a reply (Dkt. No. 10.) The Court heard oral argument on June 30, 2010. For the reasons that follow, the Court GRANTS Defendant's motion to dismiss.
This case involves Plaintiff's claims that the terms of his mortgage loan and the origination of that loan by the Defendant Homecoming Financial, LLC ("Homecoming") were fraudulent and predatory. Plaintiff executed the mortgage on December 18, 2003 and did not begin to complain about the terms until sometime late in 2008. Plaintiff also claims that Defendant did not respond to a September 18, 2009, Qualified Written Request ("QWR"), sent by Plaintiff to Defendant, requesting information about his mortgage under the Real Estate Settlement Practices Act ("RESPA").
Defendant responds that Plaintiff's claims are largely barred by the applicable statutes of limitations and that Defendant did in fact respond to Plaintiff's multiple QWRs with all of the information required to be provided under RESPA. Defendant also moves to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint for failure to plead fraud with particularity, failure to plead plausible claims of breach of contract and promissory estoppel and failure to adequately allege entitlement to quiet title or declaratory relief.
On December 18, 2003, Plaintiff closed a mortgage loan with Homecomings in the amount of $465,000. (Compl. ¶ 5.) In connection with the transaction, Plaintiff executed a promissory note (the "Note") and a mortgage (the "Mortgage") relating to the property located at 5120 Autumn Ridge Court, West Bloomfield, MI 48323 (the "Property"). (Def.'s Mot. Exs. A, B.)
At the June 30, 2010 hearing on this matter, Plaintiff's counsel conceded that the relevant income and expense amounts were on the loan application when Plaintiff signed it under penalty of perjury.
Plaintiff also claims that he was not informed of various charges that were later assessed against him and was never advised of the variable rate loan, his rescission rights, split charges and excess interest rate differentials. He also claims that various costs were "over inflated" on the HUD Settlement statement, including origination fees, appraisal fees, document preparation fees, broker processing fees, lender underwriting fees and a yield to premium adjustment. (Compl. ¶ 7.) Again, although Plaintiff does not attach a copy of the HUD Settlement Statement to which he refers to his Complaint, Plaintiff has attached a copy to its Response to Defendant's Motion. (Pl.'s Resp. Ex. I.)
Plaintiff also claims that his billings were sent with "outrageous charges that were never disclosed and deductions from payments were made in a manner that kept adding on various late charges and other costs." (Compl. ¶ 8.) Plaintiff also alleges that "Plaintiff was discriminated against by taking [sic] members of his class and applying for non-affordable loans from on [sic] application that falsely used inflated income to conceal a higher debt to income ratio." (Compl. ¶ 7.) Finally, Plaintiff claims that he or his agent sent to Defendant on January 29, 2009, and on numerous other dates, qualified written requests ("QWRs") pursuant to RESPA requesting certain information to which Defendant never adequately responded. (Compl. ¶¶ 10, 53-65.)
In fact Homecomings did respond to the January 29, 2009 QWR, and to other QWRs sent by Plaintiff, and provided Plaintiff with copies of: (1) the Note, (2) the Mortgage, (3) Plaintiff's payment history on the loan, (4) the HUD Settlement Statement, and (5) copies of the escrow analysis on Plaintiff's account. (Def.'s Mot. Exs. D, E and F.)
Plaintiff filed his Complaint on January 27, 2010, more than six years after the December 18, 2003 closing on his home. Defendant now moves for dismissal of Plaintiff's Complaint for failure to state a claim.
Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) provides for the dismissal of a case where the complaint fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. When reviewing a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6), a court must "construe the complaint in the light most favorable to the plaintiff, accept its allegations as true, and draw all reasonable inferences
Id. at 1949-50 (internal citation and quotation marks omitted). A plaintiff's factual allegations, while "assumed to be true, must do more than create speculation or suspicion of a legally cognizable cause of action; they must show entitlement to relief." LULAC v. Bredesen, 500 F.3d 523, 527 (6th Cir.2007) (citing Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1965). Thus, "[t]o state a valid claim, a complaint must contain either direct or inferential allegations respecting all the material elements to sustain recovery under some viable legal theory." Bredesen, 500 F.3d at 527 (citing Twombly, 127 S.Ct. at 1969). In addition to the allegations and exhibits of the complaint, a court may consider "public records, items appearing in the record of the case and exhibits attached to defendant's motion to dismiss so long as they are referred to in the [c]omplaint and are central to the claims contained therein." Bassett v. NCAA, 528 F.3d 426, 430 (6th Cir.2008) (citing Amini v. Oberlin Coll., 259 F.3d 493, 502 (6th Cir.2001)); Pension Benefit Guar. Corp. v. White Consol. Indus., Inc., 998 F.2d 1192, 1196 (3d Cir.1993) ("[A] court may consider an undisputedly authentic document that a defendant attaches as an exhibit to a motion to dismiss if the plaintiff's claims are based on the document.") (citations omitted). "Otherwise, a plaintiff with a legally deficient claim could survive a motion to dismiss simply by failing to attach a dispositive document upon which it relied." Weiner, supra, 108 F.3d at 89.
Plaintiff's claims of civil conspiracy (Count III)
Defendant argues that "the alleged misconduct that gives rise to all of these claims occurred at or before the origination and closing of the subject loan," which occurred on December 18, 2003. (Def.'s Mot. 4.) Defendant refers specifically to the allegations regarding failure to disclose certain terms of the loan, inflating figures on Plaintiff's loan application, failing to inform Plaintiff of certain fees and charges, charging excessive fees and forcing Plaintiff into an unaffordable loan. (Compl. ¶¶ 20, 26-28.) To the extent that the allegations relate to conduct that occurred in this time frame, such claims are barred by the applicable statute of limitations. "The claim accrues at the time the wrong upon which the claim is based was done regardless of the time when damage results." MCL 600.5827.
Plaintiff cites Boyle v. General Motors Corp., 250 Mich.App. 499, 655 N.W.2d 233 (2002) for the proposition that the statute of limitations begins to run when the cause of action is discovered. (Pl.'s Resp. 5.) However, this decision of the Court of Appeals was reversed by the Michigan Supreme Court in Boyle, supra, where the Court expressly rejected the application of such a "discovery rule" to claims of fraud or intentional misrepresentation: "The Court of Appeals erred in holding that the discovery rule applies to the accrual of actions for fraud. That holding directly contradicts Ramsey [v. Child, Hulswit & Co., 198 Mich. 658, 165 N.W. 936 (1917)] and Thatcher [v. Detroit Trust Co., 288 Mich. 410, 285 N.W. 2 (1939)] and ignores the plain language of M.C.L. § 600.5813 and 600.5827." 468 Mich. at 231-232, 661 N.W.2d 557. See also Lorimer v. Berrelez, 331 F.Supp.2d 585, 592-593 (E.D.Mich.2004) (holding, as to a fraudulent misrepresentation claim under Michigan law, that the six-year statute of limitations "begins to run when the misrepresentation was perpetrated and not when the plaintiff discovered or should have discovered the misrepresentation.") (citing Boyle, supra). Accordingly, Plaintiff's claims filed on January 27, 2010, that
Plaintiff alleges that: "Defendants through their mortgage servicing department began to assess excessive interest rate charges beyond the contractual amount allowed. . . . Defendants continued to assess illegal escrow fees, penalties, interest and other illegal charges beyond what was allowed for in the original contract." (Compl. ¶¶ 48-49.) As pled, Plaintiff's Complaint does not include the factual content, including relevant dates, to enable the Court to conclude that such a claim, for acts occurring within the statutory period, has been stated. The breach of contract claim, for example, does not state the nature or amount of the charges complained of and does not state how those charges exceeded what was actually contemplated under the contract or when such charges were assessed. It merely states, in conclusory terms, that Defendant imposed "illegal charges beyond what was allowed for in the original contract." It would be pure speculation for the Court to conclude that the acts complained of occurred within the statutory period.
With regard to Plaintiff's promissory estoppel claim, Plaintiff appears to be claiming that Defendant's conduct was separate and apart from the acts surrounding the closing of the loan, referring to Homecoming's more recent alleged "promise to Plaintiff to negotiate a modification or other equitable relief." (Compl. ¶ 42.) Plaintiff discusses this allegation in his response brief, stating:
(Pl.'s Resp. 10.)
To state a claim of promissory estoppel, Plaintiff must allege: "(1) a promise, (2) that the promisor should reasonably have expected to induce action of a definite and substantial character on the part of the promisee, and (3) that in fact produced reliance or forbearance of that nature in circumstances such that the promise must be enforced if injustice is to
Plaintiff has not provided sufficient facts to support its claim that Defendant "promised" to work with Defendant or that Plaintiff reasonably relied on such a promise, much less when such promise allegedly occurred. Some of Defendant's correspondence to Plaintiff in response to the QWRs encouraged Plaintiff, in the event he was facing financial difficulties, to contact Homecoming's loss mitigation department to discuss potential "loss mitigation options." (Def.'s Mot. Ex. D.) There is no evidence, however, of a "promise" to work with Plaintiff or even an indication that Plaintiff ever contacted Defendant to explore his loss mitigation options as suggested by the letters. The statements in Defendant's letters regarding Plaintiff's loss mitigation options, when viewed in the context of the correspondence between the parties, are at most an overture to perhaps begin a dialog, but in no way constitute a clear and definite promise to "work with Plaintiff." To the contrary, Plaintiff's September 18, 2009 correspondence to Defendant proposing a negotiated settlement, and indicating frustration with the fact that Defendant had not attempted to settle the matter, suggests to the Court that Defendant never did agree to work with Plaintiff. (Pl.'s Resp. Ex. E.) See Shaughnessy v. Interpublic Grp. of Cos., Inc., No. 09-12077, Slip Op. at 12, 2010 WL 2630164 (E.D.Mich. June 28, 2010) (finding that language allegedly constituting a promise could not be selectively read in isolation from all of the relevant documentary evidence). Plaintiff's allegations merely state in conclusory terms the elements of a claim of promissory estoppel and fail to support that claim with any factual content. Counts III, IV, V, VI and VII of Plaintiff's Complaint fail to allege, with sufficient particularity, claims that fall within the statutory period and therefore are barred by the applicable statutes of limitation.
Defendant also argues that Plaintiff fails to plead fraud with particularity in any of its fraud related claims and offers this as a separate and independent basis to dismiss Plaintiff's claims based on fraudulent misrepresentation. To meet the particularity requirements of Rule 9(b), Plaintiff must "(1) specify the statements that the plaintiff contends were fraudulent, (2) identify the speaker, (3) state where and when the statements were made, and (4) explain why the statements were fraudulent." Frank v. Dana Corp., 547 F.3d 564, 569-70 (6th Cir.2008) (quoting Gupta v. Terra Nitrogen Corp., 10 F.Supp.2d 879, 883 (N.D.Ohio 1998)). At a minimum, Plaintiffs "must allege the time, place and contents of the misrepresentations upon which they relied." Id. Further, to survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss, Plaintiffs' pleadings must provide "more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955.
Plaintiff's fraud claims derive from his claim of fraudulent misrepresentation which requires proof: "(1) [t]hat defendant made a material representation; (2) that it was false; (3) that when he made it he knew that it was false, or made it recklessly,
Plaintiff's Complaint fails to meet these basic pleading requirements. Paragraphs 25-33 set forth Plaintiff's allegations as they relate to fraud and state that Defendant "inflated various figures on the original loan application including but not limited to: (a) inflated income, (b) understated expenses, understated liabilities, understated debt to income ratio and other non-disclosed items as required by Federal law." (Compl. ¶ 27.) As Defendant argues, Plaintiff himself provided, and attested in writing to the veracity of, the very figures he now claims were inflated. It is difficult to see how Plaintiff can claim that he reasonably relied on his own misstatements, particularly when, as his counsel conceded at oral argument, Plaintiff signed the application attesting to the fact that the statements as to his income and liabilities were true. Defendant argues that to the extent that Plaintiff fraudulently fabricated his monthly income on the application, he cannot now seek to have that agreement voided. See Rose v. Nat'l Auction Grp., Inc., 466 Mich. 453, 463, 646 N.W.2d 455 (2002) (discussing the clean hands doctrine which forecloses relief "to one tainted with inequitableness or bad faith relative to the matter in which he seeks relief, however improper may have been the behavior of the defendant") (internal citations, quotation marks and emphasis omitted).
Plaintiff does not deny that he read and signed the loan application. Plaintiff's counsel conceded this at oral argument. Plaintiff claims, however, that Defendant in fact possessed copies of Plaintiff's 2002 tax returns, which allegedly demonstrated that Plaintiff's income was in fact much lower than Plaintiff represented and that the figures on the loan application were false.
While Plaintiff states that "they" placed inflated figures on the loan application, Plaintiff does not deny that he verified and signed the loan application under penalty of perjury. He argues nonetheless that Defendant had an obligation to "verify the application figures by the use of the Internal
In paragraph 28 of the Complaint, Plaintiff claims that he was not informed of "various charges" and was not informed of the "variable rate note" and other provisions of the Note, which again he does not deny that he signed, and initialed every page. Plaintiff does not explain how any of these provisions were false, claiming only that he wasn't informed of them. With regard to his claims as to the fraudulent statements contained in the Note, Plaintiff states that the "closing official retained by the lender purposely flipped through documents in a very brief manner without explaining their contents." (Pl.'s Resp. 6-7.) But the "law presumes that one who signs a written agreement knows the nature of the instrument so executed and understands its contents." Watts v. Polaczyk, 242 Mich.App. 600, 604, 619 N.W.2d 714 (2000). Any other rule would render written instruments meaningless.
Plaintiff's Complaint fails to adequately allege the necessary elements of a claim of fraudulent misrepresentation. Plaintiff fails to allege either that the representations were false or that he reasonably relied on them. While Plaintiff's claims of predatory and deceptive lending practices may be actionable under some other theory of liability, they are not adequately pled as fraudulent misrepresentation.
Plaintiff alleges that Defendant has violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. ("RESPA"). Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant has "failed to respond in a proper and timely manner to Plaintiff's written requests for validation and correction of their account in violation of 12 USC Section 2605(e)." (Compl. ¶ 63.) Defendant asserts that it did in fact respond within the statutorily prescribed time and attach to its motion copies of its responses. (Def.'s Mot. Exs. D, E and F.)
On November 21, 2008, Defendant provided copies of the accounts payment history, the Note, the Mortgage and the HUD-I Settlement Statement and indicated that Plaintiff had requested additional
The section of RESPA which Plaintiff claims Defendant has violated provides that, following receipt of an inquiry, the servicer shall conduct an investigation and then provide the borrower with the information requested, or an explanation of why the requested information is unavailable or cannot be provided by the servicer. 12 U.S.C. § 2605(e)(2)(C)(i). If a loan servicer violates § 2605(e), § 2605(f) provides for the borrower's remedies which are conditioned upon actual damages to the borrower. Plaintiff claims that Defendant has never adequately responded and has failed to send Plaintiff information that is required to be provided under RESPA.
It is undisputed that Defendant did in fact respond to Plaintiff's QWRs, but Plaintiff argues that the responses were inadequate. Plaintiff gives no further factual content to support the claim that the responses were inadequate and cites the Court to no authority in support of his claim that Defendant's responses were inadequate. Plaintiff's Complaint does not speak to the factual basis for the claimed inadequacy and Plaintiff's response to Defendant's motion states only that the responses "hardly qualify under the act." Plaintiff has not provided the factual content to plausibly suggest, as Twombly requires, that Defendant's responses were somehow inadequate.
Even if the Court were able to conclude that Plaintiff has adequately alleged that Defendant's responses were somehow inadequate, Plaintiff's RESPA claim fails for the additional reason that Plaintiff has alleged no actual damages attributable to Defendant's alleged failure to respond. In fact, Plaintiff does mention the concept of damages at all in his RESPA claim and does not speak to damages in his response to Defendant' motion, except to state that the damages cannot be determined until Plaintiff has an opportunity to conduct discovery on the claimed overcharges. (Pl.'s Resp. 12.) Because Plaintiff has completely failed to allege any
Defendant is correct in its assertion that Plaintiff in an action to quiet title bears the burden of establishing a prima facie case of title. Boekeloo v. Kuschinski, 117 Mich.App. 619, 628-629, 324 N.W.2d 104 (1982). Plaintiff has not sustained this burden. Plaintiff's claim to quiet title "merely attacks the foreclosure process and does not address a legitimate title dispute." Anaya v. Advisors Lending Grp., No. 09-1191, 2009 WL 2424037 at *7 (E.D.Cal. Aug. 5, 2009). Plaintiff has cited no authority for his claim to quiet title under the facts of this case, and offers only the conclusory allegations that Defendant is not the holder of the Note (despite the fact that Plaintiff does not contest the authenticity of the Note and Mortgage in favor of Defendant which Plaintiff concedes he executed) and engaged in fraudulent activity at the closing. (Compl. ¶ 20.) Plaintiff's failure to "provide [any] legal or factual justification for [his] quiet title claim other than the conclusory allegation that the foreclosure was wrongful, invalid, and voidable" necessitates dismissal of his quiet title claim. Urbina v. Homeview Lending Inc., 681 F.Supp.2d 1254, 1262 (Aug. 13, 2009). See also Greene v. Benefit Mtg. Corp., No. 08-12968, 2009 WL 56056 at *10 (E.D.Mich. Jan. 8, 2009) (finding that plaintiff's allegation that he was entitled to have his foreclosure set aside, the mortgage voided based on its fraudulent
Plaintiff claims, in Count IX, that Defendant violated the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq., by failing to disclose certain information at the time of the closing of the loan and by failing to respond to Plaintiff's QWR. (Compl. ¶¶ 67-72.) As discussed above in section IIIA1, Plaintiff's claims that relate to conduct that occurred at the time of the closing of the loan on December 18, 2003, are barred by the applicable statutes of limitations, including Plaintiff's claim under the Fair Housing Act (Count IX), which is subject to a two-year statute of limitations. 42 U.S.C. § 3613(a)(1)(A) (providing that a claim under the FHA must be brought within two years of the occurrence of the alleged discriminatory act).
With respect to Plaintiff's claim that Defendant violated the FHA by failing to respond to his QWRs, Plaintiff provides no legal support for such a theory of liability. Moreover, Plaintiff has not responded to Defendant's motion to dismiss this claim, and the Court assumes he concedes this point and abandons the claim. Accordingly, Defendant is entitled to have the claim dismissed because it has filed a responsive pleading and Plaintiff has failed to dispute the arguments or otherwise prosecute the claim. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 41.
For the foregoing reasons, the Court GRANTS Defendant's motion to dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint (Dkt. No. 5) and DISMISSES Plaintiff's Complaint with prejudice.