ANTHONY W. ISHII, Chief Judge.
Plaintiff Amilcar Quinteros resides at 1405 S. Temperance Ave., Fresno, CA 93727. Plaintiff purchased that property with a $382,000 mortgage provided by New Century Mortgage Corporation on March 25, 2005. Plaintiff alleges New Century transferred, sold, or assigned the loan to Defendant Aurora Loan Services. Plaintiff fell behind on his mortgage payments in 2008. Plaintiff contacted Defendant and orally agreed to make payments of $1,900 per month. Plaintiff made those payments between January and April 2009, four payments in all. In May 2009, Plaintiff was orally informed that the property was being foreclosed on. The foreclosure may have been completed on June 4, 2009.
Plaintiff filed suit on November 6, 2009 in the Superior Court, County of Fresno. Plaintiff asserts eleven causes of action: (1) declaratory relief, (2) cancellation of instruments, (3) to set aside foreclosure proceedings, (4) injunction, (5) accounting, (6) breach of oral contract,(7) promissory
Plaintiff filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of California on July 8, 2010. The automatic stay pursuant to 11 U.S.C. §362 is in effect. "The automatic stay is applicable only to proceedings against the debtor." Snavely v. Miller, 397 F.3d 726, 729 (9th Cir.2005), citing Ingersoll-Rand Financial Corp. v. Miller Mining Co., 817 F.2d 1424, 1426 (9th Cir. 1987) (staying appeal where the debtor-appellant is the defendant in the underlying case despite noting that "Because this appeal is brought by the debtor, it could be argued that the language of section 362 does not apply"); see also Rett White Motor Sales Co. v. Wells Fargo Bank, 99 B.R. 12, 15 (N.D.Cal.1989); Serrato v. Ashley, 1993 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4556, *3 (N.D.Cal. Feb. 1, 1993). Plaintiff's claims in this case are unaffected by the stay.
Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a claim may be dismissed because of the plaintiff's "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." A dismissal under Rule 12(b)(6) may be based on the lack of a cognizable legal theory or on the absence of sufficient facts alleged under a cognizable legal theory. Navarro v. Block, 250 F.3d 729, 732 (9th Cir.2001). "While a complaint attacked by a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss does not need detailed factual allegations, a plaintiff's obligation to provide the `grounds' of his `entitlement to relief' requires more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do. Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact) .... a well-pleaded complaint may proceed even if it strikes a savvy judge that actual proof of those facts is improbable" Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-56, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), citations omitted. "[O]nly a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss. Determining whether a complaint states a plausible claim for relief will, as the Court of Appeals observed, be a context-specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense. But where the well-pleaded facts do not permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of misconduct, the complaint has alleged—but it has not shown that the pleader is entitled to relief." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, ___ U.S. ___, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1950, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009), citations omitted. The court is not required "to accept as true allegations that are merely conclusory, unwarranted deductions of fact, or unreasonable inferences." Sprewell v. Golden State Warriors, 266 F.3d 979, 988 (9th Cir.2001). The court must also assume that "general allegations embrace those specific facts that are necessary to support the claim." Lujan v. Nat'l Wildlife Fed'n, 497 U.S. 871, 889, 110 S.Ct. 3177, 111 L.Ed.2d 695 (1990), citing Conley v. Gibson, 355 U.S. 41, 47, 78 S.Ct. 99, 2 L.Ed.2d 80 (1957), overruled on other grounds at 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 1969, 167 L.Ed.2d 929. Thus, the determinative question is whether there is any set of "facts that could be proved consistent with the allegations of
In deciding whether to dismiss a claim under Rule 12(b)(6), the Court is generally limited to reviewing only the complaint. "There are, however, two exceptions.... First, a court may consider material which is properly submitted as part of the complaint on a motion to dismiss ... If the documents are not physically attached to the complaint, they may be considered if the documents' authenticity is not contested and the plaintiff's complaint necessarily relies on them. Second, under Fed. R.Evid. 201, a court may take judicial notice of matters of public record." Lee v. City of Los Angeles, 250 F.3d 668, 688-89 (9th Cir.2001), citations omitted. The Ninth Circuit later gave a separate definition of "the `incorporation by reference' doctrine, which permits us to take into account documents whose contents are alleged in a complaint and whose authenticity no party questions, but which are not physically attached to the plaintiff's pleading." Knievel v. ESPN, 393 F.3d 1068, 1076 (9th Cir.2005), citations omitted. "[A] court may not look beyond the complaint to a plaintiff's moving papers, such as a memorandum in opposition to a defendant's motion to dismiss. Facts raised for the first time in opposition papers should be considered by the court in determining whether to grant leave to amend or to dismiss the complaint with or without prejudice." Broam v. Bogan, 320 F.3d 1023, 1026 n. 2 (9th Cir.2003), citations omitted.
If a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss is granted, claims may be dismissed with or without prejudice, and with or without leave to amend. "[A] district court should grant leave to amend even if no request to amend the pleading was made, unless it determines that the pleading could not possibly be cured by the allegation of other facts." Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1127 (9th Cir.2000) (en banc), quoting Doe v. United States, 58 F.3d 494, 497 (9th Cir.1995). In other words, leave to amend need not be granted when amendment would be futile. Gompper v. VISX, Inc., 298 F.3d 893, 898 (9th Cir.2002).
These causes of action all generally allege that the foreclosure was invalid and must be reversed. Plaintiff alleges "DEFENDANTS violated Civil Code section 2924 et seq., thereby rendering the foreclosure proceeding and the Notice of Default, Assignment of Deed of Trust, Substitution of Trustee, Notice of Trustee Sale and Trustee's Deed Upon Sale (collectively the `Foreclosure Documents') void." Doc. 10, Complaint, at 4:17-20. In key part, Plaintiff alleges, "Plaintiff was never notified by DEFENDANTS that the property was being foreclosed upon." Doc. 10, Complaint, at 3:11-12. California's statutory system of nonjudicial foreclosure has been summarized in the following oft cited passage:
Moeller v. Lien, 25 Cal.App.4th 822, 830-31, 30 Cal.Rptr.2d 777 (Cal.App.2d Dist. 1994), citations omitted. A cause of action to set aside a foreclosure action for failure to follow the correct procedure rises in equity. See Knapp v. Doherty, 123 Cal.App.4th 76, 87, 20 Cal.Rptr.3d 1 (Cal.App. 6th Dist.2004).
Defendant argues that "Plaintiff fails to rebut the presumption that the foreclosure sale and trustee's deed are valid." Doc. 6, Brief, at 5:13-14. Rebutting a presumption is a matter of evidence. At the pleading stage, Plaintiff merely has to allege facts that would be sufficient to state a claim, not present evidence sufficient to overcome a presumption.
Failure to follow the procedures set out for non-judicial foreclosure under Cal. Civ.Code § 2924 et seq. can be a cognizable claim in some circumstances. Plaintiff has not alleged enough information to determine if those circumstances apply. Plaintiff only alleges that he did not receive certain notices. "The trustor need not receive actual notice of the trustee's sale so long as notice is provided to the trustor that is in compliance with the statute. As one court has held: `We pointedly emphasize, however, that Civil Code sections 2924-2924h, inclusive, do not require actual receipt by a trustor of a notice of default or notice of sale. They simply mandate certain procedural requirements reasonably calculated to inform those who may be affected by a foreclosure sale and who have requested notice in the statutory manner that a default has occurred and a foreclosure sale is imminent.'" Knapp v. Doherty, 123 Cal.App.4th 76, 88-89, 20 Cal.Rptr.3d 1 (Cal.App. 6th Dist.2004), citing
Defendant also argues that "plaintiff is procedurally barred from bringing this action because he has failed to tender the amount due on his mortgage loan before bringing this lawsuit, in contravention of California's tender rule." Doc. 6, Brief, at 3:3-5. "It is settled that an action to set aside a trustee's sale for irregularities in sale notice or procedure should be accompanied by an offer to pay the full amount of the debt for which the property was security. This rule is premised upon the equitable maxim that a court of equity will not order that a useless act be performed." Arnolds Management Corp. v. Eischen, 158 Cal.App.3d 575, 578-79, 205 Cal.Rptr. 15 (Cal.App.2d Dist. 1984); see also Patacsil v. Wilshire Credit Corp., 2010 WL 500466, *7, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10414, *19 (E.D.Cal. Feb. 5, 2010); Pantoja v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 640 F.Supp.2d 1177, 1184 (N.D.Cal. 2009); Spurlock v. Carrington Mortg. Servs., 2010 WL 3069733, *3, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 80221, *8 (S.D.Cal. Aug. 4, 2010). Plaintiff has plead that he "hereby tenders all of the delinquencies and costs due for reinstatement of the Note and Deed of Trust." Doc. 10, Complaint, at 5:10-11. That appears to be an offer to pay arrearages on the mortgage rather than the full balance of the mortgage.
Plaintiff argues that tender is not necessary as "PLAINTIFF does not seek equity, PLAINTIFF seeks strict enforcement of California's statutory scheme regarding non-judicial foreclosures and to compel Defendants to allow PLAINTIFF to exercise his rights under the statutory scheme and the Agreement." Doc. 19, Opposition, at 6:1-3. As previously stated, suits to set aside foreclosures for failure to follow the correct procedure rises in equity; Plaintiff fails to identify any specific statutory language that gives him a private cause of action for wrongful foreclosure. Plaintiff cites to one case for the proposition that the requirement of tender may be waived. See Storm v. America's Servicing Co., 2009 WL 3756629, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103647 (S.D.Cal. Nov. 6, 2009). However, that case is distinguished as the case dealt with a sale of property that was arguably not mortgaged: "The cases that Defendant cites in its motion to dismiss generally stand for the proposition that tender of the indebtedness is required in an action to set aside a trustee's sale for irregularities in sale notice or procedure. The Court is unaware of any case holding there is a bright-line rule requiring tender of the unpaid debt to set aside a sale in other circumstances, such as where a trustee allegedly sells property that is not encumbered." Storm v. America's Servicing Co., 2009 WL 3756629, *6 n. 9, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 103647, *23-24 n. 9 (S.D.Cal. Nov. 6, 2009), citations omitted.
Plaintiff alleges he "has requested an accounting, and herein again requests, that the DEFENDANTS provide an accounting of all payments, fees, interest, debits and credits regarding the Note, which the DEFENDANTS have failed to provide." Doc. 10, Complaint, at 6:8-10. "`Accounting' usually means the striking of a balance between debits and credits, showing a balance due, if any. An action for an accounting, which usually invokes the equity powers of the court, is a proceeding for the purpose of obtaining a judicial settlement of the accounts of the parties. An accounting may also be an auxiliary remedy in actions other than those brought for an accounting as such." 1 Cal. Jur. Accounts and Accounting § 74.
Defendant argues that the claim fails as there is no fiduciary relationship between Plaintiff and Defendant. Doc. 6, Brief, at 6:14-19; Doc. 23, Reply, at 12:8-12. Under California law, a claim for accounting does not require a fiduciary relationship. Teselle v. McLoughlin, 173 Cal.App.4th 156, 179, 92 Cal.Rptr.3d 696 (Cal. App.3d Dist.2009) ("a fiduciary relationship between the parties is not required to state a cause of action for accounting. All that is required is that some relationship exists that requires an accounting"). "An action for an accounting is equitable in nature. It may be brought to compel the defendant to account to the plaintiff for money or property, (1) where a fiduciary relationship exists between the parties, or (2) where, even though no fiduciary relationship exists, the accounts are so complicated that an ordinary legal action demanding a fixed sum is impracticable." 5 Witkin Cal. Proc. Plead. § 819. The amounts at issue are monies Plaintiff owes to Defendant under the mortgage and not amounts Defendant may owe Plaintiff. "Plaintiffs, as the party owing money, not the party owed money, has no right to seek an accounting." Hernandez v. First Am. Loanstar Trustee Servs., 2010 WL 1445192, *5, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 35824, *12 (S.D.Cal. Apr. 12, 2010); Nguyen v. LaSalle Bank Nat'l Ass'n, 2009 WL 3297269, *10-11, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99412, *28-29 (C.D.Cal. Oct. 13, 2009). Plaintiff's accounting claim is dismissed with leave to amend.
Plaintiff alleges "On or about January 2009, PLAINTIFF and DEFENDANTS entered into an oral agreement whereby DEFENDANT agreed to modify PLAINTIFF'S mortgage agreement, whereby DEFENDANT agreed not to foreclose upon the Residence, if PLAINTIFF would make payments in the amount of approximately $1,900.00 per month.... On or about May 2009, DEFENDANT breached the oral agreement by foreclosing upon the Residence, despite the fact that PLAINTIFF had made payments as instructed for the previous four months, which were accepted and cashed by DEFENDANTS." Doc. 10, Complaint, at 6:18-26. In briefing, Plaintiff alleges he
Plaintiff argues that no writing is required when there is either consideration or part performance. Doc. 19, Opposition, at 15:16-22. "[A] contract in writing may be modified by an oral agreement supported by
Plaintiff's argument of partial performance is tied to his claim for promissory estoppel: "As a result of DEFENDANTS' failure to perform according to the assurance that they made to PLAINTIFF; PLAINTIFF has been induced to part with approximately $7,600.00 and has incurred attorneys' fees in defense of the void foreclosure upon the property, and the continued defense of this action in a sum to be shown at trial." Doc. 10, Complaint, at 7:19-22. "The elements of promissory estoppel are: (1) a clear promise, (2) reliance, (3) substantial detriment, and (4) damages measured by the extent of the obligation assumed and not performed." Poway Royal Mobilehome Owners Assn. v. City of Poway, 149 Cal.App.4th 1460, 1471, 58 Cal.Rptr.3d 153 (Cal.App.4th Dist. 2007), citations omitted. "[T]he doctrine of promissory estoppel is used to provide a substitute for the consideration which ordinarily is required to create an enforceable promise." Raedeke v. Gibraltar Sav. & Loan Assn., 10 Cal.3d 665, 672-673, 111 Cal.Rptr. 693, 517 P.2d 1157 (Cal.1974).
Two relevant cases discuss promissory estoppel in the mortgage modification context. In one case, the lender verbally told the borrower that "she could skip three payments and that they would be added to the end of the loan period.... Sutherland relied to her detriment on Barclays's statement that she could postpone three mortgage payments. Having orally agreed to such a postponement, Barclays cannot rely on the absence of a written agreement in order to declare Sutherland in default for missing those payments." Sutherland v. Barclays American/Mortgage Corp., 53 Cal.App.4th 299, 311-12, 61 Cal.Rptr.2d 614 (Cal.App.2d Dist.1997). In the other case, the lender verbally agreed not to proceed with foreclosure if the borrower paid a downpayment on the amount overdue; "In addition to having partially performed, the party seeking to
Plaintiff alleges "the acts and omissions of DEFENDANTS, as alleged herein, were willfully, voluntarily and recklessly calculated to inflict emotional distress on PLAINTIFF." Doc. 10, Complaint, at 8:1-2. "The elements of the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress are: (1) extreme and outrageous conduct by the defendant with the intention of causing, or reckless disregard of the probability of causing, emotional distress; (2) the plaintiff's suffering severe or extreme emotional distress; and (3) actual and proximate causation of the emotional distress by the defendant's outrageous conduct. Conduct to be outrageous must be so extreme as to exceed all bounds of that usually tolerated in a civilized community." Christensen v. Superior Court, 54 Cal.3d 868, 903, 2 Cal.Rptr.2d 79, 820 P.2d 181 (Cal.1991), citations omitted. Plaintiff asserts that "foreclosing upon someone's home, without proper notice, is likely to result in severe emotional distress." Doc. 19, Opposition, at 17:26-28. The act of foreclosing on a home (absent other circumstances) is not the kind of extreme conduct that supports an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim. See Harvey G. Ottovich Revocable Living Trust Dated May 12, 2006 v. Wash. Mut., Inc., 2010 WL 3769459, *4-5, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99161, *13 (N.D.Cal. Sept. 22, 2010); Mehta v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 2010 WL 3385020, *16, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88336, *48 (S.D.Cal. Aug. 26, 2010) ("The fact that one of Defendant Wells Fargo's employees allegedly stated that the sale would not occur but the house was sold anyway is not outrageous as that word is used in this context"). Plaintiff's intentional infliction of emotional distress claim is dismissed with leave to amend.
Plaintiff alleges "DEFENDANTS owed a duty to PLAINTIFF to
RESPA requires "Each servicer of any federally related mortgage loan shall notify the borrower in writing of any assignment, sale, or transfer of the servicing of the loan to any other person" and "Each transferee servicer to whom the servicing of an federally related mortgage loan is assigned, sold, or transferred shall notify the borrower of any such assignment, sale, or transfer." 12 U.S.C. § 2605(b)(1) and (c)(1). Plaintiff alleges Defendant violated RESPA in that "PLAINTIFF was not notified by the transferee in writing of the assignment, sale or transfer of the assignment, sale or transfer of the loan." Doc. 10, Complaint, at 9:9-10. Defendant acknowledges that the loan servicing was transferred from Homecoming Financial to Defendant, effective April 1, 2008. Defendant states that the requirements of 12 U.S.C. § 2605 were satisfied as Plaintiff was sent a letter informing him of the change. Doc. 6, Brief, at 10, 24-26. Defendant seeks judicial notice of the that document as a writing that is referred to in the complaint which is not subject to dispute per Knievel v. ESPN, 393 F.3d 1068, 1076 (9th Cir.2005). See Doc. 6, Part 2, Ex. 2, March 18, 2008 Letter. Plaintiff claims that the notice needed to be sent by certified or registered mail, citing Cal. Civ. Code § 2924 et seq. Doc. 19, Opposition, at 19:17-18. RESPA requirements are not governed by California's nonjudicial foreclosure statutes. Plaintiff then opposes judicial notice of the March 18, 2008 letter, without clarifying if he did in fact receive it. Doc. 19, Opposition, at 19:17-18. Given Plaintiff's representations in the briefing, it is not clear if Plaintiff has stated a claim. Plaintiff's RESPA claim is dismissed with leave to amend.
Plaintiff alleges "DEFENDANTS and each of them, have failed to offer
Cal. Civ.Code § 2923.6. However, there is no private cause of action under Section 2923.6. Nool v. HomeQ Servicing, 653 F.Supp.2d 1047, 1052 (E.D.Cal.2009); Runaj v. Wells Fargo Bank, 667 F.Supp.2d 1199, 1207 (S.D.Cal.2009); Pantoja v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 640 F.Supp.2d 1177, 1188 (N.D.Cal.2009). Plaintiff argues that since Defendant did agree to a modification, Defendant is obligated to abide by the terms of the modification under Section 2923.6. Doc. 19, Opposition, at 19:27-20:7. That is a claim that sounds in breach of contract and not Section 2923.6. Plaintiff's violation of Cal. Civ.Code § 2923.6 claim is dismissed without leave to amend.
Plaintiff's Complaint is DISMISSED with leave to amend all claims excepting the Cal. Civ.Code § 2923.6 claim. Plaintiff must file an amended complaint within twenty-eight (28) days of the filing of this order.
IT IS SO ORDERED.