SUSAN RICHARD NELSON, District Judge.
This matter is before the Court on a Motion to Dismiss the First Amended Complaint filed by each Defendant in the above-captioned matters. For the reasons set forth below, the Motions are denied.
These lawsuits arise out of Defendants' sale of allegedly defective mortgage loans to Plaintiff Residential Funding, LLC ("RFC"). (First Am. Compl. ¶ 1.)
As alleged in the First Amended Complaints, RFC's relationship with each Defendant was governed by a Seller Contract that incorporated the terms and conditions of the RFC Client Guide (collectively, "the Agreements"). (Id. ¶¶ 17-18 & Exs. A, B.)
RFC alleges that, pursuant to these Agreements, it purchased: (1) over 600 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $77 million, from Defendant Academy Mortgage Corporation ("Academy"); (2) over 300 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $125 million, from Defendant First California Mortgage Company ("First California"); (3) over 6,900 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $2.6 billion, from Defendant Provident Funding Associates, L.P. ("Provident"); (4) over 600 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $227 million, from Defendant T.J. Financial, Inc. ("T.J. Financial"); (5) over 3,000 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $800 million, from Defendant Universal American Mortgage Company, LLC ("Universal"); and (6) over 3,700 mortgage loans, with an original principal balance exceeding $155 million, from Defendant Wells Fargo Financial Retail Credit, Inc. f/k/a Norwest Financial Acceptance, Inc. ("Wells Fargo"). (Id. ¶¶ 4, 17.)
In passing on its own representations and warranties to its buyers, RFC relied on the information provided to it by Defendants. (Id. ¶ 37.)
RFC alleges that it has incurred liabilities and losses resulting from Defendants' defective loans and litigation regarding the quality of those loans. (See id. ¶¶ 46-60.)
Defendants each filed a motion to dismiss Plaintiff's First Amended Complaint, arguing that RFC has insufficiently pleaded its claims. Defendants Academy, First California, T.J. Financial, and Universal also assert that RFC lacks standing to bring its claims.
When evaluating a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the Court assumes the facts in the Complaint to be true and construes all reasonable inferences from those facts in the light most favorable to the plaintiff. Morton v. Becker, 793 F.2d 185, 187 (8th Cir. 1986). However, the Court need not accept as true wholly conclusory allegations, see Hanten v. Sch. Dist. of Riverview Gardens, 183 F.3d 799, 805 (8th Cir. 1999), or legal conclusions the plaintiff draws from the facts pled, Westcott v. City of Omaha, 901 F.2d 1486, 1488 (8th Cir. 1990). In addition, the Court ordinarily does not consider matters outside the pleadings on a motion to dismiss. See Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(d). The Court may, however, consider exhibits attached to the complaint and documents that are necessarily embraced by the pleadings, Mattes v. ABC Plastics, Inc., 323 F.3d 695, 697 n. 4 (8th Cir. 2003), and may also consider public records, Levy v. Ohl, 477 F.3d 988, 991 (8th Cir.2007).
The Court will first address the argument that RFC lacks standing to bring its claims because, "[i]f a plaintiff lacks standing, a court is without subject matter jurisdiction." S.D. Farm Bureau, Inc. v. Hazeltine, 340 F.3d 583, 591 (8th Cir. 2003) (citation omitted). As noted above, four Defendants challenge RFC's standing. Academy and First California argue that RFC has failed to adequately allege that it suffered an injury and that any injury suffered was caused by them.
For a plaintiff to have standing: (1) there must be "injury in fact" or the threat of "injury in fact" that is (a) concrete and particularized and (b) actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical; (2) the injury must be fairly traceable to defendant's challenged action; and (3) it must be likely (as opposed to merely speculative) that a favorable judicial decision will prevent or redress the injury.
Gray v. City of Valley Park, 567 F.3d 976, 984 (8th Cir. 2009) (citations omitted). However, "[a]t the pleading stage, general factual allegations of injury resulting from the defendant's conduct may suffice." Lujan v. Defenders of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 561, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992). This is because, "on a motion to dismiss we `presum[e] that general allegations embrace those specific facts that are necessary to support the claim.'" Id. (quoting Lujan v. Nat'l Wildlife Federation, 497 U.S. 871, 889, 110 S.Ct. 3177, 111 L.Ed.2d 695 (1990)).
Defendants Academy and First California argue, first, that RFC fails to describe any specific damages in the First Amended Complaints and, accordingly, the only injury referenced is "conjectural" or "hypothetical." (Academy's Mem., at 7; First California's Reply, at 11.) Next, those Defendants assert that RFC has failed to allege that it—and not a third party—caused RFC to sustain damages. (See Academy's Mem., at 8-10; First California's Reply, at 12-13.) More specifically, Academy contends that RFC does not claim to have been injured by any of Academy's loans mentioned in the First Amended Complaint or in the list of loans attached thereto, and that RFC's allegations that the lawsuits brought against it "stem" from Academy "and others" are insufficient because they show that the alleged injury was caused by a third party. (See Academy's Mem., at 8-9.) First California asserts that allegations that litigation arose from securitized trusts "containing" loans purchased from First California are insufficient to establish a causal connection between First California's loans and any injury suffered by RFC. (See First California's Reply, at 12-13.)
RFC, on the other hand, argues that it has made detailed factual allegations regarding the injuries and damages it has suffered, and the causal connection between those injuries and Defendants' conduct. (See Pl.'s Mem. of Law in Opp. to Def. Academy's Mot. to Dismiss the First Am. Compl. [Doc. No. 48] ("RFC's Opp.
(Id. at 18.)
The Court agrees with RFC. RFC alleged that Defendants Academy and First California sold over 600 and 300 mortgage loans, respectively, to RFC; that the parties' relationship was governed by the Agreements, under which Defendants made numerous representations and warranties regarding the origination, servicing, and quality of the loans; that Defendants delivered loans that contained defects that violated those representations and warranties; that many of the loans eventually sustained losses and exposed RFC to claims from other parties; and that, as a result of Defendants' breaches, RFC incurred obligations and losses, such as repurchasing numerous defective loans that were originally sold to it by Defendants, defending the quality of the loans sold to it by Defendants in federal and state court litigation, and settling proofs of claim seeking damages stemming from defective loans, including those sold to RFC by Defendants. These general allegations of injury are sufficient at the pleading stage, and RFC has tied that injury to Defendants' allegedly defective loans and alleged breaches of their representations and warranties in the Agreements. The fact that RFC alleged that others also caused it injury does not negate the allegations of injury caused by Defendants. Accordingly, the Court finds that RFC's factual allegations in the First Amended Complaint are sufficient to establish both injury in fact and causation.
In addition to the elements of standing discussed above, "a plaintiff `must assert his own legal rights and interests, and cannot rest his claim to relief on the legal rights or interests of third parties.'" Iowa ex rel. Miller v. Block, 771 F.2d 347, 352 (8th Cir. 1985) (quoting Warth v. Seldin, 422 U.S. 490, 499, 95 S.Ct. 2197, 45 L.Ed.2d 343 (1975)). "[I]n the context of standing, it is the nonfrivolous claims of a party that are determinative, not whether the party can sustain those claims by proof on the merits." City of St. Louis v. Dep't of Transp., 936 F.2d 1528, 1532 (8th Cir. 1991).
Defendants T.J. Financial and Universal argue that RFC lacks standing to bring its claims because it assigned away its rights when it sold the loans into securitized trusts. (See T.J. Financial's Mem., at 13; Universal's Mem., at 12.) To support their argument, those Defendants point to language in the publicly-filed purchase and pooling and servicing agreements for the securitizations identified in the First Amended Complaints, which state that RFC assigned away "all . . . right, title and interest" in the loans. (T.J. Financial's Mem., at 13-14 (citing Kimble Aff., Exs. A-D); Universal's Mem., at 13 (citing Kimble Aff., Exs. A-B).) Similarly,
In response, RFC argues that the First Amended Complaints do not allege that RFC assigned away its rights or that it is pursuing its affiliates' claims and that, at any rate, Defendants' assertions are not properly raised in a motion to dismiss because they are factual in nature and are based on securitization documents that are not properly before the Court. (RFC's Opp. to Academy, at 18 n. 7; Pl.'s Mem. in Opp. to Def. T.J. Financial's Mot. to Dismiss the First Am. Compl. [Doc. No. 52] ("RFC's Opp. to T.J. Financial"), at 14; Pl.'s Mem. in Opp. to Def. Universal's Mot. to Dismiss the First. Am. Compl. [Doc. No. 51] ("RFC's Opp. to Universal"), at 14.) Even if those documents were properly before the Court, RFC contends, the plain language of those documents demonstrates that RFC did not assign away its claims against Defendants. (See RFC's Opp. to T.J. Financial, at 14-21; RFC's Opp. to Universal, at 15-21.)
The Court, again, agrees with RFC. RFC's First Amended Complaints do allege that RFC is asserting its own legal rights—namely, its rights to seek remedies for Defendants' breaches of the representations and warranties they made to RFC in the Agreements. While RFC alleges that it pooled the loans it purchased from Defendants into RMBS trusts or sold them to whole loan purchasers, RFC does not allege that it sold its rights to bring claims based on breaches of the representations and warranties in the Agreements. Similarly, although the First Amended Complaints note that RFC's affiliates also filed for bankruptcy, RFC alleges only that Defendants must compensate RFC for the portion of the settlement for which Defendants are responsible. Accepting these allegations as true, and construing them in favor of RFC, RFC has alleged that it has a legal right to sue under the Agreements. Whether RFC can, in fact, enforce those Agreements, or whether it has assigned away its rights to do so, goes to the merits of the claims and is not an issue of standing. See, e.g., Residential Funding Co., LLC v. Mortg. Outlet, Inc., No. 13-CV-3447 (PJS/JSM), 2014 WL 4954645, at *7 (D.Minn. Oct. 1, 2014) (stating in a similar case that whether RFC assigned away its rights under its contracts with the defendants when it sold the loans to third parties "is not an issue of standing, . . . but rather goes to the merits of RFC's claims").
Defendants also argue that RFC's pleadings are insufficient to state a claim. Under Rule 8(a)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a complaint "must contain. . . a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." The U.S. Supreme Court, in Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009), and Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007), clarified that this Rule does not require that a complaint contain "detailed factual allegations," but it does require that it contain facts with enough specificity "to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. In other words, this standard "calls for enough fact[s] to raise a reasonable expectation that discovery will reveal evidence of [the claim]." Id. at 556, 127 S.Ct. 1955. "Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice."
As noted above, RFC alleges claims for breach of representation and warranty in Count One, and indemnification in Count Two.
Defendants make two main arguments regarding the insufficiency of RFC's First Amended Complaints in regard to both causes of action: (1) RFC's allegations do not contain the requisite specificity, and (2) RFC does not allege the necessary elements of satisfaction of conditions precedent and materiality. Because the Court finds that RFC has adequately stated its claims for breach of representation and warranty and indemnification, Defendants' motions to dismiss for insufficient pleading are denied.
Each Defendant in the present matters contends that RFC's First Amended Complaint fails to satisfy the standards enunciated in Rule 8, Iqbal, and Twombly because RFC did not identify the specific loans that form the basis of its
RFC, relying primarily on Ace Securities Corp. Home Equity Loan Trust v. DB Structured Products, Inc., 5 F.Supp.3d 543 (S.D.N.Y.2014), argues that it is not required by Rule 8 or by the courts to set forth loan-specific allegations. (See, e.g., RFC's Opp. to Academy, at 19-23.) According to RFC, its allegations are "more than sufficient to establish a plausible claim." (Id. at 21; see id. at 10-15 (discussing RFC's allegations in support of the elements of its breach of representation and warranty and indemnification claims); Pl.'s Mem. of Law in Opp. to Def. First California's Mot. to Dismiss the First Am. Compl. [Doc. No. 49] ("RFC's Opp. to First California"), at 10-12, 15-18 (same); Pl.'s Mem. of Law in Opp. to Def. Provident's Mot. to Dismiss the First Am. Compl. [Doc. No. 43] ("RFC's Opp. to Provident"), at 10-15 (same); RFC's Opp. to T.J. Financial, at 24-31 (same); RFC's Opp. to Universal, at 25-32 (same); Pl.'s Mem. in Opp. to Def. Wells Fargo's Mot. to Dismiss the First Am. Compl. [Doc. No. 64] ("RFC's Opp. to Wells Fargo"), at 9-15 (same).)
The Court finds that RFC was not required to make loan-specific allegations to support its claims. First, as discussed above, Rule 8 requires that a complaint contain "a short and plain statement of the claim," Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2), and Iqbal and Twombly did not abrogate this standard, Hamilton v. Palm, 621 F.3d 816, 817 (8th Cir. 2010). Rather, the Supreme Court specifically stated in those cases that Rule 8 does not require "detailed factual allegations," but only facts with enough specificity "to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Accordingly, as noted by another judge in this District, "[Rule 8] is both a floor and a ceiling: [it] can be violated by a complaint that pleads too little and by a complaint that pleads too much." Wright v. Medtronic, Inc., No. 09-CV-0443 (PJS/AJB), 2010 WL 1027808, at *13 (D.Minn. Mar. 17, 2010). Use of
Second, the case law favors RFC's position. For example, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York recently held in Ace Securities Corp. that the plaintiff's allegations, which "[did] not furnish a basis for determining which specific breaches [the defendant] actually discovered, and therefore which loans it was obligated to repurchase," were sufficient to meet federal pleading standards because "a complaint for repurchase need not contain specific allegations regarding each loan at issue." 5 F.Supp.3d at 560 (citations and internal quotation marks omitted). More importantly, most of the judges in this District who have considered this exact issue have found that RFC was not required to make loan-specific allegations in its complaints in order to satisfy Rule 8. See Residential Funding Co., LLC v. Cmty. W. Bank, N.A., Civ. No. 13-3468 (JRT/JJK), 2014 WL 5207485, at *14 (D.Minn. Oct. 14, 2014); Mortg. Outlet, Inc., 2014 WL 4954645, at *2; Broadview Mortg. Corp., 2014 WL 4104819, at *5; Residential Funding Co., LLC v. Gateway Bank, F.S.B., Civ. No. 13-3518 (MJD/JSM), 2014 WL 3952321, at *10 (D.Minn. Aug. 13, 2014) (adopting the Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation); Order at 4-5, First Mortg. Corp., Civ. No. 13-3490 (RHK/FLN) (D.Minn. Aug. 1, 2014) (Doc. No. 48); Residential Funding Co., LLC v. Mortg. Access Corp., Civ. No. 13-3499 (DSD/FLN), 2014 WL 3577403, at *3 (D.Minn. July 21, 2014). But see Residential Funding Co., LLC v. Embrace Home Loans, Inc., 27 F.Supp.3d 980, 984-87, Civ. No. 13-3457 (PAM/FLN), 2014 WL 2766114, at *4-6 (D.Minn. June 18, 2014). As noted by one of those judges, "[r]equiring such specificity in cases involving hundreds or thousands of loans contravenes the requirement of pleading a `short and plain statement' of claims." Broadview Mortg. Corp., 2014 WL 4104819, at *5 (quoting Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2)).
The cases cited by Defendants are not to the contrary. For example, the court in Motley dismissed the plaintiffs' breach of contract claim under Rule 12(b)(6) because the plaintiffs did not attach the contracts at issue to the complaint or plead the terms of the contracts, "rendering it impossible to discern precisely how [the defendant] allegedly . . . breached them." 557 F.Supp.2d at 1013. And, in LaSalle Bank, the court dismissed two breach of warranty claims where the plaintiff failed to allege how the warranties were breached, but it denied the motion to dismiss a third breach of warranty claim where the plaintiff did allege the ways in which the defendant had breached the warranty. 2011 WL 4837493, at *3. Importantly, the court did not hold in either of those cases that loan-specific allegations are necessary for a complaint to survive a motion to dismiss. Torchlight is inapposite because it involved only a single loan. See 2012 WL 3065929, at *1.
Defendant First California asserts that RFC's claims fail because RFC does not allege that it performed the conditions precedent necessary to maintain its claims. According to First California, performance of conditions precedent is an element of a breach of contract claim, and RFC's allegation that it performed "all conditions precedent" is insufficient to meet its pleading obligations because RFC did not identify the relevant conditions precedent nor allege that it satisfied those specific conditions. (See First California's Mem., at 6-8.) Similarly, First California argues that RFC failed to identify the conditions precedent required by the Client Guide for seeking indemnification, or that it satisfied those conditions. (See id. at 9-10.)
In response, RFC argues that performance of conditions precedent is not an element of a breach of representation and warranty claim, a general allegation that all conditions precedent have been met is sufficient, failure to satisfy a condition precedent is an affirmative defense, and the conditions that it allegedly failed to satisfy were not required under the Client Guide. (See RFC's Opp. to First California, at 13-14.) In addition, RFC argues that the Client Guide only requires that a breach be "material" if RFC is demanding repurchase of a loan, which it is not. (See id. at 14 n. 5.)
As outlined above, neither satisfaction of conditions precedent nor materiality of the breach is an element of either of RFC's claims.
Finally, each Defendant except Wells Fargo contends that some or all of RFC's claims for breach of representation and warranty and indemnification are time-barred. (See Academy's Mem., at 15; First California's Mem., at 14-17; Provident's Mem., at 17-20; T.J. Financial's Mem., at 15-17; Universal's Mem., at 14-17.) "[W]hen it `appears from the face of the complaint itself that the limitation period has run,' a limitations defense may properly be asserted through a Rule 12(b)(6) motion to dismiss." Varner v. Peterson Farms, 371 F.3d 1011, 1016 (8th Cir. 2004) (citation omitted). However, because it does not appear to the Court from the face of the First Amended Complaints that the limitations period has necessarily run as to any of the loans at issue, Defendants' motions to dismiss RFC's claims as time-barred are denied.
Defendants argue that RFC's claims for breach of representation and warranty accrued on the date that they sold the loans at issue to RFC and, accordingly, Minnesota's six-year statute of limitations for contract claims bars any claims based on loans sold to RFC more than six years prior to the filing of the First Amended Complaints. (See, e.g., Academy's Mem., at 15; Provident's Mem., at 18.) Even if the two-year tolling provision in the U.S. Bankruptcy Code applies, Defendants assert,
In response, RFC argues that the statute of limitations on its breach of representation and warranty claims was tolled by its bankruptcy filing, and so the claims are timely at least with respect to all loans sold to RFC on or after May 14, 2006. (See, e.g., RFC's Opp. to Academy, at 24-25.) However, RFC does not concede that all loans sold prior to that date are time-barred, but insists that "the facts and circumstances of each loan" will determine whether the claims are timely. (E.g., id. at 25 n. 10.) Therefore, RFC argues, the issue is not properly decided at the motion to dismiss stage. (E.g., id.)
The Court finds that, at this stage of the litigation, none of RFC's breach of representation and warranty claims are properly dismissed as time-barred. Under § 108(a) of the Bankruptcy Code, if the statute of limitations governing a debtor's claim has not expired prior to the filing of the bankruptcy petition, the trustee may commence an action on that claim before the later of the end of the statutory limitations period or "two years after the order for relief." 11 U.S.C. § 108(a). The parties agree that Minnesota has a six-year statute of limitations for contract claims. See Minn.Stat. § 541.05, subd. 1(1). And, here, the instant actions were filed in December 2013, which is within the two-year period following the bankruptcy court's order for relief. Accordingly, because the six-year statute of limitations had not expired as to loans sold to RFC on or after May 14, 2006 at the time RFC filed its bankruptcy petition on May 14, 2012, those claims are not time-barred. See 11 U.S.C. § 1107(a) (stating that "a debtor in possession shall have all the rights . . . and powers, and shall perform all the functions and duties . . . of a trustee serving in a case under [Chapter 11]"); Johnson v. First Nat'l Bank of Montevideo, 719 F.2d 270, 278 n. 11 (8th Cir. 1983) (citations omitted) ("Although the language of § 108 refers only to the trustee, it is generally agreed that the debtor-in-possession is also entitled to the statute's privileges."); Residential Funding Co., LLC v. Wallick & Volk, Inc., Civ. No. 13-3512 (MJD/JJG), 2014 WL 3955257, at *5 (D.Minn. Aug. 13, 2014) (finding that RFC was entitled to invoke § 108(a) in a similar case).
Moreover, "[w]here a warranty relates to a future event that will determine whether or not it is breached, the statute does not begin to run until the happening of such future event." City of Pipestone v. Wolverine Ins. Co., Civ. No. 4-84-634, 1985 WL 1845, at *4 (D.Minn. June 28, 1985) (citation omitted). One of the representations and warranties that RFC relies on in the First Amended Complaints as a basis for its claims is that Defendants would notify RFC of any material acts or omissions regarding the loans. Thus, it is plausible from the face of the First Amended Complaints that one of the allegedly breached warranties related to an event that occurred, if at all, after the sale of a loan. In that case, the statute of limitations would not begin to run until some later date and may permit a claim based on a loan sold to RFC prior to May 14, 2006 to proceed. The dates upon which any Defendant allegedly breached that representation and warranty is an
Defendants also argue that the statute of limitations on RFC's indemnification claims began to run at the time Defendants sold the loans at issue to RFC because the "gravamen" of the claim is the breach of representations and warranties. (E.g., First California's Reply, at 22; T.J. Financial's Reply, at 7.) RFC, on the other hand, asserts that the statute of limitations on an indemnification claim does not begin to run until the underlying liability is fixed and, accordingly, its indemnification claims did not begin to run until at least December 2013, when the Chapter 11 Plan was confirmed. (See, e.g., RFC's Opp. to Academy, at 25-26.)
The Court finds that RFC's indemnification claims are not time-barred. "Under the common law, the right of indemnity does not accrue until the liability of the party seeking indemnity has become finally fixed and ascertained, or until after the claimant has settled or has paid the judgment or more than a commensurate share of it." Metro. Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co. v. Metro. Transit Comm'n, 538 N.W.2d 692, 695 (Minn. 1995) (citation and internal quotation marks omitted). Thus, "[t]he statute of limitations in an indemnification case ordinarily is six years after final judgment or settlement." Hernick v. Verhasselt Constr., Inc., No. CX-02-1424, 2003 WL 1814876, at *5 (Minn.Ct.App. Apr. 8, 2003) (citing Oanes v. Allstate Ins. Co., 617 N.W.2d 401, 403 (Minn.2000)).
RFC's First Amended Complaints state the following in regard to the liabilities and losses for which it seeks indemnification:
(First Am. Compl. ¶ 78.)