BROWN, District Judge.
Magistrate Judge Paul Papak issued Findings and Recommendation (#38) on June 10, 2011, 2011 WL 4962443, in which he recommended the Court (1) grant Defendant IBM Lender Business Process Services's Motion (#25) to Dismiss Plaintiff's claim for rescission for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction and each of Plaintiff's remaining claims for failure to state a claim and (2) deny the Motion (#20) to Dismiss for failure to state a claim by Defendants Chase Home Finance and Chase Bank USA (Chase Defendants) as moot. Plaintiff, pro se, filed timely Objections (#43) to the Findings and Recommendation. The matter is now before this Court pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 72(b).
Also before the Court is Plaintiff's Motion (#46) to Take Judicial Notice, which Plaintiff filed on July 11, 2011, after he filed his Objections to the Findings and Recommendation.
For the reasons that follow, the Court
On February 4, 2011, Plaintiff filed his Complaint in this Court. Plaintiff seeks relief for Defendants' alleged violations of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C. § 1601, et seq., related to the residential-mortgage loan Plaintiff accepted from Defendant Chase Bank USA in November 2007.
The Court must construe Plaintiff's Complaint liberally. Viewing Plaintiff's Complaint in this light, Plaintiff brings the following claims against Defendants: (1) for rescission of his residential-mortgage loan under TILA § 1635(a) due to inaccuracies on the required Notice of Right to Cancel; (2) for a declaration that Plaintiff validly rescinded his home-mortgage loan and, therefore, that the security interest in Plaintiff's home that secures his residential-mortgage loan is void; (3) for injunctive relief to enjoin Defendants from initiating nonjudicial foreclosure on his residence; (4) for statutory and actual damages resulting from Defendant Chase Bank USA's allegedly deficient Notice of Right to Cancel disclosures under TILA § 1640; and (5) for statutory and actual damages for Defendants' failure to effect Plaintiff's demand for rescission.
On March 29, 2011, Chase Defendants filed their Motion (#20) to Dismiss Plaintiff's claim for rescission as untimely.
On April 13, 2011, Defendant IBM filed its Motion (#25) to Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint for failure to state a claim and for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction.
On June 10, 2011, the Magistrate Judge issued Findings and Recommendation in which he recommends the Court dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint in its entirety.
On June 23, 2011, Plaintiff filed timely Objections to the Findings and Recommendation. Defendant IBM and Chase Defendants filed separate Responses to Plaintiff's Objections.
On July 11, 2011, Plaintiff filed his Motion (#46) to Take Judicial Notice to which Chase Defendants filed a Response
Plaintiff requests the Court to take judicial notice of "district court and bankruptcy proceedings interpreting TILA rescission claims, the Federal Reserve Board's Official Staff Commentary § 226.23(d) Effects of Rescission, and the specific published research authorities by Elizabeth Renuart and Kathleen Keest, Truth in Lending, § 6.3.2.1 and 6.9.3 (National Consumer Law Center 6th Ed. 2007 & Supp. 2008), The Extended Right to Rescind and Damages for Rescission Violations, Id."
Although Chase Defendants object on the ground that Plaintiff's Motion is essentially another pleading in response to the Findings and Recommendation, the Court, nevertheless, considers Plaintiff's Motion solely as a request for the Court to take judicial notice of two legal opinions, regulatory commentary, and academic materials explaining the right of rescission under TILA. Plaintiff does not request the Court to notice any particular adjudicative facts.
A court properly may take judicial notice of pleadings filed in other actions. See Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority v. City of Burbank, 136 F.3d 1360, 1364 (9th Cir.1998) (court took judicial notice of pleadings filed in a related state-court action). The existence and content of opinions and pleadings are matters capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to official court files that cannot reasonably be questioned. See Fed.R.Evid. 201(b)(2).
Here the Court need not take judicial notice to consider these materials in their proper legal context when resolving Plaintiff's Objections to the Findings and Recommendation. Accordingly, the Court denies Plaintiff's Motion (#46) to Take Judicial Notice.
Plaintiff objects to the Magistrate Judge's recommendation to grant Defendant IBM's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's claim for rescission for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, for failure to state a claim for declaratory and injunctive relief, and for damages resulting from Defendants' alleged failure to effect Plaintiff's notice of rescission.
When any party objects to any portion of the Magistrate Judge's Findings and Recommendation, the district court must make a de novo determination of that portion of the Magistrate Judge's report. 28 U.S.C. § 636(b)(1). See also United States v. Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d 1114, 1121 (9th Cir.2003)(en banc); United States v. Bernhardt, 840 F.2d 1441, 1444 (9th Cir.1988). For those portions of the Findings and Recommendation to which the parties do not object, the Court is relieved of its obligation to review the record de novo as to this portion of the Findings and Recommendation. Reyna-Tapia, 328 F.3d at 1121.
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). See also Bell Atlantic v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-56, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The court must accept as true the allegations in the complaint and construe them in favor of the plaintiff. Intri-Plex Tech., Inc. v. Crest Group, Inc., 499 F.3d 1048, 1050 n. 2 (9th Cir.2007). "The court need not accept as true, however, allegations that contradict facts that may be judicially noticed by the court." Shwarz v. United States, 234 F.3d 428, 435 (9th Cir.2000) (citations omitted). The court's reliance on judicially-noticed documents does not convert a motion to dismiss into a summary-judgment motion. Intri-Plex, 499 F.3d at 1052.
"[A] complaint may survive a motion to dismiss only if, taking all well-pleaded factual allegations as true, it contains enough facts to `state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.'" Hebbe v. Pliler, 627 F.3d 338, 341-42 (9th Cir.2010)(quoting Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949, and Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)). A pro se plaintiff's complaint "must be held to less stringent standards than formal pleadings drafted by lawyers." Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 94, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (per curiam). Thus, the court must construe pro se filings liberally. If a plaintiff fails to state a claim, "[l]eave to amend should be granted unless the pleading `could not possibly be cured by the allegation of other facts,' and should be granted more liberally to pro se plaintiffs." Ramirez v. Galaza, 334 F.3d 850, 861 (9th Cir.2003)(quoting Lopez v. Smith, 203 F.3d 1122, 1130 (9th Cir.2000)).
TILA is a consumer-protection law enacted in 1968 to ensure that consumers are able to make informed choices as to their use of credit. See 15 U.S.C. § 1601(a). As a consumer-protection statute, TILA is liberally construed in favor of consumers and is strictly enforced against creditors. Rubio v. Capital One Bank, 613 F.3d 1195, 1202 (9th Cir.2010). TILA requires creditors to make certain disclosures to borrowers, and the failure to do so gives the borrowers certain rights to rescind the loan transaction and to make claims for damages. 15 U.S.C. §§ 1635, 1640.
Neither party raises any objection to that portion of the Findings and Recommendation
Plaintiff objects to the Magistrate Judge's recommendation that Plaintiff's claim for rescission is time-barred. Plaintiff asserts in his Complaint that he was entitled under TILA to a three-year period in which he could exercise his right to rescind the home-mortgage loan he consummated with Defendant Chase Bank USA because the Notice of the Right to Cancel that Chase Bank provided to Plaintiff contained material errors. As noted, under TILA a person who takes a loan secured by an interest in his principal residence has the right to rescind the transaction until midnight on the third business day following consummation of the transaction or from the date of delivery of the forms required by TILA. 15 U.S.C. § 1635(a). If, however, a lender does not provide the correct notice explaining Plaintiff's rights, the right of rescission is extended and expires three years after consummation of the transaction. 15 U.S.C. § 1635(f); 12 C.F.R. § 226.23(3).
The Magistrate Judge recommended the Court grant IBM's Motion to Dismiss on the ground that Plaintiff's claim for rescission is time-barred by the three-year time limit on Plaintiff's right of rescission under TILA, which, in turn, deprives the Court of subject-matter jurisdiction over Plaintiff's claim. The Magistrate Judge found Plaintiff's loan closed on November 14, 2007,
The Magistrate Judge found the three-year limitation on the right of rescission set out in § 1365(f) is an ultimate statute of repose as to Plaintiff's right to seek a rescission remedy in court. The Magistrate Judge relies on the Supreme Court's decision in Beach v. Ocwen Federal Bank in which the Court held:
523 U.S. 410, 416-17, 118 S.Ct. 1408, 140 L.Ed.2d 566 (1998). The defendant-borrower in Beach, without having sent a notice of rescission within the three-year statutory period, sought to raise rescission as an affirmative defense to the bank's foreclosure action approximately five years after consummation of the loan transaction. Id. at 412-14, 118 S.Ct. 1408.
In Miguel v. Country Funding Corp., the Ninth Circuit addressed a similar situation in which it determined the plaintiff's rescission claim was untimely because the plaintiff had not provided a notice of rescission to the proper party. 309 F.3d 1161, 1162-63 (9th Cir.2002). After quoting the Supreme Court's holding in Beach at length, the Ninth Circuit held:
Id. at 1164-65.
Plaintiff objects to the Magistrate Judge's conclusion that the limitation set out in § 1635(f) is a limitation on the right to seek redress in court for a lender's failure to give effect to a borrower's notice of rescission. Plaintiff contends § 1635(f) limits the time in which he may exercise his right of rescission and that TILA provides Plaintiff with one year after a lender's failure to honor a borrower's rescission notice to bring a claim in court to enforce that right. Thus, Plaintiff contends because he exercised his right of rescission by providing the appropriate notice on August 4, 2010, within three years of the November 2007 loan transaction and filed an action in this Court less than six months later, his claim is timely and the Court has subject-matter jurisdiction to declare whether his notice of rescission was effective.
Plaintiff emphasizes the distinction between this matter and the facts in Beach and Miguel: Here Plaintiff sent a proper notice of rescission within the three-year statutory period while the plaintiffs in Beach and Miguel each sought to obtain a rescission remedy from the courts after the three-year period had run without having sent a proper notice of rescission to the lender.
The Court notes there is not any specific guidance from the Ninth Circuit on this issue, and, moreover, there is a significant split among district courts that have addressed
No. 10-3933-EDL, 2011 WL 175506, at *6 (N.D.Cal. Jan. 18, 2011).
The Court is persuaded the minority view (that the limitation in § 1635(f) applies to the borrower's exercise of his right of rescission rather than to the timing of a lawsuit to enforce that right) is more consistent with the Supreme Court's decision in Beach, the Ninth Circuit's ruling in Miguel, and TILA and its implementing regulations.
In Beach the Supreme Court held § 1635(f) "says nothing in terms of bringing an action but instead provides that the `right of rescission [under the Act] shall expire' at the end of the time period. It talks not of a suit's commencement but of a right's duration, which it addresses in terms so straightforward as to render any limitation on the time for seeking a remedy
Thus, the limitation in subsection (f) seems more appropriately interpreted to limit the time in which a borrower may exercise his right of rescission rather than to limit the time in which a borrower may seek court enforcement of that right.
This conclusion also appears to be consistent with the Ninth Circuit's decision in Miguel in which the issue was whether the plaintiff had notified the proper party within the three-year statute of repose. 309 F.3d at 1165. Ultimately the Ninth Circuit determined the plaintiff had not notified the proper party for purposes of exercising her right to rescind the mortgage transaction. Although the court did not directly address the question, the Ninth Circuit strongly implied in its resolution of the issue that the plaintiff's claim (which was filed more than three years after consummation of the transaction) would have been timely if the notice of rescission had been directed to the proper party within the three-year statute of repose. Id. ("Miguel argues that she should have been allotted an additional year in which to file suit after the expiration of the three-year period afforded by the statute. While Miguel is correct that 15 U.S.C. § 1640(e) provides the borrower one year from the refusal of cancellation to file suit, that is not the issue before us. Rather, the issue is whether her cancellation was effective even though it was not received by the Bank-the creditor-within the three-year statute of repose.").
The Magistrate Judge notes the one-year limitation period set out in § 1640(e) and referenced in Miguel is a limitation only on claims for civil damages and does not apply to claims for failure to effect rescission. Indeed, § 1640 addresses "civil liability" under TILA and does not provide a limitation period on a claim for failure to effect rescission in which a borrower seeks a Court's declaration that he properly effected a rescission under § 1635. As the Court has already discussed, § 1635 sets out only a statute of repose; i.e., a time limit on the borrower's exercise of his right to rescission. Several courts have addressed this issue squarely and adopted a one-year statute of limitations on such a claim based on the general TILA statute of limitations set out in § 1640. See, e.g., Santos v. Countrywide Home Loans, No. 1:09-CV-00912-AWI-SM, 2009 WL 2500710, at *3-5 (E.D.Cal. Aug. 14, 2009)(distinguished Miguel on the ground that timely notice of rescission had not been filed and relied on the one-year period
Even though § 1635 lacks a specific limitations period on claims to enforce a timely notice of rescission, the Court concludes the alternative (employing § 1635(f) as a statute of limitations rather than a statute of repose) is contrary to the express language of the Supreme Court in Beach. In addition, if the three-year period is construed as limiting a plaintiff's right to bring a lawsuit to enforce his right to rescission, the three-year period would actually be reduced to less than three years. Because a lender has 20 days under § 1635(b) to give effect to a borrower's notice of rescission, a borrower must effectively exercise his right to rescission at two years and 344 days in order to permit the lender its 20 days to determine whether to honor the borrower's notice of rescission. If a lender declines to effect the rescission, the borrower can file a lawsuit two years and 364 days after consummation of the loan to be sure to avoid the expiration of the statute of repose. Moreover, if a borrower sends a notice of rescission at two years and 345 days or thereafter, he could not enforce his right in court before it expires entirely if the lender took the full 20 days to deny the borrower's request. This approach would further provide an incentive for lenders to delay. Thus, if the period of repose was construed as a limit on the right to bring an action to enforce the right to rescission, it would undermine the express language of the statute by essentially rendering unenforceable a borrower's exercise of his right to rescission after two years and 344 days.
Ultimately § 1635, § 1640, and Regulation Z do not set out any limitations on the time for a borrower to bring an action to enforce a timely notice of rescission against a lender. Specifically, the Court does not find the lack of an express statute of limitations on such an action to be a persuasive basis for finding the period of repose set out in § 1635(f) is also a limitation on the time for a borrower to seek court enforcement of a timely exercise of rescission. Although reasonable judicial minds may differ, in light of the foregoing and the Court's obligation to liberally construe TILA in favor of borrowers (see Rubio, 613 F.3d at 1202), the Court declines to adopt the Magistrate Judge's recommendation
The Magistrate Judge also found "Barnes' claim for declaratory relief and his prayer for injunctive relief are each necessarily premised on the proposition that Barnes is entitled to rescission of his mortgage loan." Thus, the Magistrate Judge recommends granting IBM's Motion to Dismiss for failure to state a claim as to Plaintiff's claims for declaratory and injunctive relief because the Magistrate Judge found the Court lacks subject-matter jurisdiction over that claim. In light of the Court's conclusion that it has subject-matter jurisdiction over Plaintiff's rescission claim, however, this Court declines to adopt the Magistrate Judge's recommendation to grant IBM's Motion as to Plaintiff's claims for declaratory and injunctive relief.
Plaintiff also objects to the Magistrate Judge's finding as to the date the loan transaction closed. The heart of Plaintiff's factual allegations in his Complaint and the underpinning for the extended three-year period for Plaintiff's right to rescind the loan transaction is that the Notice of Right to Cancel provided by Chase Bank USA at closing was materially defective. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges the loan closed on November 15, 2007, but the Notice of Right to Cancel inaccurately stated a closing date of November 14, 2007. As a result, Plaintiff alleges the Notice of Right to Cancel was defective because it did not state the proper date of expiration of Plaintiff's right to cancel: i.e., the Notice indicates the right to cancel expired at midnight November 17, 2007, when, according to Plaintiff, it should have indicated his right to cancel expired at midnight November 18, 2007. Plaintiff attached as part of Exhibit 1 to his Complaint an unexecuted copy of the Notice of Right to Cancel that reflects a closing date of November 14, 2007.
In assessing Plaintiff's factual allegation that the loan closed on November 15, 2007, rather than November 14, 2007, the Magistrate Judge stated in footnote two on page seven:
Plaintiff objects to this summary of the factual record and contends he has provided sufficient evidence to support his allegations. Plaintiff alleged in his Complaint that the loan closed on November 15, 2007, and in Exhibit 1 to his Complaint has provided copies of, inter alia, unexecuted escrow forms for the loan transaction issued by First American Title insurance Company of Oregon that are dated November 15, 2007.
Although the Magistrate Judge questions the plausibility of Plaintiff's allegation that the loan closed on November 15, 2007, he bases his analysis on that date for purposes of this issue. At this stage of the proceedings the Court "must accept as true the allegations in the complaint and construe them in favor of the plaintiff." Intri-Plex Tech., Inc., 499 F.3d at 1050 n. 2. On this record Plaintiff has made a plausible allegation that the loan, in fact, closed on November 15, 2007. Thus, the Court, construing the facts in Plaintiff's favor, accepts that allegation as true.
Plaintiff objects to the Magistrate Judge's recommendation that the Court grant Defendant IBM's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's claim for damages arising from Defendants' alleged failure to give effect to Plaintiff's Notice of Rescission on the ground that Plaintiff did not make a showing that the Notice of Right to Cancel was sufficiently inaccurate, and, therefore, did not state a claim for relief under TILA. The Magistrate Judge ultimately concluded Plaintiff was not entitled to the extended three-year period of rescission. Plaintiff objects on the ground that his right to rescission was extended because the Notice of Right to Cancel contained an incorrect date for the termination of Plaintiff's three-day right to cancel.
As noted, under § 1635 a creditor "shall clearly and conspicuously disclose, in accordance with regulations of the Board, to any obligor in a transaction subject to this section the rights of the obligor under this section." 15 U.S.C. § 1635(a); 12 C.F.R. § 226.23(a)(3). If a lender does not provide the correct notice of Plaintiff's rights, the borrower's right of rescission is extended from three days to three years after consummation of the transaction. 15 U.S.C. § 1635(f); 12 C.F.R. § 226.23(a)(3). Regulation Z requires that the notice of right to rescind
12 C.F.R. § 226.23(b)(1). The Ninth Circuit has long held:
613 F.3d at 1199. For example, in Semar v. Platte Valley Federal Savings & Loan Association, the Ninth Circuit concluded:
791 F.2d 699, 704 (9th Cir.1986).
In support of his conclusion that an error in the date of the expiration of a borrower's right to cancel the transaction is insufficient to extend the period of rescission, the Magistrate Judge notes the form of the Notice of Right to Cancel in this case "tracks the model form" provided in the regulations, which, in turn, "creates a presumption that the notice Barnes alleges he received at closing was compliant with applicable TILA requirements." Indeed, 12 C.F.R. § 226.23(b)(2) requires: "To satisfy the disclosure requirements of paragraph (b)(1) of this section, the creditor shall provide the appropriate model form in Appendix H of this part or a substantially similar notice." Section 1604 requires the Board to publish model notices and provides:
Although Section 1604 deems a lender in compliance with non-numeric disclosures as a matter of form if a lender uses a model form or a substantially similar version,
The Magistrate Judge relies heavily on the First Circuit's decision in Palmer v. Champion Mortgage in which the court held the lender's use of the incorrect date for the expiration of the borrower's right of rescission (a date that had already passed at the time of closing) was not a violation of TILA because any error was vitiated by the narrative description of Plaintiff's right to rescind that
465 F.3d at 28-29 (referring to the notice at issue as "crystal clear"). The Notice of Right to Cancel that Plaintiff provided with his Complaint contains language similar to the Notice in Palmer and reflects Plaintiff had the right to cancel the transaction "within three (3) business days from whichever of the following events occur last: (1) The date of the transaction, which is November 14, 2007; or (2) The date you received your Truth in Lending disclosures; or (3) The date you received this notice of your right to cancel."
This matter is distinct from Palmer, however, in that the date used in Palmer had already passed at the time of closing, which logically would render unreasonable a borrower's reliance on that date if he was trying to determine when his right of rescission expired because it obviously could not expire before the transaction was consummated. Here the incorrect date is alleged to be just 24 hours before the actual time that Plaintiff's right of rescission expired. That fact makes the Notice in this matter much less "clear and conspicuous" because the alleged inaccuracy creates an inconsistency between the narrative description of the right as expiring "within three business days" and the date stated on the form of November 17, 2007, rather than constituting an impossibility as in Palmer. Furthermore, even if, for example, Chase Bank USA gave the Notice to Plaintiff before consummation of the loan on November 14, 2007, and the loan closed a day later on November 15, 2007, the regulations require the lender to change the early disclosures to state the correct information. See 12 C.F.R. § 226.17 ("[I]f disclosures required by this subpart are given before the date of consummation of a transaction and a subsequent event makes them inaccurate, the creditor shall disclose before consummation....").
Id. at 704 (footnote omitted). Citing Semar, the District Court for the District of Hawai'i reached the same conclusion when it held the right of rescission was extended for three years when the Notice of Right to Cancel "technically" violated the statute by stating the wrong date for the expiration of the borrower's right to cancel. Riopta v. Amresco Res. Mortg. Corp., 101 F.Supp.2d 1326, 1330 (D.Haw.1999). See also Jackson v. Grant, 890 F.2d 118, 120-22 (9th Cir.1989).
The Ninth Circuit holding in Semar is bolstered by the fact that TILA is a strict-liability statute and Regulation Z expressly requires inclusion of the "date the rescission period expires." 12 C.F.R. § 226.23(b)(1)(v). Although the First Circuit may have developed a certain tolerance for technical violations of TILA, the Ninth Circuit requires strict adherence to the statutes and regulations. See Rubio, 613 F.3d at 1199. See also Hauk v. JP Morgan Chase Bank USA, 552 F.3d 1114, 1118 (9th Cir.2009). Nevertheless, TILA affords lenders an affirmative defense to liability under §§ 1635 and 1640 for unintentional violations and "bona fide errors." 15 U.S.C. in favor of the consumer, Rubio, 613 F.3d at 1202, the result is not unduly harsh to the lender. On this record the Court concludes Plaintiff has met his burden to state a claim at this stage of the proceedings. The Court, therefore, does not adopt the Magistrate Judge's recommendation to grant IBM's Motion to Dismiss Plaintiff's claims for failure to effect his notice of rescission on the ground that Plaintiff failed to state a claim when he has alleged the Notice of Right to Cancel did not comply with TILA because it contained the wrong date for the expiration of his right to rescind the transaction.
As noted, the Magistrate Judge recommends that the Court deny the Motion (#20) to Dismiss by Chase Defendants as moot based on the Findings and Recommendation with respect to IBM's Motion to Dismiss. Plaintiff does not specifically object to the Magistrate Judge's recommendation as to Chase Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. The Court's decision to decline to adopt portions of the Magistrate Judge's recommendations may, however, alter the Magistrate Judge's determination that the Motion by Chase Defendants is moot.
In summary, after a de novo review of the record in relation to each of Plaintiff's Objections, the Court concludes they provide a basis to modify the Findings and Recommendation as set out herein. The Court also has reviewed the legal principles relating to those portions of the Findings and Recommendation to which the parties did not object and does not find any legal error.
For these reasons, the Court
The Court
This matter is returned to the Magistrate Judge for further proceedings consistent with this Order including whether to address any remaining grounds for dismissal raised by IBM in its Motion (#25) to Dismiss that the Magistrate Judge did not address in the June 10, 2010, Findings and Recommendation and to determine whether to address the grounds for dismissal raised by Chase Defendants in their Motion (#20) to Dismiss that the Magistrate Judge previously determined were moot.
IT IS SO ORDERED.