KEVIN H. SHARP, District Judge.
Plaintiff "Simmons, Christopher Bernard, a living man by Special Appearance, an injured party and by restricted appearance" has filed a Motion for Judicial Review (Docket No. 42) of Magistrate Judge Griffin's Report and Recommendation ("R & R") (Docket No. 38). The R & R recommends that this action be dismissed because Plaintiff's claims are barred by the one-year statute of limitations found in both the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act ("TCPA"), Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-110, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d). It also recommends dismissal because Plaintiff's claims are barred by the doctrine of res judicata inasmuch as "plaintiff and his wife have, either jointly or separately, filed no less than four prior federal lawsuits concerning the Property" located at 3037 Barnes Bend Drive, Nashville, Tennessee. (Docket No. 38 at 9).
The referenced cases are:
In his Motion for Review, which the Court construes as objections, Plaintiff first asserts that his "Administrative FILE # CS-01072012-NTS" is "ripe for Judicial Review . . . pursuant to Local Rule 16.01(b)(2)d." (Docket No. 42 at 2). Local Rule 16.01 is not a jurisdictional statute. It is merely a local rule exempting from customized case management "administrative decisions of government agencies or instrumentalities where the review is conducted on the administrative record." Leaving aside that customized case management is simply a method of ensuring that cases are managed effectively, Plaintiff's own "administrative file" is not a decision of a governmental agency.
In his supporting Memorandum, Plaintiff also cites the Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. § 552 et seq. as a basis for review of the "administrative record," but that statute deals with agencies of the United States, not financial mortgage lenders or servicers, and certainly not "administrative records" compiled by an individual.
Turning to the merits of the R & R, Plaintiff argues that his claims are not time-barred because his Complaint also references Tenn. Code Ann. § 28-3-105, which provides a three year statute of limitations "for injuries to personal or real property." Magistrate Judge Griffin recognized as much but properly ruled that, given the gravaman of Plaintiff's Complaint, the applicable statutes of limitations were those found in the FDCPA and the TCPA, and Plaintiff cannot attempt to characterize his claim as being a property tort claim in order to avoid the one-year limitations found in those statutes.
Regardless, Magistrate Judge Griffin also ruled that Plaintiff's claims, no matter how couched, were barred by the doctrine of res judicata. Plaintiff argues this was error because none of the previous actions asserted a claim for wrongful foreclosure. Plaintiff's argument is beside the point. Under both federal and state law, res judicata applies to claims that could have or should have been brought in a prior proceeding.
In the Complaint in this Court, Plaintiff claims that the allegedly wrongful foreclosure sale occurred on March 17, 2011. This date is long before
Having considered the matter de novo as required by Rule 72 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court hereby rules as follows:
(1) The R & R (Docket No. 38) is hereby ACCEPTED and APPROVED;
(2) Plaintiff's Motion for Judicial Review (Docket No. 42), construed as objections to the R & R, are hereby OVERRULED;
(3) Defendant's Motion to Dismiss (Docket No. 12) is hereby GRANTED; and
(4) This action is hereby DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE.
The Clerk of the Court shall enter a final judgment in accordance with Rule 58 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
It is SO ORDERED.