Arsenault v. U.S. Bank National Association
| Pro Se Party Steven Arsenault |
| U.S. Bank National Association |
| 1:2019cv12073 |
| October 7, 2019 |
| US District Court for the District of Massachusetts |
| Denise J Casper |
| Real Property: Foreclosure |
| 28 U.S.C. ยง 1332 |
| None |
Docket Report
RSS Track this Docket
This docket was last retrieved on December 9, 2019. A more recent docket listing may be available from PACER.
| Document Text |
|---|
| Filing 12 Judge Denise J. Casper: ORDER entered. ORDER DISMISSING CASE(Hourihan, Lisa) |
| Filing 11 ELECTRONIC NOTICE Canceling Hearing. In light of D. 10, the hearing set for 12/12/19 is cancelled. (Hourihan, Lisa) |
| Filing 10 Judge Denise J. Casper: ELECTRONIC ORDER entered re: #4 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim and #6 Motion to Remand to State Court. Plaintiff Steven Arsenault ("Arsenault"), appearing pro se, has filed this lawsuit against Defendant U.S. Bank National Association, as trustee, successor in interest to Bank of America National Association, as trustee, successor by merger to LaSalle Bank National Association, as trustee for the Certificateholders of Bear Stearns Asset Backed Securities I LLC Asset Backed Certificates, Series 2004-2 ("Defendant"), seeking an order for quiet title to the property located at 22 Staples Shore Road, Lakeville, MA (the "Property") and fees and costs. D. 1-1. Defendant now moves to dismiss pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). D. 4. Arsenault seeks to remand this action to the Land Court. D. 6. For the reasons stated below, the Court DENIES Arsenault's motion for remand, D. 6, and ALLOWS Defendant's motion to dismiss, D. 4.Factual Background. Unless otherwise noted, the following facts are as alleged by Arsenault and assumed to be true for the purpose of considering the motions. Arsenault purchased the Property on or around July 30, 1997 for $190,000. D. 1-1 at 3. On August 19, 1999, Arsenault obtained a mortgage from Crossland Mortgage Corporation in the amount of $171,000 on the Property. Id. This mortgage was transferred and assigned to Chase Manhattan Corporation ("Chase"). Id. On May 29, 2002, Option One Mortgage Corporation ("Option One") refinanced the Property in the amount of $235,200. Id. On June 24, 2002, the mortgage was discharged after Arsenault paid Chase $171,000. Id. at 3-4. On October 17, 2003, IndyMac Bank, F.S.B. ("IndyMac") granted a mortgage (the "Mortgage") on the Property for $320,000. Id. at 4. On November 5, 2003, Arsenault paid "the debt of $235,200 to Option One." Id. Arsenault alleges that the $320,000 mortgage was assigned to EMC Mortgage Corporation ("EMC") in favor of IndyMac and that EMC stopped "performing its duties in servicing [Arsenault's] loan for two and a half years." Id. Plaintiff further alleges that, following a lawsuit filed by Arsenault against EMC, EMC's counsel stated that they would reach a mutual agreement, but that the parties "never communicated" and that EMC "continued to avoid its servicing duty." Id.In ruling on a motion to dismiss, "a judge can mull over 'documents incorporated by reference in [the complaint], matters of public record, and other matters susceptible to judicial notice.'" Lydon v. Local 103, Int'l Bhd. of Elec. Workers, 770 F.3d 48, 53 (1st Cir. 2014) (quoting Giragosian v. Ryan, 547 F.3d 59, 65 (1st Cir. 2008)) (alteration in original). Accordingly, the Court considers the additional facts proffered by Defendant. On February 7, 2006, an assignment of the Mortgage from IndyMac to EMC was recorded in the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds. D. 5 at 2; D. 5-1 at 24. On December 26, 2007, an assignment of the Mortgage from EMC to LaSalle Bank National Association ("LaSalle Bank"), as Trustee for the Certificateholders of the Bear Stearns Asset Backed Securities I LLC Asset Backed Certificates, Series 2004-2, was recorded. Id.; D. 5-1 at 29. LaSalle Bank was merged into Bank of America, National Association ("Bank of America"), which became the trustee. Id. Defendant serves as successor trustee to Bank of America. Id. On December 21, 2017, Defendant exercised its statutory power of sale and foreclosed the Mortgage by public auction. Id. Defendant purchased the Property at the foreclosure sale and recorded a foreclosure deed. Id.; D. 5-1 at 34.Procedural History. Arsenault sued Defendant and a servicer of the Mortgage last year in connection with the Property and the defendants removed the action to this Court. See Arsenault v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. et al, No. 18-cv-10322-DJC (D. Mass.). In the 2018 action, Arsenault sought temporary and permanent injunctions restraining defendants from evicting him, a declaratory judgment that Arsenault owned the title to the Property and monetary damages. Id. at D. 14. The Court allowed the defendants' motion to dismiss on November 20, 2018 pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Id. at D. 23. Arsenault then filed suit against Defendant in Land Court in March 2019 seeking an order of quiet title and fees and costs. See Arsenault v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n., No. 19-cv-10784 (D. Mass.). This action was also removed to this Court. Id. at D. 1. The Court later granted Defendant's motion to dismiss that action pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6) on July 17, 2019, concluding that the case was barred by claim preclusion and that, even if the claims had not been precluded, the claim for quiet title would be dismissed because Arsenault does not hold legal title to the Property. Id. at D. 12. Arsenault then initiated the present action in Land Court in September 2019 seeking quiet title, D. 1-1 at 2, and it was removed to this Court on October 7, 2019. D. 1.Motion to Remand. Arsenault seeks to remand this case to the Land Court, arguing that the amount in controversy does not meet the statutory threshold because he does not seek damages and that the Land Court has exclusive subject matter jurisdiction. D. 6 ¶¶ 6-7. Defendants removed the action from Land Court based on diversity jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1332. D. 1. Section 1332 provides for removal of a civil action from state court where the matter in controversy is between citizens of different states and the amount in controversy exceeds the "sum or value of $75,000." 28 U.S.C. 1332(a). Arsenault does not dispute that diversity of citizenship is satisfied here as he is a citizen of Massachusetts and Defendant is not. See D. 1-1 ¶¶ 4-6; D. 1 ¶ 4. Defendant has further satisfied the amount in controversy requirement of 28 U.S.C. 1332 because "[i]n actions seeking declaratory or injunctive relief, it is well established that the amount in controversy is measured by the value of the object of the litigation." Hunt v. Washington State Apple Adver. Comm'n, 432 U.S. 333, 347 (1977). In cases where a defendant's mortgage interest is at issue, "it is the property itself that is the object of the litigation; the value of that property represents the amount in controversy." Bobola v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 14-cv-14735-MLW, 2016 WL 4844039, at *3 (D. Mass. Sept. 13, 2016) (citing Farkas v. GMAC Mortgage, L.L.C., 737 F.3d 338, 341 (5th Cir. 2013)). Defendants have plausibly alleged that the value of the property exceeds $75,000 whether based upon the foreclosure purchase price for the Property ($339,150), the mortgage on the Property that remained prior to such sale, or the town's assessment of the property ($365,400). D. 1 ¶ 5; D. 8 at 4.The basis of Arsenault's claim that the Land Court has exclusive jurisdiction over this action is unclear. To the extent that Arsenault bases this contention on Mass. Gen. L. c. 185, 1(d), which states that the Land Court "shall have exclusive jurisdiction of... [p]etitions to require actions to try title to real estate," this claim is rejected as the state statute does not operate to divest the Court of jurisdiction. LaRace v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 972 F. Supp. 2d 147, 151 (D. Mass 2013) (denying a motion to remand and stating that "where the requisite diversity of citizenship and amount in controversy are present, a state statute cannot defeat federal jurisdiction") (quoting Monogram Indus., Inc. v. Zellen, 467 F. Supp. 122, 123 (D. Mass. 1979)). Finally, the fact that Arsenault may have a pending matter in state Housing Court, D. 6 ¶ 7, does not alter this Court's subject matter jurisdiction over the present action. Defendant has established that diversity jurisdiction applies pursuant to 28 U.S.C. 1332; therefore, Arsenault's motion to remand, D.6, is DENIED. Motion to Dismiss. On a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6), the Court must determine if the facts alleged "plausibly narrate a claim for relief." Schatz v. Republican State Leadership Comm., 669 F.3d 50, 55 (1st Cir. 2012) (citation omitted); see Garca-Cataln v. United States, 734 F.3d 100, 103 (1st Cir. 2013).The complaint seeking quiet title in this action is almost identical to that filed in the April 2019 action Arsenault initiated against Defendant. Arsenault v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n., No. 19-cv-10784 at D. 1-1. The difference between the present complaint and the complaint dismissed earlier this year amounts to two paragraphs regarding Arsenault's past interactions with EMC. D. 1-1 ¶ 7. The Court dismissed the earlier action on the grounds of claim preclusion because the parties to that action were parties in the 2018 action initiated by Arsenault (Arsenault v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. et al, No. 18-cv-10322-DJC), the action was based on the same predicate facts as the 2018 action and the causes of action were sufficiently similar and dismissal of the 2018 action constituted a final judgment on the merits. See Arsenault v. U.S. Bank Nat'l Ass'n., No. 19-cv-10784 at D. 12. In dismissing the April 2019 action, the Court also noted that, even if claim preclusion did not apply, Arsenault was not entitled to quiet title because he does not hold legal title to the Property. Id. The same reasoning applies because the parties are identical to those in the April 2019 action, the predicate facts and claims are identical and there was a final judgment that applies equally here. Similarly, Arsenault has not alleged plausibly in the present action that he holds legal title to the Property. For these reasons, the Court ALLOWS Defendant's motion to dismiss, D. 4. (Hourihan, Lisa) |
| Filing 9 ELECTRONIC NOTICE Setting Hearing on Motion #6 MOTION to Remand to State Court, #4 MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM : Motion Hearing set for 12/12/2019 02:00 PM in Courtroom 11 before Judge Denise J. Casper. (Hourihan, Lisa) |
| Filing 8 Opposition re #6 MOTION to Remand to State Court filed by U.S. Bank National Association. (Carr, Peter) |
| Filing 7 STATE COURT Record. (Carr, Peter) |
| Filing 6 MOTION to Remand to State Court by Steven Arsenault.(McKillop, Matthew) |
| Filing 5 MEMORANDUM in Support re #4 MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM filed by U.S. Bank National Association. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A-G)(Carr, Peter) |
| Filing 4 MOTION TO DISMISS FOR FAILURE TO STATE A CLAIM by U.S. Bank National Association.(Carr, Peter) |
| Filing 3 CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT by U.S. Bank National Association identifying Corporate Parent U.S. Bancorp for U.S. Bank National Association.. (Carr, Peter) |
| Filing 2 ELECTRONIC NOTICE of Case Assignment. Judge Denise J. Casper assigned to case. If the trial Judge issues an Order of Reference of any matter in this case to a Magistrate Judge, the matter will be transmitted to Magistrate Judge Jennifer C. Boal. (Finn, Mary) |
| Filing 1 NOTICE OF REMOVAL by U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee, Successor in Interest to Bank of America National Association, as Trustee, Successor by Merger to LaSalle Bank National Association, as Trustee ( Filing fee: $ 400, receipt number 0101-7911630 Fee Status: Filing Fee paid) (Attachments: #1 Exhibit A-E, #2 Civil Cover Sheet, #3 Local Category Form)(Carr, Peter) |
Access additional case information on PACER
Use the links below to access additional information about this case on the US Court's PACER system. A subscription to PACER is required.
Access this case on the Massachusetts District Court's Electronic Court Filings (ECF) System
- Search for Party Aliases
- Associated Cases
- Attorneys
- Case File Location
- Case Summary
- Docket Report
- History/Documents
- Parties
- Related Transactions
- Check Status
| Search for this case: Arsenault v. U.S. Bank National Association | |
|---|---|
| Search News | [ Google News | Marketwatch | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times | New York Times ] |
| Search Web | [ Unicourt | Legal Web | Google | Bing | Yahoo | Ask ] |
| Plaintiff: Pro Se Party Steven Arsenault | |
| Search News | [ Google News | Marketwatch | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times | New York Times ] |
| Search Finance | [ Google Finance | Yahoo Finance | Hoovers | SEC Edgar Filings ] |
| Search Web | [ Unicourt | Justia Dockets | Legal Web | Google | Bing | Yahoo | Ask ] |
| Defendant: U.S. Bank National Association | |
| Represented By: | Peter Francis Carr, II |
| Search News | [ Google News | Marketwatch | Wall Street Journal | Financial Times | New York Times ] |
| Search Finance | [ Google Finance | Yahoo Finance | Hoovers | SEC Edgar Filings ] |
| Search Web | [ Unicourt | Justia Dockets | Legal Web | Google | Bing | Yahoo | Ask ] |
Disclaimer: Justia Dockets & Filings provides public litigation records from the federal appellate and district courts. These filings and docket sheets should not be considered findings of fact or liability, nor do they necessarily reflect the view of Justia.
