Jose Francisco Garavito v. JP Morgan Chase Bank National Association et al

Filing 5

MINUTES (IN CHAMBERS): ORDER by Magistrate Judge Robert N. Block: denying 3 Ex Parte Application for TRO. (twdb)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
CIVIL MINUTES - GENERAL
Case No. SACV 12-1885 DOC (MLGx)

Date: October 30, 2012

Title: JOSE FRANCISCO GARAVITO v. JP MORGAN CHASE BANK NA et al.
PRESENT:
THE HONORABLE DAVID O. CARTER, JUDGE
Julie Barrera
Courtroom Clerk

Not Present
Court Reporter

ATTORNEYS PRESENT FOR PLAINTIFFS: ATTORNEYS PRESENT FOR DEFENDANTS:
NONE PRESENT

NONE PRESENT

PROCEEDING (IN CHAMBERS): ORDER DENYING TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER
Before the Court is Plaintiff’s Ex Parte Application for Order to Show Cause and
Temporary Restraining Order (Dkt. 3) filed by Jose Francisco Garavito (Plaintiff). The Court finds this
matter appropriate for decision without oral argument. Fed R. Civ. P. 78; Local R. 7-15. After
consideration of Plaintiff’s Motion (Dkt. 3) and Verified Complaint (Dkt. 1), the Court DENIES the
Motion.
I.

Background

Plaintiff filed this Motion, along with his Verified Complaint, on October 29, 2012. See
Mot; Compl. His Complaint alleges that Defendants JP Morgan Chase and National Default Servicing
Corporation, as well as unnamed Does (Defendants), facilitated an improper–and illegal–mortgage loan
transaction with him, and it states fourteen causes of action challenging Defendants’ rights to property
at 417 S. Clara St., Santa Ana, CA, 92703 (the property). See Compl. ¶¶ 19-156. Plaintiff seeks
declaratory and injunctive relief, including a postponement of the foreclosure of the property, as well as
damages. Id. at 28. Apart from providing the address of the property at issue and the date of Plaintiff’s
Notice of Default, see Compl. ¶ 9, Plaintiff fails to plead any facts that are specific to his case, and
instead provides general and conclusory allegations about illegal practices in the mortgage industry.
In seeking a TRO preventing Defendants from transferring ownership of “or further
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encumbering Plaintiff’s Property,” Plaintiff alleges that Defendants “knowingly, liberally, greedily, and
without any regard fro Plaintiff’s rights sold Plaintiff a deceptive loan product.” Mot. at 4. Plaintiff
asserts that, because his home “will be sold within the next week” and because he is “subject to eviction
actions,” immediate action from the Court is necessary. Id. at 2. Plaintiff provides no further factual
allegations concerning his present situation, and includes no specific facts that would support his claim
that sale and eviction are imminent. Plaintiff has not submitted any documents in support of this
Motion.
II.

Legal Standard for Temporary Restraining Order

“An application for a temporary restraining order involves the invocation of a drastic
remedy which a court of equity ordinarily does not grant, unless a very strong showing is made of a
necessity and desirability of such action.” Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 103 F. Supp. 978,
980 (D.D.C. 1952). The standard for granting a temporary restraining order “is identical to the standard
for issuing a preliminary injunction.” Brown Jordan Intern. v. Mind’s Eye Interiors, Inc., 236 F. Supp.
2d 1152, 1154 (D. Hawai’i 2002).
Pursuant to Rule 65 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the Court may grant
preliminary injunctive relief in order to prevent “immediate and irreparable injury.” Fed. R. Civ. P.
65(b). To obtain this relief, a plaintiff has the burden to establish: (1) a likelihood of success on the
merits; (2) a likelihood to suffer irreparable harm if the preliminary relief is not granted; (3) a balance
of the equities favors the plaintiff; and (4) that the injunction is in the public interest. See Winter v.
Natural Res. Def. Council, Inc., 129 S. Ct. 365, 374 (2008). In the Ninth Circuit, the Winter factors
may be evaluated on a sliding scale: “serious questions going to the merits, and a balance of hardships
that tips sharply toward the plaintiff can support issuance of a preliminary injunction, so long as the
plaintiff also shows that there is a likelihood of the irreparable injury and that the injunction is in the
public interest.” Alliance for the Wild Rockies v. Cottrell, 632 F.3d 1127, 1134-35 (9th Cir. 2011).
III.

Discussion

Plaintiff’s Motion fails to establish the necessary factors required for this Court to grant
the extraordinary remedy of a TRO. He states that “the standard for injunctive relief is satisfied,” Mot.
at 4, yet does not elaborate on how his particular set of facts satisfies any of the elements relevant to
that standard. Plaintiff’s conclusory Complaint and the absence of supporting documents do not give
the Court any way to determine on its own whether Plaintiff will ultimately succeed on the merits, nor
do they provide enough specificity regarding the irreparable harm that Plaintiff will suffer. For
example, Plaintiff appears to file the instant application out of speculative concern that an eviction will
occur. See Mot. at 2. However, Plaintiff does not allege that an eviction is even scheduled, nor does he
provide the Court with a date for the eviction. “Speculative injury does not constitute irreparable
injury.” Goldie’s Bookstore, Inc. v. Superior Court of State of Cal., 739 F.2d 466, 472 (9th Cir. 1984).
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Similarly, Plaintiff does not show that serious questions as to the merits exist and that
the balance of hardships tips in his favor. See Sun Microsystems, Inc. v. Microsoft Corp., 188 F.3d
1115, 1119 (9th Cir. 1999). While a large portion of the Motion and an even larger portion of the
Complaint are devoted to arguing that the alleged mortgage practices are devastating to the public
interest, with virtually nonexistent factual support, the Court cannot enter the extraordinary remedy of a
temporary restraining order.
Accordingly, the Court DENIES Plaintiff’s Motion.
The Clerk shall serve this minute order on Plaintiff.

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