DeLeon v. SunTrust Mortgage, Inc. et al

Filing 22

ORDER granting 6 Motion to Dismiss; dismissing 2 Complaint without prejudice; and setting deadline of Friday, May 31, 2013, for the filing of an amended complaint. Signed by Judge John Antoon II on 4/30/2013. (EK)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA
ORLANDO DIVISION
ERENIA DELEON,
Plaintiff,
-vs-

Case No. 6:13-cv-148-Orl-28TBS

SUNTRUST MORTGAGE, INC., ANY
AND ALL UNKNOWN PARTIES,
Defendants.
______________________________________

ORDER
Plaintiff filed this quiet title action in state court in December 2012, and SunTrust
Mortgage, Inc., removed it to this Court. (See Docs. 1 & 2). The case is now before the
Court on SunTrust’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 6) and Plaintiff’s Opposition (Doc. 17).
“A pleading that states a claim for relief must contain . . . a short and plain statement
of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). “‘[D]etailed
factual allegations’” are not required, but “[a] pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions’ or
‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556
U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007)). “To
survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as
true, to ‘state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.’” Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S.
at 570).
“A quiet title claim requires that a plaintiff plead facts that show 1) the plaintiff holds
title to the property in question; and 2) a cloud on title exists.” Pounds v. Countrywide Home

Loans, Inc., No. 12–60692-CIV, 2012 WL 4194420, at *2 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 19, 2012) (internal
quotation and citation omitted). “To assert a cloud on title, a plaintiff must set forth the
matter that constitutes the alleged cloud, facts that give the claim apparent validity, and facts
that show its invalidity.” Id. Ultimately, “[i]n suits to quiet title the burden of proof rests on
the plaintiff to show with clearness, accuracy and certainty not only the validity of h[er] own
title but the invalidity or inferiority of the defendant’s title or claim.” Palmer v. Greene, 31 So.
2d 706, 708 (Fla. 1947).
Plaintiff seeks to quiet title to property of which she is in possession in Altamonte
Springs, Florida, and as to which SunTrust has recorded a mortgage. (See Compl. ¶¶ 3-4).
Copies of a warranty deed and the recorded mortgage are attached to the Complaint. (Exs.
A & B to Compl.). Plaintiff alleges that she has demanded that SunTrust prove that it lent
Plaintiff money and that SunTrust has failed to do so. (Compl. ¶¶ 5-6). Plaintiff alleges that
because SunTrust has failed to prove to Plaintiff that it lent her money, SunTrust does not
have a valid “interest in the Property.” (Id. ¶ 7).
Plaintiff has not alleged facts sufficient to plausibly support a cloud on title; she has
not asserted a plausible basis for the invalidity of SunTrust’s recorded mortgage. See 20
Fla. Jur. 2d Ejectment and Related Remedies § 79 (“A cloud on title may be broadly
described as an outstanding instrument, record, claim, or encumbrance that is invalid or
inoperative but which may nevertheless impair the title to property.”). Plaintiff has requested
leave to amend, and such leave will be granted.
Accordingly, it is ORDERED and ADJUDGED as follows:
1. SunTrust’s Motion to Dismiss (Doc. 6) is GRANTED.
-2-

2. The Complaint (Doc. 2) is DISMISSED without prejudice.
3. Plaintiff may file an amended complaint on or before Friday, May 31, 2013, if she
can plausibly state a viable claim.
DONE and ORDERED in Orlando, Florida this 30th day of April, 2013.

Copies furnished to:
Counsel of Record

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