Citimortgage, Inc. v. Shapiro et al

Filing 53

Judge George A. OToole, Jr: ORDER entered finding as moot 30 Motion for Lis Pendens; granting 33 Motion to Dismiss for Failure to State a Claim (Danieli, Chris)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS
CIVIL ACTION NO. 12-12038-GAO
CITIMORTGAGE, INC.,
Plaintiff,
v.
VLADIMIR SHAPIRO, MARC KADIS, and
FIDELITY NATIONAL TITLE INSURANCE COMPANY,
Defendants.

ORDER
March 6, 2013
O’TOOLE, D.J.
After an additional review of the parties’ submissions, I conclude that the plaintiff’s
reliance on Teschke v. Keller, 650 N.E.2d 1279 (Mass. App. Ct. 1995), is misplaced. MERS did
not have a statutory right to notice, nor did it have property interests such that lack of notice
violated its due process rights. An entity is not entitled, by statute or otherwise, to receive notice
of a sheriff’s sale by virtue of being a “mortgagee,” however that term is defined.
Furthermore, the plaintiff’s contention that MERS, rather than CitiMortgage, should have
received notice of the sheriff’s sale contradicts its assertion that CitiMortgage, rather than
MERS, has standing to sue in this case. Therefore, I conclude that the property at issue was sold
to the defendant Marc Kadis pursuant to a valid sheriff’s sale, and his Motion to Dismiss (dkt.
no. 33) is thus GRANTED. Accordingly, the plaintiff’s Motion for Lis Pendens (dkt. no. 30) is
now MOOT.
It is SO ORDERED.
/s/ George A. O’Toole, Jr.
United States District Judge