Victorian v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage et al

Filing 66

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Chase Bank, N.A.'s motion for judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED, and the Court hereby declares that this Defendant has no right, title, or interest in and to the property that is the subject of this lawsuit. (Doc. No. 64 .) Signed by District Judge Audrey G. Fleissig on March 2, 2016. (BRP)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
EASTERN DISTRICT OF MISSOURI
EASTERN DIVISION
LENORE VICTORIAN,

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Plaintiff,
v.
WELLS FARGO HOME MORTGAGE,
et al.
Defendants.

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No. 4:15-CV-00667-AGF

MEMORANDUM AND ORDER
This matter is before the Court on Defendant Chase Bank, N.A.’s motion (Doc.
No. 64) for judgment on the pleadings on the sole remaining claim against it—Count VII,
for declaratory judgment, which requests that the Court “declare” that Chase has “no
right, title or interest in and to the real estate” that is the subject of this lawsuit.
Chase argues that, as pleaded by Plaintiff and as evidenced in the publicly
recorded Release of Deed of Trust attached to its motion,1 Chase has extinguished any
ownership interest it had in the subject real estate. As such, Chase argues that the Court
should enter judgment on the pleadings, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure
12(c), on Count VII of Plaintiff’s first amended complaint against Chase, and declare that
Chase has no right, title, or interest and to the property. Plaintiff has not responded to
Chase’s motion, and the time to do so has passed.
1

“When deciding Rule 12(c) motions, . . . courts may rely on matters within the
public record.” Faibisch v. Univ. of Minn., 304 F.3d 797, 802 (8th Cir. 2002)

When presented with a motion for judgment on the pleadings, a district court must
“accept as true all factual allegations set out in the complaint” and “construe the
complaint in the light most favorable to the [plaintiff], drawing all inferences in [his]
favor.” Ashley Cnty., Ark. v. Pfizer, Inc., 552 F.3d 659, 665 (8th Cir. 2009) (citation
omitted). The standard for judgment on the pleadings is the same as that for failure to
state a claim under Rule 12(b)(6). Id. at 665. “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.’” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (citing
Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 556-70 (2007)).
Plaintiff’s first amended complaint alleges that, “[o]n October 24, 2014, Chase
sent Plaintiff a letter notifying her that Chase had released any lien it had on the
property,” and that on December 15, 2014, the property was sold at a foreclosure sale to
Defendant Deutsche Bank National Trust Company. (Doc. No. 24 at 34.) Likewise,
Chase’s Release of Deed of Trust, dated October 29, 2014 and considered for purposes of
this motion as a public record, reflects that Chase extinguished any interest it had in the
property. Therefore, the Court will grant Chase’s motion and declare that Chase does not
have any right, title, or interest in and to the subject property, which will resolve the sole
remaining claim against Chase.
CONCLUSION
For the reasons set forth above,
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that Defendant Chase Bank, N.A.’s motion for
judgment on the pleadings is GRANTED, and the Court hereby declares that this
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Defendant has no right, title, or interest in and to the property that is the subject of this
lawsuit. (Doc. No. 64.)

________________________________
AUDREY G. FLEISSIG
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
Dated this 2nd day of March, 2016.

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