Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC v. SFR Investments Pool 1, LLC et al
Filing
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ORDER Granting 13 Motion to Dismiss. Signed by Judge James C. Mahan on 5/1/15. (Copies have been distributed pursuant to the NEF - TR)
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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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DISTRICT OF NEVADA
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BAYVIEW LOAN SERVICING, LLC,
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Plaintiff(s),
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Case No. 2:14-CV-1875 JCM (GWF)
ORDER
v.
SFR INVESTMENTS POOL 1, LLC, et al.,
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Defendant(s).
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Presently before the court is defendant Nevada Association Services, Inc.’s (“NAS”)
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motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint for quiet title with prejudice. (Doc. # 13). Defendant
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Buena Vista Homeowners Association (“Buena Vista HOA”) joined NAS’s motion. (Doc. # 21).
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Plaintiff Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC (“Bayview”) filed an opposition (doc. # 22), and defendant
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NAS filed a reply (doc. # 25).
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I.
Background
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This is a mortgage foreclosure related action regarding the real property located at 7617
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Amato Avenue, Las Vegas, Nevada 89128. On or about May 19, 2009, Christina Montaruli
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executed and delivered to Bank of America, N.A. a note evidencing a $159,890 loan to her. (Doc.
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# 1 at 2). The loan was insured by the U.S. Federal Housing Administration (“FHA”) through the
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secretary of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”). (Id.). As a part of the same transaction,
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Montaruli executed and delivered to BANA the deed of trust. (Id.). The deed was recorded with
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the Clark County Recorder’s Office on June 1, 2009. (Id.; exh. 1).
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Beneficial interest in the deed of trust was assigned, in chronological order, to: Bank of
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America, N.A.; Successor by Merger to BAC Home Loans Servicing; LP FKA Countrywide Home
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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Loans Servicing; Bayview; the secretary of HUD; and Bayview, again. (Doc. # 1 at 3). Bayview
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currently holds the beneficial interest in the deed of trust. (Id.).
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On or about August 10, 2012, through its trustee, NAS, Buena Vista HOA conducted a
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foreclosure sale of the property. (Id.). SFR Investments (“SFR”) was the highest bidder at the
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sale, with a winning bid of $7,000. (Id.). Plaintiff alleges that, at the time of the foreclosure sale,
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the fair-market value of the property exceeded $87,000. (Id.). SFR is the current title owner of
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the property pursuant to the foreclosure deed. (Id.).
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On July 9, 2014, SFR filed a complaint in Nevada state court for quiet title and declaratory
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and injunctive relief against plaintiff and Christina Montaruli. (Id.). SFR argued that it owns the
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property free and clear and that plaintiff’s security interest in the property was extinguished at the
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foreclosure sale. (Id. at 4).
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On September 3, 2014, SFR and Christina Montaruli filed a stipulation and order to dismiss
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Christina Montaruli from the state court litigation, which the court subsequently entered. (Id.).
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On October 16, 2014, SFR filed a voluntary dismissal of Bayview, the lone remaining defendant,
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from the state court case. (Id.). The case is now closed. (Id.).
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Plaintiff initiated the instant action against defendants SFR; Christina Montaruli; and
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Buena Vista HOA, seeking to quiet title. In sum, SFR asserts plaintiff’s security interest in the
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property was extinguished by the foreclosure sale, while plaintiff maintains that its security interest
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in the property was not extinguished by the foreclosure sale.
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Plaintiff alleges that a mortgage interest in real property, such as its insured security interest
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in the property at issue, is federal property protected by the United States Constitution. Plaintiff
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asks the court to declare the foreclosure sale void ab initio, with no legal effect or consequence,
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for violating both the contracts clause and the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution.
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(Doc. # 1 at 5).
NAS moves to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint for quiet title. Buena Vista HOA joined NAS’s
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motion.
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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II.
Legal Standard
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A court may dismiss a plaintiff’s complaint for “failure to state a claim upon which relief
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can be granted.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). A properly pled complaint must provide “[a] short and
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plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2);
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Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007). While Rule 8 does not require detailed
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factual allegations, it demands “more than labels and conclusions” or a “formulaic recitation of the
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elements of a cause of action.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 1949 (2009) (citation omitted).
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“Factual allegations must be enough to rise above the speculative level.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at
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555. Thus, to survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter to
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“state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.” Iqbal, 129 S.Ct. at 1949 (citation omitted).
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In Iqbal, the Supreme Court clarified the two-step approach district courts are to apply
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when considering motions to dismiss. First, the court must accept as true all well-pled factual
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allegations in the complaint; however, legal conclusions are not entitled to the assumption of truth.
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Id. at 1950. Mere recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported only by conclusory
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statements, do not suffice. Id. at 1949. Second, the court must consider whether the factual
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allegations in the complaint allege a plausible claim for relief. Id. at 1950. A claim is facially
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plausible when the plaintiff's complaint alleges facts that allows the court to draw a reasonable
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inference that the defendant is liable for the alleged misconduct. Id. at 1949.
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Where the complaint does not “permit the court to infer more than the mere possibility of
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misconduct, the complaint has alleged, but it has not shown, that the pleader is entitled to relief.”
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Id. (internal quotations and alterations omitted). When the allegations in a complaint have not
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crossed the line from conceivable to plausible, plaintiff's claim must be dismissed. Twombly, 550
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U.S. at 570.
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The Ninth Circuit addressed post-Iqbal pleading standards in Starr v. Baca, 652 F.3d 1202,
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1216 (9th Cir. 2011). The Starr court stated, “First, to be entitled to the presumption of truth,
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allegations in a complaint or counterclaim may not simply recite the elements of a cause of action,
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but must contain sufficient allegations of underlying facts to give fair notice and to enable the
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opposing party to defend itself effectively. Second, the factual allegations that are taken as true
James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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must plausibly suggest an entitlement to relief, such that it is not unfair to require the opposing
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party to be subjected to the expense of discovery and continued litigation.” Id.
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III.
Discussion
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Under Nevada law, “[a]n action may be brought by any person against another who claims
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an estate or interest in real property, adverse to the person bringing the action for the purpose of
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determining such adverse claim.” NRS 40.010. “A plea to quiet title does not require any
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particular elements, but ‘each party must plead and prove his or her own claim to the property in
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question’ and a ‘plaintiff’s right to relief therefore depends on superiority of title.’” Chapman v.
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Deutsche Bank Nat'l Trust Co., 302 P.3d 1103, 1106 (Nev. 2013) (quoting Yokeno v. Mafnas, 973
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F.2d 803, 808 (9th Cir.1992)).
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Defendants NAS and Buena Vista HOA assert that plaintiff admitted in its complaint that
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the property was sold by NAS as a foreclosure agent for Buena Vista HOA on August 10, 2012,
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and a foreclosure deed was recorded as to the new owner on September 7, 2012. Defendants assert
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that they do not have a current adverse interest in the property as required by NRS 40.010, and
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asK the court to dismiss them from this action.
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Plaintiff asserts that NAS has a current interest in the property because it is still the trustee
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of record and agent for Buena Vista HOA. Plaintiff asserts that Buena Vista has a current interest
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in the property because it is the homeowner’s association that generally manages and maintains
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the common-area amenities where the property is located, and because it was the agent that
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directed NAS to conduct the foreclosure sale Bayview is attempting to void.
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The court finds that plaintiff’s quiet title claim must be dismissed as to defendants NAS
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and Buena Vista HOA, since neither party asserts an adverse interest in the property. See NRS
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40.010; Anthony v. Todd, No. 3:14-cv-00649-RCJ, 2015 WL 1334375, at *5 (D. Nev. Mar. 25,
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2015) (dismissing quiet title claim against defendants who did not assert an adverse interest in the
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subject property).
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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Accordingly,
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IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND DECREED that defendant Nevada
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Association Services, Inc.’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s complaint for quiet title with prejudice
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(doc. # 13), joined by defendant Buena Vista Homeowners Association (doc. # 21), be, and the
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same hereby is, GRANTED.
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DATED May 1, 2015.
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__________________________________________
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE
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James C. Mahan
U.S. District Judge
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