Urban Financial of America, LLC. v. Trinidad-Figueroa et al
Filing
46
OPINION AND ORDER granted 44 Motion for Summary Judgment. Signed by Judge Carmen C. Cerezo on 8/28/2018. (mld)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF PUERTO RICO
URBAN FINANCIAL OF AMERICA,
LLC
Plaintiff
vs
ROSA TRINIDAD FIGUEROA,
a/k/a ROSA TRINIDAD, a/k/a ROSA
MARIA TRINIDAD, a/k/a ROSA
MARIA TRINIDAD FIGUEROA;
JANE DOE; CONJUGAL
PARTNERSHIP TRINIDAD DOE;
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA;
JOHN DOE
Defendants
CIVIL 15-1405CCC
OPINION AND ORDER
This is a diversity action seeking foreclosure of a reverse mortgage for
the alleged failure by defendant Rosa Trinidad Figueroa (Trinidad) to perform
an obligation under the mortgage loan, i.e. maintaining insurance on the
mortgaged property. Before the Court now is a Motion for Summary Judgment
filed by plaintiff Urban Financial of America, LLC (Urban Financial) on
September 20, 2017 (d.e. 44), which remains unopposed by the plaintiff.
The undisputed facts, taken from the Statement of Uncontested Material
Facts which accompanies the Motion for Summary Judgment (d.e. 44-1),
follow: On August 15, 2011, Trinidad executed and delivered a mortgage note
payable to Senior Mortgage Bankers, Inc., or its order, up to a maximum
principal amount of $195,000.00, with interest at 5.060%, (the “Note”). For the
purpose of securing the payment of the principal amount of the Note, plus
interests in addition to those secured by law, advances under the contract and
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2
attorney’s fees and costs in the event of judicial collection, defendant executed
a mortgage, pursuant to deed number 75 before notary Samuel Soto Alonso,
over a property located in E-25 Azucena Street, Jardines de Dorado
Development, Dorado, Puerto Rico, which is described in the Registry of
Property in the Spanish language as follows:
URBANA: Solar radicado en el Barrio Higuillar del municipio de
Dorado, Puerto Rico, marcado con el número veinticinco del
Bloque “E” de la urbanización Residencial Dorado, con un área
superficial de cuatrocientos cuarentiún metros con noventa
centésimas de metro, en lindes por el NORTE, con la calle número
dos, en una distancia de doce metros con setenta centímetros; por
el SUR, con una faja de seguridad dedicada a uso público, en dos
distancias, la primera de cuatro metros con diecinueve
centímetros, y la segunda de nueve metros con veintiún
centímetros; por el ESTE, con solar número veinticuatro, en una
distancia de treintitrés metros; y por el OESTE, con el solar
número veintiséis, en una distancia de treintiseís metros con
sesenticuatro centímetros. Enclava una estructura dedicada a
vivienda.
This property is recorded at page 1 of volume 104 of Dorado, in the
Registry of Property of Puerto Rico, Section IV of Bayamón,
property identified with number 4,527. The mortgage is recorded
in the Registry of Property of Puerto Rico, Section IV of Bayamón
at page 207 of volume 279 of Dorado, 9th inscription.
Plaintiff Urban Financial is now the holder with right to enforce the Note.
Defendant Trinidad is the record owner of the mortgaged property according
to the Registry of Property. It was expressly stipulated in the mortgage loan
that if any one or more of its terms and conditions were not fulfilled, the whole
outstanding balance of the debt would be declared to be immediately due and
payable.
Defendant Trinidad failed to perform an obligation under the terms of the
loan by not maintaining insurance on the subject property.
Due to her
noncompliance, plaintiff was forced to advance funds in protection of its
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security interest in the amount of $1,150.86, $1,636.00, $824.59, $1,744.43,
$1,631.76, and $1,965.60 in order to maintain property insurance on or about
December 11, 2012, September 30, 2013, October 22, 2013, August 20, 2014,
August 19, 2015, and August 18, 2016, respectively. The Secretary of Housing
and Urban Development approved this occurrence as grounds for acceleration
of the debt on or about December 9, 2014. Thus, as a result of the defendant’s
failure to maintain insurance on the subject property, plaintiff declared the
entire outstanding balance of the debt due and payable.
Trinidad was notified of the default, the acceleration of the mortgage and
her options to pay the balance due on the loan. As of June 21, 2017,
defendant owed the following amounts:
Principal Balance $127,961.59;
Accrued Interest $372.53; Accrued MIP $92.03; Flood Insurance $3,591.70;
for a total amount of $132,017.85. In addition to the sums above stated,
defendant owes $19,500.00 in contractually agreed-upon attorney’s fees and
costs, for a total amount of $151,517.85.
A court will grant summary judgment if the moving party shows, based
on materials in the record, “that there is no genuine dispute as to any material
fact and [the moving party] is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R.
Civ. P. 56(a). “A dispute is genuine if the evidence about the fact is such that
a reasonable jury could resolve the point in the favor of the non-moving party.”
Farmers Ins. Exch. v. RNK, Inc., 632 F.3d 777, 782 (1st Cir. 2011) (quoting
Rodriguez-Rivera v. Federico Trilla Reg'l Hosp. of Carolina, 532 F.3d 28, 30
(1st Cir. 2008)). A fact is material if it has the potential of determining the
outcome of the litigation.” Id.
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At the summary judgment stage, a court must construe the entire record
in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, drawing all reasonable
inferences in its favor.
(1st Cir. 2005).
DePoutot v. Raffaelly, 424 F.3d 112, 117
The court must disregard conclusory allegations and
unsupported speculation. McGrath v. Tavares, 757 F.3d 20, 25 (1st Cir. 2014).
The court also shall refrain from making credibility determinations and weighing
the evidence. Id.
Plaintiff Urban Financial moved, as it is entitled, for summary judgment
on its own complaint. To that end, it proposed uncontested facts. It was
Trinidad’s responsibility at that point to show that there were issues of material
facts that made summary judgment on Urban Financial’s claims inappropriate,
but she failed to oppose the Motion and there is no counterstatement of
material facts. Hence, defendant admitted, for summary judgment purposes,
the facts that Urban Financial proposed.
Pursuant to the established facts, there is no doubt as to the validity of
the mortgage executed by Trinidad, nor is there any doubt as to her obligations
thereunder. It is also undisputed that Trinidad failed to meet an obligation
under the mortgage loan which, under its terms, allowed the plaintiff to declare
the entire outstanding balance of the debt due and payable. As of the filing of
the Motion, Trinidad had not paid said outstanding balance. Under such
circumstances, Puerto Rico law provides that the object of the mortgage “may
be alienated to pay the creditor.” 31 L.P.R.A. § 5002.
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Based on the established facts, this Court has no choice but to GRANT
the Motion for Summary Judgment filed by plaintiff Urban Financial LLC
(d.e. 44). Judgment1 shall be entered accordingly.
SO ORDERED.
At San Juan, Puerto Rico, on August 28, 2018.
S/CARMEN CONSUELO CEREZO
United States District Judge
1
The action pending as to defendant United States of America will be dismissed, though
with no prejudice to its right of redemption pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 2410(c).
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