King v. Guild Mortgage Co. LLC

Filing 42

MEMORANDUM ADOPTING REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE. The Magistrate Judge's report (Dkt. # 34 ) is ADOPTED AS MODIFIED. It is ORDERED that Defendant Guild Mortgage Co. LLC's and Defendant Mortgage Electronic Registration System, Inc.'s Motions to Dismiss (Dkts. # 16 , 22 ) are hereby GRANTED. (Motion(s) 22 , 16 , 34 terminated). Signed by Chief District Judge Amos L Mazzant on 3/11/2025. (jmb)

United States District Court
EASTERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
SHERMAN DIVISION

KY-ANNA J KING,
Plaintiff,

v.

GUILD MORTGAGE CO. LLC, et al.,
Defendants.

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Civil Action No. 4:24-cv-00109
Judge Mazzant/Judge Davis

MEMORANDUM ADOPTING REPORT AND
RECOMMENDATION OF UNITED STATES MAGISTRATE JUDGE
Came on for consideration the report of the United States Magistrate Judge in this action,
this matter having been heretofore referred to the Magistrate Judge pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 636.
On December 4, 2024, the Magistrate Judge entered a Report and Recommendation (Dkt. #34)
that Defendant Guild Mortgage Co. LLC’s and Defendant Mortgage Electronic Registration
System, Inc.’s Motions to Dismiss (Dkts. ##16, 22) be granted in part and denied in part.
Having received the report of the United States Magistrate Judge, and no timely objections
being filed, the Court is of the opinion that the findings and conclusions of the Magistrate Judge
are correct but that subsequent developments in the case warrant modification of one part of the
Magistrate Judge’s report.
The Magistrate Judge’s Report (Dkt. #34) recommended that Plaintiff King’s breach-ofcontract claim be dismissed without prejudice because “it is at least possible that King could
redraw her complaint to allege the essential elements of that claim.” (Dkt. #34 at 9). King then
filed a Motion for Leave to Amend (Dkt. #36) and a Proposed Second Amended Complaint
(Dkt. #37).

Granting leave to amend the complaint is not required if the plaintiff has already pleaded
her best case. Wiggins v. La. State Univ.-Health Care Servs. Div., 710 F. App’x 625, 627 (5th Cir.
2017). A plaintiff has pleaded her best case when she has been apprised of the insufficiency of the
complaint and has not identified material facts she would include in an amendment to overcome
the deficiencies. Id.
King was apprised of the insufficiency of her complaint by the Magistrate Judge’s Report
and Recommendation (Dkt. #34), which pointed out that the complaint neither identified any
contractual provision that Guild allegedly breached nor alleged King’s own performance under the
contract. (Dkt. #34 at 9). The Proposed Second Amended Complaint (Dkt. #37) still fails to
identify any provision of any contract that was breached. It also fails to allege that King has
performed her obligations under the contract, which is necessary to state a claim for breach.
Pathfinder Oil & Gas, Inc. v. Great W. Drilling, Ltd., 574 S.W.3d 882, 890 (Tex. 2019). Because
King has already pleaded her best case after the Magistrate Judge identified deficiencies, and
because the proposed amendment fails to state a breach-of-contract claim, that claim should also
be dismissed with prejudice. See Schiller v. Physicians Res. Grp. Inc., 342 F.3d 563, 567 (5th Cir.
2003) (affirming dismissal with prejudice after the plaintiff had multiple opportunities to amend
the complaint and still failed to state a claim).
For the foregoing reasons, the Magistrate Judge’s report (Dkt. #34) is ADOPTED AS
MODIFIED.
It is therefore ORDERED that Defendant Guild Mortgage Co. LLC’s and Defendant
Mortgage Electronic Registration System, Inc.’s Motions to Dismiss (Dkts. #16, 22) are
hereby GRANTED.

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It is FURTHER ORDERED that Plaintiff King’s claims against Defendants Guild
Mortgage Co. LLC and Mortgage Electronic Registration System, Inc., are DISMISSED WITH
PREJUDICE.
IT IS SO ORDERED.

SIGNED this 11th day of March, 2025.

___________________________________
AMOS L. MAZZANT
UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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