Bigelow v. Northwest Trustee Services, Inc. et al

Filing 148

ORDER Dismissing Counterclaims, Requesting Plaintiff to Show Cause, and Striking Pretrial Conference and Trial by Judge Benjamin H. Settle. Carolyn Bigelow (husband and wife), Green Tree Servicing LLC, Oak Ridge Yelm Homowners Association (a non-profit corporation), Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and James A. Bigelow terminated. Plaintiff to show cause by 8/26/2016. (TG)

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
WESTERN DISTRICT OF WASHINGTON
AT TACOMA

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JAMES BIGELOW,

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Plaintiff,

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v.
NORTHWEST TRUSTEE SERVICES, et
al.,
Defendants.

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CASE NO. C14-5798BHS
ORDER DISMISSING
COUNTERCLAIMS WITHOUT
PREJUDICE, REQUESTING
PLAINTIFF TO SHOW CAUSE,
AND STRIKING PRETRIAL
CONFERENCE AND TRIAL

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This matter comes before the Court on review of the file and the impending trial.
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I. PROCEDURAL HISTORY
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On October 7, 2014, Plaintiff James Bigelow filed a complaint against Defendants
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Northwest Trustee Services, Inc.’s (“Northwest”), Green Tree Servicing, LLC (“Green
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Tree”), and Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS”) asserting causes
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of action for (1) violation of the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et
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seq. (“FDCPA”), (2) violation of the Washington State Deed of Trust Act, RCW Chapter
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61.24 (“DTA”), and (3) violation of the Washington Consumer Protection Act, RCW
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Chapter 19.86 (“CPA”). Dkt. 1.
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ORDER - 1

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On January 8, 2015, Green Tree filed a third-party complaint against Bigelow,

2 Carolyn Bigelow, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., and Oak Ridge Yelm Homeowners
3 Association (“Counterclaim Defendants”). Dkt. 26.
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On February 23, 2015, Bigelow filed an amended complaint against Northwest,

5 Green Tree, and MERS and added Defendants Wright, Finlay & Zak, LLP (“WFZ”),
6 Ticor Title Company (“Ticor”), Nationwide Title Clearing (“Nationwide”), First
7 American Title Insurance Company’s (“First American”), and Renee Parker (“Parker”).
8 Dkt. 44. Bigelow asserted causes of action for violation of the FDCPA, DTA, CPA,
9 slander of title, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Dkts. 44 & 44-1. Ticor
10 has not appeared.
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On March 11, 2015, Bigelow filed a motion to dismiss the counterclaim and third-

12 party complaint. Dkt. 58. Numerous defendants also filed motions to dismiss. Dkts. 63,
13 65, 86, 87. On June 1, 2015, the Court (1) granted Bigelow’s motion dismissing the
14 counter complaint for failure to properly allege jurisdiction and granted Green Tree leave
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16 and dismissed Bigelow’s claims against these parties with prejudice. Dkt. 92. Green
17 Tree did not file an amended complaint.
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On May 25, 2016, Green Tree, MERS, WFZ, and Parker filed a motion for

19 summary judgment. Dkt. 130. On August 16, 2016, the Court granted the motion as to
20 all of Bigelow’s remaining claims against these defendants. Dkt. 147.
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ORDER - 2

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II. DISCUSSION

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Based on this procedural history, the Court identifies two outstanding issues,

3 neither of which requires a trial. First, Green Tree has not filed an amended complaint.
4 It has been almost eighteen months since the Court granted Green Tree leave to amend.
5 The Court considers this, at the very least, a failure to follow a Court order and dismisses
6 Green Tree’s claims without prejudice.
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Second, Ticor has failed to appear or answer Bigelow’s complaint. Bigelow has

8 failed to prosecute this claim. Thus, the Court orders Bigelow to show cause why this
9 claim should not be dismissed for failure to prosecute.
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III. ORDER

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Therefore, it is hereby ORDERED that (1) Green Tree’s counterclaims are

12 dismissed without prejudice and the clerk shall terminate the counter claimant, counter
13 defendants, third party plaintiff, and third party defendants; (2) Bigelow must SHOW
14 CAUSE as stated herein no later than August 26, 2016; and (3) the Clerk shall strike the
15 pretrial conference and the scheduled trial from the Court’s calendar.
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Dated this 17th day of August, 2016.

A

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BENJAMIN H. SETTLE
United States District Judge

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ORDER - 3