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RAYBOULD v. RUSHMORE LOAN MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.2021-07-27No. No. 20-35557

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of Raybould's action, upholding the dismissal of his Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim for failure to state a plausible claim and finding no abuse of discretion in the district court's case management orders.

Dennis Raybould appealed the dismissal of his lawsuit against Rushmore Loan Management Services, which involved claims under federal debt collection law and state law relating to foreclosure. The court found that Raybould's Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim failed because he did not allege sufficient facts to support a plausible claim. Under applicable law, a judicial foreclosure proceeding does not constitute debt collection activity unless the creditor seeks a deficiency judgment or attempts to recover remaining debt, and Oregon law prohibits deficiency actions after judicial foreclosure.

The court also rejected Raybould's challenges to the district court's case management decisions, finding no abuse of discretion in the scheduling order, case management procedures, or time extensions. The court declined to consider arguments Raybould raised for the first time on appeal or issues not specifically addressed in his opening brief.

Summary generated by law.co from the public-domain opinion. The opinion text itself is public domain.

Key issues

  • Whether judicial foreclosure constitutes debt collection under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
  • Whether complaint allegations were sufficient to state a plausible claim
  • Propriety of district court's case management and scheduling decisions

Procedural posture

Raybould appealed pro se from a district court judgment dismissing his federal and state law claims arising from foreclosure proceedings.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Dennis Raybould appeals pro se from the district courts judgment dismissing his action alleging federal and state law claims arising from foreclosure proceedings. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo a district courts dismissal for failure to state a claim under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). Sheppard v. David Evans & Assoc., 694 F.3d 1045, 1048 (9th Cir. 2012). We affirm.

The district court properly dismissed Rayboulds Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim against defendant Rushmore Loan Management Service because Raybould failed to allege facts sufficient to state a plausible claim. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (to avoid dismissal, “a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face” (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)); Barnes v. Routh Crabtree Olsen PC, 963 F.3d 993, 999 (9th Cir. 2020) (“A judicial foreclosure proceeding is not a form of debt collection when the proceeding does not include a request for a deficiency judgment or some other effort to recovery the remaining debt.”); see also Or. Rev. Stat. § 86.797(2) (prohibiting action for deficiency after judicial foreclosure).

The district court did not abuse its discretion in issuing its scheduling order, case management order, or orders granting extensions of time. See Johnson v. Mammoth Recreations, Inc., 975 F.2d 604, 607 (9th Cir. 1992) (district court has broad discretion to manage its docket).

We do not consider matters not specifically and distinctly raised and argued in the opening brief, or arguments and allegations raised for the first time on appeal. See Padgett v. Wright, 587 F.3d 983, 985 n.2 (9th Cir. 2009).

We do not consider Rayboulds contention regarding dismissal of his prior action, Raybould v. JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., which was summarily affirmed in Appeal No. 15-35158.

AFFIRMED.