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THOMAS v. QUALITY LOAN SERVICE CORPORATION (2021)

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.2021-02-24No. No. 20-55133

Summary

Holding. The court affirmed the district court's dismissal of Thomas's action because his complaint failed to allege sufficient factual allegations to state a plausible claim for relief.

Rudie Thomas appealed the dismissal of his lawsuit challenging a nonjudicial foreclosure on his home. The district court dismissed the case because Thomas did not adequately plead facts that would support a legally viable claim under either federal or state law. On appeal, the appellate court examined the pleadings under the applicable standard for motions to dismiss and found no error in the lower court's decision.

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

Key issues

  • Sufficiency of pleadings under Rule 12(b)(6) dismissal standard
  • Validity of trustee substitution under California foreclosure law
  • Requirements for federal and state law claims related to nonjudicial foreclosure

Procedural posture

Thomas appealed pro se from a district court judgment dismissing his federal and state law claims related to nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings.

Authorities cited

No cited authorities resolved to law.co cases yet.

Opinion

MEMORANDUM **

Rudie Thomas appeals pro se from the district courts judgment dismissing his action alleging federal and state law claims related to nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings against his home. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo a dismissal under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). Dougherty v. City of Covina, 654 F.3d 892, 897 (9th Cir. 2011). We affirm.

The district court properly dismissed Thomass action because Thomas failed to allege facts sufficient to state a plausible claim for relief. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (“A pleading that offers ‘labels and conclusions’ or ‘a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.’ ”) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007)); see also Cal. Civ. Code § 2924(a)(6) (a substituted trustee is authorized to initiate foreclosure proceedings); U.S. ex rel. Hendow v. Univ. of Phoenix, 461 F.3d 1166, 1174 (9th Cir. 2006) (setting forth elements for a claim under the False Claims Act); L.A. Cty. Bar Assn v. Eu, 979 F.2d 697, 703 (9th Cir. 1992) (declaratory relief claim requires an “autonomous and independent dispute” of “vital importance” (citation and internal quotation marks omitted)).

We reject as unsupported by the record Thomass contention that defendant was not validly substituted as the trustee under the Deed of Trust.

AFFIRMED.