Sloan v. Urban Title Services, Inc.

• Decision Date: 12 February 2010
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 06-1524 (CKK).
• Citation: 689 F. Supp.2d 94
• Parties: Andrea SLOAN, as Guardian and Conservator on behalf of Mary Juergens, an Incapacitated Individual, in both Mary Juergens' individual capacity and as the sole member of "1230 23rd Street, LLC," Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant, v. URBAN TITLE SERVICES, INC., et al., Defendants/Counter-Plaintiffs.
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

689 F.Supp.2d 94

Andrea SLOAN, as Guardian and Conservator on behalf of Mary Juergens, an Incapacitated Individual, in both Mary Juergens' individual capacity and as the sole member of "1230 23rd Street, LLC," Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant, v. URBAN TITLE SERVICES, INC., et al., Defendants/Counter-Plaintiffs.

Civil Action No. 06-1524 (CKK).

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

February 12, 2010.

John Paul Szymkowicz, Szymkowicz & Szymkowicz, Washington, DC, for Plaintiff/Counter-Defendant.

Deborah Kathryn Besche, Goldberg, Pike & Besche, P.C., Baltimore, MD, James M. Towarnicky, James M. Towarnicky, PLLC, Fairfax, VA, Dwight D. Murray, David P. Durbin, Jordan, Coyne & Savits, LLP, Heather S. Deane, Bonner Kiernan Trebach & Crociata LLP, Washington, DC, Jeffrey A. Barmach, Michael N. Russo, Jr., Council, Baradel, Kosmerl & Nolan, P.A., Annapolis, MD, for Defendants/Counter-Plaintiffs.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR-KOTELLY, District Judge.

The above-captioned lawsuit was filed by the original Plaintiff in this matter, Mary Juergens,¹ nearly three years ago to challenge the legality of two disparate loans extended to Plaintiff, each of which was secured by a condominium located at 1230 23rd Street, N.W., Apartment 505, Washington, D.C. 20037 (the "Condo"). Plaintiff initially named as Defendants in this action Urban Title Services, Inc. ("UTS") as well as Dale Duncan, First Mount Vernon Industrial Loan Association, Inc. ("FMVILA"), Arthur Bennett, and Brickshire Settlements, LLC ("Brickshire").² According to Plaintiff, the first of the two loans at issue in this case was extended by the Owen Living Trust with the assistance of UTS, while the second loan (hereinafter "FMV Loan") was extended by FMVILA with the assistance of Bennett, Duncan and Brickshire (collectively with FMVILA, the "FMV Defendants"). Plaintiff has since voluntarily dismissed with prejudice all of her claims against UTS. See Stip. of Dismissal, Docket No. 243. Accordingly, the only claims that remain at issue in this lawsuit relate to the second of these two loans, the FMV Loan.

Plaintiff and the FMV Defendants have filed a series of cross-motions for partial summary judgment. The Court previously ruled on several of the parties' cross-motions —specifically, those motions for partial summary judgment filed by Plaintiff with respect to allegations in her Fourth Amended Complaint relating to the FMV Loan and those related cross-motions for partial summary judgment by the FMV Defendants. See Juergens v. UTS, 652 F.Supp.2d 51 (D.D.C.2009). Still outstanding, however, are Plaintiff's motion for partial summary judgment filed with respect to Defendant Duncan's counterclaims as well as several motions for partial summary judgment filed by Defendant Duncan and Defendant Brickshire with respect to certain allegations and claims asserted against them in Plaintiff's Fourth Amended Complaint. This Memorandum Opinion addresses Plaintiff's remaining motion for partial summary judgment as to Defendant Duncan's counterclaims as well as Duncan's motion for partial summary judgment, specifically: Plaintiff's 174 Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue of Dale Duncan's Counterclaim and Defendant Duncan's 185/186 Motion for Summary Judgment Regarding Counts XVII-XXVI and XXX-XXXI and Claims for Punitive Damages.

Upon a searching review of the memoranda filed with respect to the pending motions, the exhibits thereto, the relevant case law and statutes, and the entire record herein, the Court orders as follows, for the reasons set forth below. First, Duncan's 185/186 Motion for Partial Summary Judgment is GRANTED-IN-PART, DENIED-IN-PART, and HELD IN ABEYANCE-IN-PART. Specifically, the motion is GRANTED insofar as Duncan argues that no attorney-client relationship existed between himself and Plaintiff, and it is also GRANTED with respect to Count XVII (Breach of Contract) of Plaintiff's Fourth Amended Complaint. It is denied, however, with respect to Counts XXV (Fraud), XXVI (Civil Conspiracy), XXXI (CPPA), and XXXII (CCSOA) of Plaintiff's Fourth Amended Complaint. Finally, the motion is HELD IN ABEYANCE insofar as Duncan urges that he is entitled to summary judgment on the underlying claims and/or Plaintiff's punitive damages requests set forth in Counts XVIII (Legal Malpractice), XIX (Breach of Fiduciary Duty), XX (Negligence), XXI (Breach of Contract), XXII (Breach of Fiduciary Duty), and XXIII (Negligence), pending further briefing by the parties.

Second, Plaintiff's 174 Motion for Summary Judgment on the Issue of Duncan's

Counterclaim is GRANTED-IN-PART and HELD IN ABEYANCE-IN-PART. Specifically, Plaintiff's motion is GRANTED with respect to Count Two of Duncan's Counterclaim but is HELD IN ABEYANCE with respect to Count One, pending further briefing by the parties.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The Court assumes familiarity with the factual background of this case, which is set forth in detail in this Court previous' opinions, see Juergens v. UTS, 652 F.Supp.2d 51 (D.D.C.2009); Juergens v. UTS, 246 F.R.D. 4 (D.D.C.2007); Juergens v. UTS, 533 F.Supp.2d 64 (D.D.C.2008); Juergens v. UTS, 652 F.Supp.2d 40 (D.D.C.2009); Juergens v. UTS, 652 F.Supp.2d 51 (D.D.C.2009), and the Court therefore addresses herein only such facts as are necessary for resolution of the motions currently before the Court.

Before doing so, however, the Court pauses briefly to comment upon the parties' attempts to incorporate by reference various factual statements set forth in separately-filed submissions. The Court reminds both parties that "LCvR 7(h)(1) places the burden on the parties and their counsel, who are most familiar with the litigation and the record, to crystallize for the district court the material facts and relevant portions of the record." Jackson v. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, 101 F.3d 145, 151 (D.C.Cir. 1996) (citing Twist v. Meese, 854 F.2d 1421, 1425 (D.C.Cir.1988)). The parties' attempts to broadly incorporate a multitude of unspecified facts set forth in separate filings directly contradicts both the spirit and the text of LCvR 7(h)(1), as it impermissibly shifts counsel's burden to locate and identify the relevant facts and leaves the Court to guess which of the many factual statements set forth in the separate pleadings are purportedly of relevance to the instant motions. As the Court has repeatedly advised the parties, it strictly adheres to the text of Local Civil Rule 7(h)(1) when resolving motions for summary judgment. See, e.g., 1/30/09 Scheduling and Procedures Order, Docket No. 155 at 2. Accordingly, the Court shall disregard the parties' efforts to incorporate factual statements by reference. The Court advises the parties once again that it is their obligation, and not this Court's, to locate and cite to the appropriate portions of the record that support their arguments on summary judgment. In order to ensure clarity of argument, the parties may not incorporate by reference factual statements made in other pleadings, but each motion must independently contain all facts that the party believes are relevant to resolution of the issues raised in that particular motion.³

For this same reason, the Court also disregards Plaintiff's consolidated statement of material facts, which purports to relate to all summary judgment motions and cross-motions filed by the parties and which was filed in addition to the individual statements and response statements she provided in her briefing now before the Court. See Pl.'s 199 Stmt. of Mat. Facts. Plaintiff did not seek prior leave of the Court to file her consolidated factual statement and, as the Court has previously observed, the document was filed in violation of both this Court's orders and the local rules of this Court. See Juergens v. UTS, 652 F.Supp.2d 51, 55-56 (D.D.C. 2009). Moreover, the consolidated statement which appears to have been intended principally as a means of supplementing Plaintiff's own cross-motions for summary judgment, does not directly respond to Duncan's statement of material facts not in issue filed with his motion for partial summary judgment and is therefore of no help to the Court in identifying what, if any, material facts are purportedly in dispute with respect to that motion. Accordingly, the Court shall—once again—disregard Plaintiff's consolidated 199 Statement of Material Facts and any factual assertions set forth therein in ruling on the pending cross-motions, as well as the Defendants' 223 Joint Response. Cf. Juergens v. UTS, 652 F.Supp.2d 51, 55-56 (D.D.C. 2009). As a consequence, the Court is left with only the individual statements of material fact and response statements of genuine issues in dispute that were filed with the parties' briefing. Given that these statements are narrowly tailored to each individual motion, the Court at this point provides only a short introduction to the facts of this case, with a more detailed discussion to follow below as is necessary for evaluation of a particular claim.

The heart of Plaintiff's lawsuit against the FMV Defendants, including Duncan, is her allegation that the FMV Loan was intended to be, or should properly be construed as, a personal mortgage loan—not a commercial loan. As the parties appear to agree, the relevant documents relating to the FMV Loan, when taken at face value, purport to characterize the loan as a $250,000 commercial loan extended by FMVILA to 1220 23rd Street, LLC (hereinafter, "LLC"), a limited liability corporation of which Plaintiff is the sole shareholder. Plaintiff nonetheless contends that the loan is, or should properly be construed as, a personal residential loan, based upon two alternative theories: (1) Plaintiff claims that the FMV Defendants offered her a personal mortgage loan, not a commercial loan, and that she signed only documents related to a residential loan; thus, although the FMV Loan documents on their face purportedly describe the...