Terry v. First Merit Nat'l Bank

• Decision Date: 17 December 2014
• Docket Number: Civil Action No. 14–1197 CKK
• Citation: 75 F.Supp.3d 499
• Parties: Richard N. Terry, Plaintiff v. First Merit National Bank, Defendant
• Court: U.S. District Court — District of Columbia

75 F.Supp.3d 499

Richard N. Terry, Plaintiff

v.First Merit National Bank, Defendant

Civil Action No. 14–1197 CKK

United States District Court, District of Columbia.

Signed December 17, 2014

Richard N. Terry, Gahanna, OH, pro se.

Martin Stuart Goldberg, The Fisher Law Group, PLLC, Upper Marlboro, MD, for Defendant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

COLLEEN KOLLAR–KOTELLY United States District Judge

Richard N. Terry, proceeding pro se, brought this action against Defendant First Merit National Bank.¹ While the precise nature of the claims in this action is far from clear from the pleadings, Plaintiff appears to challenge actions surrounding the foreclosure of a property in Ohio. See Compl. at 2. Presently before the Court is Defendant's [13] Motion to Dismiss. Upon consideration of the pleadings,² the relevant legal authorities, and the record as a whole, the Court GRANTS Defendant's Motion to Dismiss. The Court concludes that, under the Rooker–Feldman doctrine, it does not have jurisdiction over this action effectively challenging a state-court final judgment. The Court also concludes that it has no personal jurisdiction over Defendant. Because the Court has no jurisdiction over any of the claims in this action, the Court does not address any of Defendant's arguments pertaining to the merits. The Court DISMISSES this action in its entirety.

I. BACKGROUND

A. Factual Background

The facts of this case are far from clear. At core, this action appears to pertain to the foreclosure of a property in Ohio state court. See Compl at 2 (“The matter in general seeks to adequately challenge the foreclosure on a mortgage to the following described property in Franklin County, Ohio”). Plaintiff describes the property in question as “Hunter's Ridge Sec. 8 Lot 507.” That description refers to the property with the address, 652 Lytton Ct., Gahanna OH 43230, which is also Plaintiff's address. See Compl. at 32, Exhibit “A” to Planned Unit Development Rider. The property was subject to foreclosure in the Franklin County, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas, case number 13 CV 006485, with a judgment of foreclosure issued June 9, 2014. See Mot. to Dismiss, Ex. C. Because the Court concludes, below, that it has no jurisdiction over any of the claims in this action and because Plaintiff has not conveyed them in a clear fashion, it is not necessary to recite the facts further at this point. Insofar as the facts of this case are essential to resolving the jurisdictional questions before the Court, the Court presents them below.

B. Procedural History

On July 16, 2014, Plaintiff filed this action, proceeding pro se . On August 11, 2014, Plaintiff filed a [10] Motion for Immediate Default Judgment. On August 14, 2014, the Court denied Defendant's default judgment motion and granted Defendant's [6] Motion to Extend Time to Respond to Plaintiff's Complaint. Defendant complied with the deadline established by the Court's order, filing their [13] Motion to Dismiss on September 8, 2014. The Court advised Plaintiff that, if Plaintiff did not respond to Defendant's Motion to Dismiss, the Court may grant the motion as conceded. The Court also advised Plaintiff that, because the motion is supported by facts outside of the complaint, the Court may consider it as a motion for summary judgment and, therefore, Plaintiff is required to rebut Defendant's affidavits with other affidavits or other sworn statements.³ In response, Plaintiff filed an document titled “Affidavits in Support of Plaintiff's Claims,” ECF No. 16 (“Pl.'s Aff.”), through which Plaintiff opposes the Motion to Dismiss.⁴ Defendant did not file a reply brief.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

Defendant moves to dismiss Plaintiff's complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b), on the grounds that the complaint fails to state a claim, that the Court lacks jurisdiction over the claims against them, and that the United States District Court for the District of Columbia is an improper venue for this action.⁵ Moreover, the Court is obligated to assure itself of its jurisdiction “whether or not the parties challenge it.” Wagner v. Fed. Election Comm'n, 717 F.3d 1007, 1010 (D.C.Cir.2013) ; accord Fogo De Chao (Holdings) Inc. v. U.S. Dep't of Homeland Sec., 769 F.3d 1127, 1138 (D.C.Cir.2014). Because the Court concludes that it does not have jurisdiction over the claims against Defendant, the Court does not address Defendant's arguments pertaining to the merits of this action.

“Federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction” and can adjudicate only those cases entrusted to them by the Constitution or an Act of Congress.

Kok konen v. Guardian Life Ins. Co. of Am., 511 U.S. 375, 377, 114 S.Ct. 1673, 128 L.Ed.2d 391 (1994). The Court begins with the presumption that it does not have subject matter jurisdiction over a case. Id . To survive a motion to dismiss pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1), a plaintiff bears the burden of establishing that the Court has subject matter jurisdiction over its claim. Moms Against Mercury v. FDA, 483 F.3d 824, 828 (D.C.Cir.2007). In determining whether there is jurisdiction, the Court may “consider the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts evidenced in the record, or the complaint supplemented by undisputed facts plus the court's resolution of disputed facts.” Coal. for Underground Expansion v. Mineta, 333 F.3d 193, 198 (D.C.Cir.2003) (citations omitted).

When personal jurisdiction is challenged under Rule 12(b)(2), the plaintiff bears the burden of establishing a factual basis for asserting personal jurisdiction over a defendant. See Crane v. N.Y. Zoological Soc'y, 894 F.2d 454, 456 (D.C.Cir.1990). To establish that personal jurisdiction exists, the plaintiff cannot rest on bare allegations or conclusory statements but “must allege specific acts connecting [each] defendant with the forum.” Second Amendment Found. v. U.S. Conference of Mayors, 274 F.3d 521, 524 (D.C.Cir.2001) (internal quotation marks omitted). “To make such a showing, the plaintiff is not required to adduce evidence that meets the standards of admissibility reserved for summary judgment and trial [;]” but rather, the plaintiff may “rest her arguments on the pleadings, ‘bolstered by such affidavits and other written materials as [she] can otherwise obtain.’ ” Urban Inst. v. FINCON Servs., 681 F.Supp.2d 41, 44 (D.D.C.2010) (quoting Mwani v. bin Laden, 417 F.3d 1, 7 (D.C.Cir.2005) ). In the case of a pro se plaintiff, although the Court is required to construe the pro se complaint liberally, see Howerton v. Ogletree, 466 F.Supp.2d 182, 183 (D.D.C.2006), “[p]ro se plaintiffs are not freed from the requirement to plead an adequate jurisdictional basis for their claims.” Gomez v. Aragon, 705 F.Supp.2d 21, 23 (D.D.C.2010) (citation omitted).

III. DISCUSSION

As noted above, Defendant moves to dismiss arguing that this Court lacks jurisdiction over Plaintiff's claims against it. It also moves to dismiss for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted and for improper venue. In addition, insofar as Defendant has not raised other bases on which to dismiss this action with respect to the absence of subject matter jurisdiction,⁶ this Court must raise the issue sua sponte . See NetworkIP, LLC v. FCC, 548 F.3d 116, 120 (D.C.Cir.2008) (“Indeed, [federal courts] must raise [the issue], because while arguments in favor of subject matter jurisdiction can be waived by inattention or deliberate choice, [federal courts] are forbidden—as [ ] court[s] of limited jurisdiction—from acting beyond [their] authority, and ‘no action of the parties can confer subject-matter jurisdiction upon a federal court.’ ” Id. (quoting Akinseye v. District of Columbia, 339 F.3d 970, 971 (D.C.Cir.2003) ).

Generally, courts must evaluate a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter or personal jurisdiction prior to considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim. See, e.g., Feinstein v. Resolution Trust Corp., 942 F.2d 34, 40 (1st Cir.1991) ( “[C]ourts should ordinarily satisfy jurisdictional concerns before addressing the merits of a civil action.”); Combs v. Bakker, 886 F.2d 673, 675 (4th Cir.1989) (finding the district court's decision to first address defendants' Rule 12(b)(6) motion “awkward” and that the “proper course of review” required defendants' Rule 12(b)(2) motion to be considered first). Although this rule need not be mechanically applied, as this Court has previously observed:

Not only does logic compel initial consideration of the issue of jurisdiction over the defendant—a court without such jurisdiction lacks power to dismiss a complaint for failure to state a claim—but the functional difference that flows from the ground selected for dismissal likewise compels considering jurisdictional and venue questions first. A dismissal for lack of jurisdiction or improper venue does not preclude a subsequent action in an appropriate forum, whereas a dismissal for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted can be granted with prejudice.

IMark Marketing Servs., LLC v. Geoplast S.p.A, 753 F.Supp.2d 141, 149 (D.D.C.2010) (quoting Arrowsmith v. United Press Int'l, 320 F.2d 219, 221 (2d Cir.1963) ). In view of these considerations, and because this Court concludes that it plainly lacks both subject matter jurisdiction over all claims in this action and personal jurisdiction over Defendant, the Court does not reach Defendant's remaining arguments for dismissal. The Court addresses subject matter jurisdiction and personal jurisdiction in turn.

A. Rooker–Feldman Doctrine Deprives the Court of Jurisdiction

Among other arguments for dismissal, Defendant argues that the Court ought to abstain from assuming jurisdiction in this case because “Federal courts have the discretion to abstain from considering state law matters under consideration by state courts when sound public policy requires abstention.” Mot. to Dismiss at 6 (citing Burford v. Sun Oil Co., 319 U.S. 315, 63 S.Ct. 1098, 87 L.Ed. 1424 (1943) ). But the Court is faced with a more...