Williams v. Bank of N.Y. Mellon Trust Co., 13-CV-6814 (SJF)(GRB)

Decision Date02 February 2015
Docket Number13-CV-6814 (SJF)(GRB)
PartiesWYNDEL WILLIAMS, DORRETT WILLIAMS Plaintiffs, v. THE BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON TRUST COMPANY, as Successor to JP Morgan Chase Bank, National Association, as Trustee for the MLMI Surf Trust Series 2005-BC4, formerly known as The Bank of New York Trust Company, N.A., MLMI SURF TRUST SERIES 2005-BC4, JOHN DOES 1-100 inclusive, Defendants.
CourtU.S. District Court — Eastern District of New York
ORDER

FEUERSTEIN, J.

Plaintiffs Wyndel Williams and Dorrett Williams ("plaintiffs") commenced this action for declaratory judgment on December 4, 2013. [Docket Entry No. 1 ("Complaint" or "Compl.")]. Defendants have moved to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6). [Docket Entry No. 10]. For the reasons set forth below, defendants' motion is granted and the Complaint is dismissed in its entirety.

I. BACKGROUND
A. Factual Background

Plaintiffs are record owners of property located at 131 Nassau Parkway, Hempstead, New York, 11550. Compl. ¶ 7. Defendant MLMI 2005-BC4 was a common law trust formed in 2005 under the laws of the State of New York, and defendant Bank of New York Mellon was thedesignated Trustee for the trust. Id. ¶¶ 8-9, 16.1 Plaintiffs allege that "there is or remains a [sic] assignment to the Defendant which...is void or alternatively operates to disqualify Trusts [sic] assertions of a valid REMIC Status" (id. ¶ 13), and that the instant action was brought "to obtain a declaration that the transfers are void under federal and state law" (id. ¶ 15) because "Defendants have asserted or are asserting an interest in or a right, title to exercise a power of sale clause...and have demanded and/or are attempting to obtain a summary judgment and sale of Plaintiffs property under color of authority of their defective title claims. Id. ¶ 14.

Specifically, plaintiffs contend that "[o]n May 11, 2005, an assignment was constructed ostensibly to establish an interest for MLMI 2005-BC4" (id. ¶ 19) that was "said to have been executed by a Stephen G. DeBlasio, as Assistant Vice President of Wilmington Finance, and was prepared and filed in the public record of the property tax records for the Nassau County Clerk." Id. ¶ 20. According to the Complaint, "[t]his assignment purports that an assignment was made by Wilmington Finance, a division of AIG Federal Savings Bank to [defendant Bank of New York Mellon]" as Trustee for MLMI 2005-BC4." Id. ¶ 22. Plaintiffs allege that "[s]tatements within the assignment are and were materially false" (id. ¶ 21), and that the assignment "was made years after the commencement of the action" (id. ¶ 27) and was "manufactured by Defendants and its affiliates to simulate a debt collection under color of authority" (id. ¶ 26), which, according to plaintiffs, indicates "that the 'foreclosure' complaint was materially false and known to have been false when the defendants and their associates offered it... injudicial and other proceedings...in the foreclosure action in the Supreme Court, Nassau County." Id. ¶¶ 27-28. Plaintiffs assert that "Defendants knew or reasonably should have known the assignmentwas false and misleading" (id. ¶ 32) and "breached their obligations and duties under their controlling trust PSA" (id.) by "attempting to induce or trick[] a judge into signing an order authorizing a foreclosure or sale under color of the materially perjured assignments." Id. ¶ 31. Plaintiffs also assert that defendants "engaged or induced law firm, Steven J. Baum, P.C., to participate in the debt collection that used the false statements in the assignment to simulate the legitimacy of the debt claims in a state judicial proceeding" (id. ¶ 24), that such foreclosure/debt collection activity is ongoing and relies "upon perjury and other materially false and misleading statements...so Defendants could pretend it (MLMI 2005-BC4), was owed money from Plaintiff and so Defendants could take Plaintiff's home." Id. ¶¶ 29-30.

B. Procedural Background

Plaintiffs filed the Complaint on December 4, 2013 "seeking declaration that they do not and did not owe Defendants any money or either directly or indirectly for the subject mortgage and note and that each claim of assignment of mortgage after said closing of the trust and [sic] are invalid." [Docket Entry No. 10-4 (Plaintiffs' Memorandum in Law in Opposition to Defendants' Motion to Dismiss ("Pl. Opp.")), at 5]2. Plaintiffs' claims arise under New York State Estates, Powers and Trusts law (Pl. Opp., at 5 ("The primary basis for Plaintiffs [declaratory relief] claim is New York State Estate [sic] Power [sic] and Trust [sic] Law")), New York State General Business Law Section 349 (Compl. ¶¶ 67-71), and the federal False Claims Act (the "FCA"). Id. ¶¶ 58-66. Plaintiffs allege that this Court has subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1338, 2201 and 2202, and has supplemental jurisdiction over any related state law claims pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1367. Id. ¶¶ 1-2. Pending before the Court isdefendants' motion to dismiss plaintiffs' complaint pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 12(b)(1) and 12(b)(6) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. [Docket Entry No. 1.0-1 (Defendants' Memorandum of Law in Support of Motion to Dismiss the Complaint ("Def. Mem.")], which plaintiffs oppose. See Pl. Opp.

II. DISCUSSION
A. Standard of Review

"When a defendant moves to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(1) for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, and also moves to dismiss on other grounds, such as Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted, the Court must consider the Rule 12(b)(1) motion first." Bobrowsky v. Yonkers Courthouse, 777 F. Supp. 2d 692, 703 (S.D.N.Y. 2011); see Rhulen Agency, Inc. v. Alabama Ins. Guar. Ass'n, 896 F.2d 674, 678 (2d Cir.1990) ("Where, as here, the defendant moves for dismissal under Rule 12(b)(1), as well as other grounds, the court should consider the Rule 12(b)(1) challenge first since if it must dismiss the complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction, the accompanying defenses and objections become moot and do not need to be determined" (internal citations omitted)). A case is properly dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to Rule 12(b)(1) "when the district court lacks the statutory or constitutional power to adjudicate it." Makarova v. United States, 201 F.3d 110, 113 (2d Cir. 2000); see Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(1). "It is axiomatic that federal courts are courts of limited jurisdiction and may not decide cases over which they lack subject matter jurisdiction. Unlike failure of personal jurisdiction, failure of subject matter jurisdiction is not waivable and may be raised at any time by a party or by the court sua sponte. If subject matter jurisdiction is lacking, the action must be dismissed." Lyndonville Sav. Bank & Trust Co. v. Lussier, 211 F.3d 697, 700-01 (2d Cir. 2000); see also Henderson ex rel. Henderson v. Shinseki, 562 U.S. 428, 131S.Ct. 1197, 1202, 179 L.Ed.2d 159 (2011) ("[F]ederal courts have an independent obligation to ensure that they do not exceed the scope of their jurisdiction, and therefore they must raise and decide jurisdictional questions that the parties either overlook or elect not to press...Objections to subject matter jurisdiction...may be raised at any time."). Accordingly, "before deciding any case we are required to assure ourselves that the case is properly within our subject matter jurisdiction." Wynn v. AC Rochester, 273 F.3d 153, 157 (2d Cir. 2001) (citations omitted). In resolving a motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction under Rule 12(b)(1), a district court may refer to evidence outside the pleadings. See Makarova, 201 F.3d at 113. A plaintiff asserting subject matter jurisdiction has the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that it exists. Id.

The standard of review on a motion made pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure is that a plaintiff plead sufficient facts "to state a claim for relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). A claim has "facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009). The pleading of specific facts is not required; rather a complaint need only give the defendant "fair notice of what the...claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Erickson v. Pardus, 551 U.S. 89, 93, 127 S.Ct. 2197, 167 L.Ed.2d 1081 (2007) (internal quotation marks and citation omitted). "A pleading that offers 'labels and conclusions' or 'a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do.'" Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929). "Nor does a complaint suffice if it tenders 'naked assertion[s]' devoid of 'further factual enhancement.'" Id. (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929). "Factual allegationsmust be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level, on the assumption that all the allegations in the complaint are true (even if doubtful in fact)." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929. The plausibility standard requires "more than a sheer possibility that a defendant has acted unlawfully." Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868. Moreover, in deciding a motion pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the Court must liberally construe the claims, accept all factual allegations in the complaint as true, and draw all reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff. See Aegis Ins. Servs., Inc. v. 7 World Trade Co., L.P., 737 F.3d 166, 176 (2d Cir. 2013); Grullon...

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