Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-00907/USCOURTS-cand-3_15-cv-00907-1/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 380
Nature of Suit: Other Personal Property Damage
Cause of Action: 28:1332 Diversity-Petition for Removal

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

MOHAMMED S. HUSSEIN and ROZINA HUSSEIN,

Plaintiffs,

 v.

BANK OF NEW YORK MELLON fka THE BANK

OF NEW YORK, AS TRUSTEE ON BEHALF OF

THE HOLDERS OF THE ALTERNATIVE LOAN

TRUST 2007-OH2, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH

CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2007-OH2; NATIONAL

DEFAULT SERVICING CORPORATION; SELECT

PORTFOLIO SERVICING, INC.; and DOES 1–50

inclusive,

Defendants. /

No. C 15-00907 WHA

ORDER GRANTING

MOTION TO DISMISS

AND VACATING

HEARING

INTRODUCTION

In this action for violations of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights and related

contract claims, defendants move to dismiss. For the following reasons, the motion is

GRANTED. 

STATEMENT

Plaintiffs Mohammed and Rozina Hussein executed a deed of trust for a property in

Hayward, California, in 2007. Plaintiffs “transferred a portion of the property to others” but

remain “fully responsible” for the deed of trust. A notice of default was recorded in 2013. 

A notice of trustee’s sale was recorded the next year, after plaintiffs applied for a loan

modification (Compl. ¶¶ 11–17).

Case 3:15-cv-00907-WHA Document 26 Filed 04/28/15 Page 1 of 3
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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Plaintiffs filed a state court lawsuit regarding the notice of default and notice of

trustee’s sale, and defendants removed here on the basis of diversity jurisdiction for removal. 

Plaintiffs allege several violations of the California Homeowner Bill of Rights, primarily claims

related to a lack of statutorily-required notice, and also allege related contract claims. For the

following reasons, plaintiffs’ lawsuit is DISMISSED.

ANALYSIS

Plaintiffs allege that defendants violated several statutes enacted as part of the California

Homeowner Bill of Rights. First, plaintiffs allege that they were not contacted regarding the

notice of default in the ways mandated by California Civil Code Section 2923.5, and that, as a

result, they are entitled to injunctive relief under Section 2924.19(a)(1). Next, plaintiffs allege

violations of Sections 2923.55 and 2924.7, and request injunctive relief under Section 2924.12. 

Plaintiffs’ final statutory claim alleges a violation of Section 2923.6(c)–(d), for recording the

notice of trustee’s sale while plaintiffs’ loan modification application remained pending. 

Based on these statutory violations, plaintiffs allege breach of contract, breach of the covenant

of good faith and fair dealing, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, and

violation of the California Unfair Competition Law (Compl. ¶¶ 19–25, 29, 36, 39, 45, 46, 50,

52).

Except for Section 2924.7, all of the allegedly-violated statutes apply solely to first

lien mortgages or deeds of trust secured by owner-occupied residential real property. 

Plaintiffs, however, never allege that they occupied the property in dispute. Section 2924.7,

in turn, seems to have been alleged by mistake. This section is alleged in the context of

defendants’ alleged failure to provide plaintiffs with a single point of contact, but the section

does not discuss any such requirement. This section instead relates to the enforcement of

provisions regarding maturity-date accelerations and disbursements of property-insurance

proceeds. Defendants suggest that plaintiffs must have meant to allege a violation of Section

2923.7, which does relate to a single-point-of-contact requirement. However, even if that were

the case, Section 2923.7, like the other statutes named in the complaint, is only applicable to

deeds of trust secured by an owner-occupied residential real property. See Cal. Civ. Code

Case 3:15-cv-00907-WHA Document 26 Filed 04/28/15 Page 2 of 3
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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§ 2924.15(a). Since plaintiffs never allege that they occupied the property in question, they

fail to state a claim under any of the relevant statutory provisions.

The remaining claims are based entirely on the alleged statutory violations. Thus,

plaintiffs also fail to state a claim for breach of contract, breach of the covenant of good faith

and fair dealing, intentional misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation, or violation of

the California Unfair Competition Law. Defendants’ motion to dismiss is GRANTED.

Defendants request that leave to amend be denied, since the property in question is not

“owner-occupied.” For support, defendants request judicial notice of three documents, but none

of these documents prove conclusively that the property in question is not owner-occupied. 

As such, this order does not hold that amendment would be futile. 

CONCLUSION

For the foregoing reasons, defendants’ motion to dismiss is GRANTED. The hearing set

for May 28, 2015 is VACATED. Plaintiffs will have until MAY 12, 2015 AT NOON, to file a

motion, noticed on the normal 35-day calendar, for leave to amend their claims. A proposed

amended complaint must be appended to this motion. Plaintiffs must plead their best case. 

The motion should clearly explain how the amended complaint cures the deficiencies identified

herein, and should include as an exhibit a redlined or highlighted version identifying all changes. 

If such a motion is not filed by the deadline, this case will be closed. 

IT IS SO ORDERED.

Dated: April 28, 2015. WILLIAM ALSUP

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

Case 3:15-cv-00907-WHA Document 26 Filed 04/28/15 Page 3 of 3