Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_16-cv-03973/USCOURTS-cand-4_16-cv-03973-5/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 220
Nature of Suit: Foreclosure
Cause of Action: 28:1444 Petition for Removal- Foreclosure

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United States District Court 

Northern District of Californi

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

JOHN MARQUES, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., ET AL., 

Defendants. 

Case No. 16-cv-03973-YGR 

ORDER GRANTING WELLS FARGO’S 

MOTION TO DISMISS

Re: Dkt. No. 40 

Plaintiff brings this action alleging that defendant Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells 

Fargo”)1 committed wrongful acts and omissions during loan servicing, loan modification, and 

foreclosure processes relating to plaintiff’s primary residence. On October 13, 2016, the Court 

granted in part and denied in part Wells Fargo’s motion to dismiss plaintiff’s first amended 

complaint. Relevant to the instant motion, the Court dismissed with leave to amend plaintiff’s 

claims under (i) California Civil Code section 2923.7 for failure to provide a single point of 

contact (“SPOC”) and (ii) the Unfair Competition Law, California Business & Professional Code 

§§ 17200 et seq. (“UCL”). (Dkt. No. 34.)2

 On October 27, 2016, plaintiff filed an amended 

complaint re-alleging the same. (Dkt. No. 37, “SAC.”) 

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 On October 13, 2016, the Court granted the parties’ stipulated request to give defendant 

NDeX West, LLC non-monetary status pursuant to California Civil Code section 2924l. (Dkt. No. 

34.) 

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 Additionally, the Court denied Wells Fargo’s motion to dismiss as to plaintiff’s claims 

under California Civil Code sections 2923.6 and 2923.10, and his claim for declaratory relief. The 

Court granted with prejudice Wells Fargo’s claims for negligence in loan servicing and to quiet 

title pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure section 760.020. 

Case 4:16-cv-03973-YGR Document 46 Filed 12/08/16 Page 1 of 3
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Now before the Court is Wells Fargo’s motion to dismiss those same claims in Counts 

Two and Four of plaintiff’s SAC.3 Having carefully reviewed the pleadings and the papers 

submitted on this motion, and for the reasons set forth below, the Court GRANTS Wells Fargo’s 

motion and DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE Counts Two and Four of plaintiff’s SAC.4

With regards to his claim under California Civil Code section 2923.7 in Count Two, the 

Court previously dismissed the same explaining that “further clarity on plaintiff’s communications 

with the SPOCs would be beneficial at this stage to determine what, if any, of the alleged actions 

or omissions by the SPOCs were in violation of Section 2923.7.” (Dkt. No. 34 at 8.) Plaintiff’s 

SAC fails to provide such clarity, and largely repeats the same allegations in the FAC without 

further detail. Thus, it does not appear that plaintiff is able to state a claim under this provision. 

Accordingly, the Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE Count Two of plaintiff’s SAC. 

With regards to his claim under the UCL in Count Four, the Court previously found that 

plaintiff’s allegations of injury were insufficient to sustain standing under the UCL. (Dkt. No. 34.) 

Specifically, in the FAC, plaintiff alleged only that he “suffered and continues to suffer pecuniary 

damages due to excessively high mortgage payments, fees, and costs.” (Dkt. No. 17, FAC ¶ 106.) 

In the SAC, plaintiff has slightly modified his allegations of injury thus: “Plaintiff has suffered 

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 Wells Fargo does not challenge the First, Third, or Fifth causes of action in plaintiff’s 

SAC. In connection with its motion, Wells Fargo requests that the Court take judicial notice of the 

following documents: (i) Exhibit A, Adjustable Rate Mortgage Note, dated November 29, 2006; 

(ii) Exhibit B, Deed of Trust, dated November 29, 2006; (iii) Exhibit C, Certificate of Corporate 

Existence, dated April 21, 2006; (iv) Exhibit D, Office of Thrift Supervision, dated November 29, 

2007; (v) Exhibit E, Charter of Wachovia Mortgage, effective December 31, 2007; (vi) Exhibit F, 

Official Certification of the Comptroller of the Currency, effective November 1, 2009; (vii) 

Exhibit G, History of World Savings Bank, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, dated March 

14, 2012; (viii) Exhibit H, Loan Modification Agreement, dated June 18, 2009; (ix) Exhibit I, 

Notice of Default, dated July 14, 2010; and (x) Exhibit J, Notice of Trustee’s Sale, dated August 7, 

2015. Plaintiff has not opposed Wells Fargo’s request. “Generally, a district court may not 

consider any material beyond the pleadings in ruling on Rule 12(b)(6) motion.” Hal Roach 

Studios, Inc. v. Richard Feiner & Co., Inc., 896 F.2d 1542, 1555 n.19 (9th Cir. 1989). However, a 

court may take judicial notice of matters of public record and documents whose authenticity is not 

contested and upon which the plaintiff’s complaint relies. Lee v. Los Angeles, 250 F.3d 668, 688–

89 (9th Cir. 2001), overruled on other grounds by Galbraith v. Santa Clara, 307 F.2d 1119, 1125 

(9th Cir. 2002). Accordingly, the Court GRANTS Wells Fargo’s request for judicial notice of the 

exhibits attached to its RJN. 

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 The Court VACATES the hearing on this motion currently set for December 20, 2016. 

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United States District Court 

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and continues to suffer pecuniary damages due to excessively high mortgage payments, accrued 

interest, late fees and penalties on his loan due to erroneous default procedures, extensive legal 

costs in being forced to bring the current litigation to prevent the wrongful foreclosure sale of his 

home, damage to his credit score, loss of equity in his home due to continued pending and 

unlawful foreclosure sale, in addition to costs.” (SAC ¶ 99.) However, if such were sufficient, 

then there would be UCL standing in every foreclosure case where plaintiffs are challenging loan 

modification procedures. That is not the state of the law. See, e.g., Hosseini v. Wells Fargo Bank, 

N.A., No. 13-CV-02066-DMR, 2013 WL 4279632, at *8 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 9, 2013) (finding no 

standing under the UCL where no foreclosure sale had yet taken place, and plaintiff only included 

the conclusory allegation that they were injured as a result of defendant’s practices); cf. Peterson 

v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 13-CV-3392-MEJ, 2014 WL 1911895, at *7 (N.D. Cal. May 13, 

2014) (finding sufficient for standing under the UCL allegations that plaintiff spent money 

improving the property in reliance on defendant’s promise to modify the loan even where no 

foreclosure sale had taken place). Thus, because plaintiff does not appear able to state a claim 

under the UCL, the Court DISMISSES WITH PREJUDICE Count Four of the SAC. 

This terminates Docket Number 40. 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

Dated: December 8, 2016 

______________________________________ 

 YVONNE GONZALEZ ROGERS

 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT JUDGE

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