Source: http://dc.findacase.com/research/wfrmDocViewer.aspx/xq/fac.20120201_0000101.DDC.htm/qx
Timestamp: 2017-01-21 10:50:30
Document Index: 365155943

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 2601', '§ 2608', '§ 9', '§ 2608', '§ 2608', '§ 3500']

| Justin Pass v. Capital City Real Estate LLC
Justin Pass v. Capital City Real Estate LLC
JUSTIN PASS, PLAINTIFF,v.CAPITAL CITY REAL ESTATE LLC, ET AL., DEFENDANTS.
Before the Court are five motions to dismiss plaintiff Justin Pass's complaint. Dkt. Nos. 12, 14, 19, 30, 34. Upon considering the motions, oppositions, and replies, the Court GRANTS all motions to dismiss.
In February 2011, plaintiff entered negotiations to purchase a unit in the Mintwood Condominium development with various defendants. Compl. ¶ 25. The parties dispute a number of issues, including whether the plaintiff and seller defendants entered a binding sales contract. Defs.' Mem. Supp. Mot. Dismiss [12-1] 8; Pl.' Mem. Opp'n Mot. Dismiss [17-1] 11. For the purposes of this decision, this Court assumes that the parties entered a sales contract (the "Template Contract") containing the following provision:
(i) CHOICE OF SETTLEMENT AGENT. THE PURCHASER HAS A RIGHT TO SELECT ANY SETTLEMENT AGENT TO HANDLE THE CLOSING OF THIS TRANSACTION. THE SETTLEMENT AGENT'S ROLE IN CLOSING YOUR TRANSACTION INVOLVES THE COORDINATION OF NUMEROUS ADMINISTRATIVE AND CLERICAL FUNCTIONS RELATING TO THE COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTS AND THE COLLECTION AND DISBURSEMENT OF FUNDS REQUIRED TO CARRY OUT THE TERMS OF THE CONTRACT BETWEEN THE PARTIES. IF PART OF THE PURCHASE PRICE IS FINANCED, YOUR LENDER WILL INSTRUCT THE SETTLEMENT AGENT AS TO THE SIGNING AND RECORDING OF LOAN DOCUMENTS AND THE DISBURSEMENT OF LOAN PROCEEDS.
(ii) Settlement Costs and Expenses . . . .
If Purchaser uses Seller's Designated Settlement Company of Counselor's Title to conduct the Settlement, Seller shall pay the District of Columbia Transfer Tax (currently 1.1% to 1.45%). If Purchaser shall use another attorney, title company or settlement agent to conduct the Settlement, Purchaser shall be responsible for the payment of the District of Columbia Transfer Tax. Compl. ¶ 30. Plaintiff asserts that this contract provision violates the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. § 2601 et seq. ("RESPA"). Compl. ¶¶ 79--100. Plaintiff's pleads ten additional counts asserting various D.C. statutory and common law claims. Compl. ¶¶ 101--175.
A motion to dismiss is appropriate when a complaint fails "to state a claim upon which relief can be granted." Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6). To overcome this hurdle, a complaint must contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief, in order to give the defendant fair notice of what the . . . claim is and the grounds upon which it rests." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007) (internal quotations omitted). The Court must "accept as true all of the factual allegations contained in the complaint," Atherton v. District of Columbia, 567 F.3d 672, 681 (D.C. Cir. 2009), and grant a plaintiff "the benefit of all inferences that can be derived from the facts alleged," Kowal v. MCI Commc'ns Corp., 16 F.3d 1271, 1276 (D.C. Cir. 1994). However, the Court may not "accept inferences drawn by plaintiffs if such inferences are unsupported by the facts set out in the complaint." Id. In other words, "only a complaint that states a plausible claim for relief survives a motion to dismiss." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937, 1950 (2009); see also Atherton, 567 F.3d at 681 (holding that a complaint must plead "factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged").
Plaintiff's first Count alleges that defendants have violated the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, specifically 12 U.S.C § 2608. Compl. ¶ 80; Pub. L. No. 93-533, § 9(A), 88 Stat. 1724, codified in 12 U.S.C. § 2608. Section 2608 provides that "[n]o seller of property . . . shall require directly or indirectly, as a condition to selling the property, that title insurance covering the property be purchased by the buyer from any particular title company." The so-called "required-use" provision of § 2608 has been defined in Department of Housing and Urban Development Regulation X:
24 C.F.R. § 3500.2.*fn1
In this case, the Template Contract provides that plaintiff, as buyer, has "a right to select any settlement agent to handle the closing of this transaction." Compl. ¶ 30. It also provides that the seller pay the District of Columbia Transfer Tax if plaintiff selects Counselor's Title LLC as the settlement agent. Id. ...