Opinion ID: 619531
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Due process challenge to the procedure in the district court

Text: The Moloskys contend that the district court erred procedurally when it dismissed the complaint without permitting additional briefing. The district court, however, did not abuse its discretion in this regard. As described above, Washington Mutual filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the state law and contract claims were preempted by HOLA, and that the Moloskys failed to state a claim under RESPA. After the Moloskys filed their reply, which included extended discussion of the law involved, the district court ordered them to show cause why their complaint should not be dismissed due to lack of both subject matter and diversity jurisdiction. The district court expressed doubt as to whether RESPA applied to the Moloskys' case due to the statute's definition of settlement services, an issue not raised before this point. The Moloskys responded by filing a motion requesting leave to file a second amended complaint in which they would address the concern. The motion included a little information regarding the definition of settlement services, but noted that Plaintiffs refrain from a full briefing of the issue at this time. The district court granted the motion, the Moloskys filed their second amended complaint, and Washington Mutual again filed a motion to dismiss. The motion incorporated everything from Washington Mutual's previous motion to dismiss, and added that the Moloskys failed to state a claim under RESPA because of the definition of settlement services, an issue Washington Mutual had briefed when the court ordered the Moloskys to show cause two months earlier. On January 14, 2008 the district court ordered an extension of time for responsive pleadings until January 25. Then, on January 18, without receiving responsive pleadings, the district court issued its opinion dismissing the complaint on all grounds. The court had been fully briefed on every issue except the settlement services issue following the first amended complaint. Even that issue was treated, albeit briefly, by plaintiffs in their motion to amend the complaint, such that the district court considered that the issue had been sufficiently addressed. The district court's assessment was not an abuse of discretion, particularly in light of the fact that the court ultimately decided the RESPA issue should be dismissed on two independent grounds, one of which had already been fully briefed during the period following the first amended complaint. It follows that had the settlement services issue never been raised, the complaint would still have been dismissed by the district court. Realizing this, the court concluded that it needed no further information to dismiss the complaint. Moreover, the Moloskys offer no valid suggestion as to how this perceived wrong can be remedied. To remand the case on this ground at this point would serve no purpose. We have had the opportunity to review the entirety of the Moloskys' argument de novo with regard to settlement services. The Moloskys' argument before this court mirrors that hastily sketched for the district court. As we agree with the reasoning of the district court's opinion on this question, a remand will simply delay the inevitable ruling of dismissal of the charge. Regardless of whether the Moloskys were wronged at the district court level, this court has afforded them the full opportunity to be heard, and has still found their arguments unconvincing. We recognize that despite the fact that the district court was acting within its discretion, the results were strange and surprising to the Moloskys, as they point out in their brief. Although this surprise does not rise to the level of a due process violation, the district court would have been well advised to wait until the end of the responsive pleading period to issue its ruling.