In re Lester
In re Lester
Opinion of the Court
THIS CASE came on for consideration without a hearing on the Debtors' motion to reopen this chapter 7 case.
The basis for that request is somewhat confusing. The bulk of the Debtors' motion is devoted to tracing the assignment of the Debtors' mortgage from United Capital Mortgage Corporation, who appears to have been the original mortgage lender, to Countrywide Home Loans to Bank of America to Nationstar, who currently holds the mortgage and foreclosed on the Debtors' home. Along the way, the Debtors find fault with each of the assignments.
Take the assignment from United Capital Mortgage to Countrywide, for example. The Debtors say that assignment, executed by M. Kelly Michie, was signed by a "robo signer."
There are allegedly other issues, as well. For instance, the Debtors complaint that Barbara J. Gibbs notarized one assignment (the one to Bank of America) by simply signing "her initials" even though she was required by law to sign her name exactly as it appeared on her notary commission. Plus, the Debtors point out, there was only one witness per authorized signature, which the Debtors say renders the assignment invalid. The Debtors also allege that Countrywide had ceased to exist at the time it executed its assignment. And the Debtors say there was no witnesses for the signature of David De Waard, who signed the assignment from Bank of America to Nationstar.
Given these perceived irregularities, the Debtors ask the Court to reopen this case and look behind-or reconsider-the final foreclosure judgment entered by the state court. For three reasons, the Court declines to do so.
First, the Rooker - Feldman doctrine precludes this Court from reviewing the state court foreclosure judgment.
Second, even if this Court had jurisdiction, it would nonetheless be bound by the final judgment. In effect, the Debtors are challenging Nationstar's standing to foreclose the Debtors' mortgage. But that issue was specifically litigated before the state court,
Third, even if the Court was not bound by the foreclosure judgment, the Court is not convinced it would come to a different result. Distilled to its essence, the Debtors' argument is that the alleged defects with the various assignments of the Debtors' mortgage from United Capital Mortgage ultimately to Nationstar precluded Nationstar from taking ownership of the Debtors' note and mortgage. And without ownership of the note and mortgage, the Debtors' argument goes, Nationstar was not entitled to foreclose on their home.
*190But there is one problem with that argument: Nationstar was not required to prove it "owned" the mortgage to foreclose it.
Accordingly, it is
ORDERED that the Debtors' motion to reopen is DENIED.
Doc. No. 30.
In re Namal Enters., LLC ,
Doc. No. 30, Ex. 12, pp. 1 - 6.
In re Anson ,
One West Bank, F.S.B. v. Bauer ,
Eagles Master Ass'n v. Bank of Am., N.A. ,
Reference
- Full Case Name
- IN RE: Jerline LESTER and Lee Hampton Lester, Jr., Debtors.
- Cited By
- 1 case
- Status
- Published