Keyser v. Stern & Eisenberg PC
Keyser v. Stern & Eisenberg PC
Opinion of the Court
MEMORANDUM
Plaintiffs Kathleen and Harry Keyser allege that Defendants forged a note and mortgage, and subsequently relied upon the fraudulent documents to secure a state court judgment in mortgage foreclosure.
The amended complaint sets forth seven claims: (1) violation of the federal mail fraud statute, 18 U.S.C. § 1341, based on Defendants’ use of the mail to send the forged note and mortgage
All of Plaintiffs’ claims are rooted in the theory that they never executed the note and mortgage at issue, and that the documents relied upon by Defendants in the state court action were fraudulent. A plaintiffs claims may be precluded based on the doctrine of res judicata if the following elements are present: “(1) a final judgment on the merits in a prior suit involving (2) the same parties or their privies and (3) a subsequent suit based on the same cause of action.”
. In the state court action, the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas granted a motion for summary judgment in favor of Defendant U.S. Bank, the holder of the note and mortgage in question, and Plaintiffs’ property was subsequently sold to U.S. Bank at sheriffs’ sale.
. Amended Complaint ¶¶ 38-45.
. ¶¶ 47-54.
. Id. ¶60.
. Id. ¶ 66.
. Id. ¶¶ 72-73.
. IdA 75.
. Id. ¶ 88.
. Duhaney v. Attorney Gen. of U.S., 621 F.3d 340, 347 (3d Cir. 2010).
. Turner v. Crawford Square Apartments III, L.P., 449 F.3d 542, 548 (3d Cir. 2006) (quoting Balent v. City of Willces-Barre, 542 Pa. 555, 669 A.2d 309, 313 (1995)).
. Easley v. New Century Mortg. Corp., 394 Fed.Appx. 946, 949 (3d Cir. 2010) (plaintiffs claims barred by res judicata and dismissed with prejudice because they were "intimately tied to the creation of the mortgage and subsequent foreclosure’ and thus could have been brought as counterclaims in the state foreclosure proceeding).
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Kathleen and Harry KEYSER v. STERN & EISENBERG PC
- Status
- Published