Fiorello v. Finance

IRENE FIORELLO Plaintiff,

v. WAMU (a/k/a) JP MORGAN CHASE HOME FINANCE, LPS FIELD SERVICES, ALLSTATE INSURANCE COMPANY, JOHN DOE and JOHN DOE COMPANY, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. 10-0273 (FLW)

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW JERSEY

Dated: December 22, 2010

NOT FOR PUBLICATION

OPINION

WOLFSON, United States District Judge:

Pro se plaintiff Irene Fiorello ("Plaintiff) filed the instant twenty-nine-count Complaint and Third Party Complaint against Defendants Washington Mutual Bank ("WaMu") and its successor JP Morgan Chase Home Finance ("Chase"); LPS Field Services ("LPS"); and Allstate Insurance Company ("Allstate") (collectively referred to as "Defendants").¹ Plaintiff alleges that she obtained a mortgage with WaMu and thereafter, WaMu and LPS illegally broke into the mortgaged property on several occasions after Plaintiff defaulted on the loan. In the Complaint, Plaintiff asserts various causes of action arising out of the alleged "break-ins" against WaMu and LPS. Plaintiff further alleges in the Third Party Complaint that Allstate improperly denied her insurance claim filed as a result of the first break-in. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation ("FDIC")requests that it be substituted as defendant for WaMu and Chase in its capacity as the receiver of WaMu.² In the present matters, Defendants move to dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint and Third-Party Complaint. In their respective motions, Allstate contends that the contractual statute of limitations has run on all insurance related claims against Allstate; FDIC asserts that this Court does not have jurisdiction over matters against FDIC as the receiver; and LPS seeks to dismiss all counts of the Complaint, except Counts IV, V, VI, and X, for failure to state a claim. For reasons that follow, the Court grants the motions by FDIC and LPS. With respect to Allstate's motion, the Court converts that motion to a summary judgment motion pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(d). Allstate and Plaintiff shall have twenty days from the date of the Order accompanying this Opinion to supplement the record.

I. Factual and Procedural History

For the purposes of these motions, the Court will regard Plaintiff's allegations in the Complaint as true.³ Plaintiff is the owner of a residential home located at 617 Ninth Avenue, Manchester, NJ (the "Property"). Complaint, First Count, ¶ 1. The Property was purchased by securing a mortgage loan with WaMu on May 10, 2006. Id., ¶ 2. Plaintiff also obtained a homeequity loan from WaMu for the same property. Id., ¶ 3. Plaintiff's mortgage has since been purchased by defendant, JP Morgan Chase Home Finance. Id., ¶¶ 2-3. While it is not explicitly pled, Plaintiff went into default on her mortgage.⁴ See generally, Complaint, Second Count, ¶ 4-9.

After the default, Plaintiff alleges that on four separate occasions, February 14, 2008, March 26, 2008, September 28, 2009 and October 9, 2009, WaMu and its agent LPS⁵ broke into the Property, vandalized and destroyed Plaintiff's personal property, and burglarized Plaintiff's home without Plaintiff's knowledge or permission. Id., ¶ 9. In addition, Plaintiff alleges that WaMu and LPS changed the locks on the Property, precluding Plaintiff from entering the Property. Id., ¶¶ 16-20. Plaintiff alleges that under the terms of the mortgage, WaMu had the responsibility to contact Plaintiff in the event it wanted access to the Property. Id., ¶ 4. These alleged "break-ins" are the subject of this suit.

Plaintiff and Chase and/or WaMu had numerous telephone conversations with Plaintiff beginning on November 30, 2007, and continuing through February 14, 2008, regarding the first and second mortgage liens on the property. Those conversations included discussions regarding mediation and settlement, and short sale offer proposals by Plaintiff. Despite the settlement conversations, Plaintiff alleges that WaMu and its agents engaged in the "break-ins." Id., ¶¶ 2-20. In addition to the "break-ins, " WaMu and its agents allegedly 1) failed to advise who was hired to change the locks and "winterize" the Property; (2) failed to advise who was in possession of Plaintiff's keys to the Property; and 3) failed to surrender the keys to the Manchester Police Department. Id. Plaintiff alleges that she reported the February 14, 2008 incident to the Manchester Police Department, as well as her insurance company, defendant Allstate. Third Party Complaint, First Count, ¶¶ 2, 4.

Plaintiff then filed an insurance claim for theft and burglary with Allstate on or about February 18, 2008, under the claim #0111040713. Third Party Complaint, First Count, ¶¶ 4-5. Subsequently, Plaintiff alleges that Allstate denied Plaintiff's claim, despite having an obligation to reimburse Plaintiff for destruction and/or theft of personal property resulting from the"break-ins." Id., ¶¶ 8, 10. Plaintiff further asserts that Allstate "failed to find the person or persons responsible for the burglary of Plaintiff's home." Id., ¶ 10.

Plaintiff filed the instant action against Defendants in the Superior Court of New Jersey on December 14, 2009. The Complaint and the Third Party Complaint assert twenty-nine counts against Defendants, alleging a variety of causes of action, including violations of the federal constitution. Chase then removed the case to this Court on January 15, 2010, based on federal question jurisdiction. A summary of all counts in the Complaint and the Third-Party Complaint is provided in the chart below:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Count I, Complaint; Count I, Third  |Breach of Contract                      |
|Party Complaint                     |                                        |
|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
|Count II, Complaint; Count II Third |Breach of Implied Covenant of Good Faith|
|Party Complaint                     |and Fair Dealing                        |
|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
|Count III, Complaint                |Interference with Contract by Outsider  |
|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
|Count IV, Complaint                 |Trespass to Land                        |
|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
|Count V, Complaint                  |Trespass to Property                    |
|------------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
|Count VI, Complaint                 |Conversion                              |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|Count VII, Complaint; Count III,  |Fraud                                     |
|Third-Party Complaint             |                                          |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count VIII, Complaint; Count IV,  |Violations of New Jersey Consumer Fraud   |
|Third-Party Complaint             |Act ("NJCFA")                             |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count IX, Complaint               |Failure to Cooperate with Plaintiff's     |
|                                  |Agent and/or Insurance Company            |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count X, Complaint; Count V,      |Negligence                                |
|Third-Party Complaint             |                                          |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count XI, Complaint; Count VI,    |Negligent Misrepresentation               |
|Third-Party Complaint             |                                          |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count XII, Complaint              |Violations of the 4th Amendment of the    |
|                                  |United States Constitution                |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count XIII, Complaint; Count VII, |Violations of the 9th Amendment of the    |
|Third-Party Complaint             |United States Constitution                |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count XIV, Complaint              |Violations of the 10th Amendment of the   |
|                                  |United States Constitution                |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count XV, Complaint; Count VIII,  |Violations of the Privacy Act             |
|Third-Party Complaint             |                                          |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count XVI, Complaint; Count IX,   |Slander                                   |
|Third-Party Complaint             |                                          |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count XVII, Complaint; Count X,   |Defamation of Character                   |
|Third-Party Complaint             |                                          |
|----------------------------------|------------------------------------------|
|Count XVIII, Complaint; Count XI, |Intentional Infliction of Emotional       |
|Third-Party Complaint             |Distress                                  |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In response to the Complaint, Allstate moves to dismiss all counts, claiming that the statute of limitations on Plaintiff's insurance claims has expired. FDIC moves to substitute in the case as the real party of interest in place of Chase, and it moves to dismiss all counts based on this Court's lack of subject matter jurisdiction...