Mueller-Lusiani v. Nationstar Mortgage Llc et al

MOTION to Dismiss for Lack of Jurisdiction DEFENDANT NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC AND U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR BEAR STEARNS ALT-A TRUST 2006-3, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-3'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF COMPLETE DIVERSITY JURISDICTION

D. Neb.March 7, 2017

{41019480;1} 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 A K E R M A N L L P 1 16 0 T O W N C E N T E R D R IV E , S U IT E 3 30 L A S V E G A S , N E V A D A 89 1 44 T E L .: (7 02 ) 6 34 -5 00 0 - F A X : (7 02 ) 38 0 -8 57 2 MELANIE D. MORGAN, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 8215 REX D. GARNER, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 9401 AKERMAN LLP 1160 Town Center Drive, Suite 330 Las Vegas, NV 89144 Telephone: (702) 634-5000 Facsimile: (702) 380-8572 Email: melanie.morgan@akerman.com Email: rex.garner@akerman.com Attorneys for Nationstar Mortgage LLC and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee for Bear Stearns Alt-A Trust 2006-3, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006-3 UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT DISTRICT OF NEVADA SANDRA D. MUELLER LUSIANI, Plaintiff, vs. NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE, LLC; CLEAR RECON CORP.; U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR BEAR STEARNS ALT-A TRUST 2006-3, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-3; and DOES 1 through 10, inclusive, Defendants. Case No.: 3:17-cv-00041-HDM-VPC DEFENDANT NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC AND U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR BEAR STEARNS ALT-A TRUST 2006-3, MORTGAGE PASS- THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-3'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF COMPLETE DIVERSITY JURISDICTION Defendants Nationstar Mortgage LLC (Nationstar) and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee for Bear Stearns Alt-A Trust 2006-3, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006-3 (U.S. Bank) hereby move to dismiss for lack of jurisdiction. This motion is made and based upon the following points and authorities, the pleadings on file, the attached exhibits, and any argument the Court may entertain. / / / Case 3:17-cv-00041-HDM-VPC Document 14 Filed 03/07/17 Page 1 of 4 {41019480;1} 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 A K E R M A N L L P 1 16 0 T O W N C E N T E R D R IV E , S U IT E 3 30 L A S V E G A S , N E V A D A 89 1 44 T E L .: (7 02 ) 6 34 -5 00 0 - F A X : (7 02 ) 38 0 -8 57 2 MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES I. INTRODUCTION This is the second case filed by plaintiff Sandra Mueller to block foreclosure proceedings on the house she deeded to her family so they could use it as collateral for a loan--a loan on which they then defaulted. Plaintiff filed her first action in Washoe County court, but voluntarily dismissed it in January 2017 only to re-file in this Court the same month. Plaintiff alleges diversity jurisdiction, but she and one of the defendants are both Nevada citizens, which destroys diversity and robs the Court of jurisdiction. For this reason, Nationstar and U.S. Bank request dismissal. II. CITIZENSHIP OF THE RELEVANT PARTIES Plaintiff is a Nevada citizen. According to Plaintiff's complaint, she is a resident of Reno, Washoe County, Nevada and has been since at least 1999. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 1). As an individual, Plaintiff's citizenship is based on her domicile, which is in Nevada. See Lew v. Moss, 797 F.2d 747, 749-50 (9th Cir. 1986). Defendant Clear Recon Corp. is a Nevada citizen. Defendant Clear Recon Corp. is a Nevada corporation in good standing. (Id. at ¶ 2). The Nevada Secretary of State's website also reveals that Clear Recon Corp. is a Nevada corporation in good standing. (Exhibit A).1 As such, Clear Recon is a Nevada citizen. Johnson v. Columbia Props. Anchorage, LP, 437 F.3d 894, 899 (9th Cir. 2006) ("a corporation is a citizen only of (1) the state where its principal place of business is located, and (2) the state in which it is incorporated. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(c)(1)."). III. DIVERSITY JURISDICTION REQUIRES COMPLETE DIVERSITY Plaintiff alleges diversity jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1332. (ECF No. 1 at ¶ 6). To establish subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to diversity of citizenship, the party asserting jurisdiction must show: (1) complete diversity of citizenship among opposing parties and (2) an amount in controversy exceeding $75,000. 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a); see also Wis. Dep't of Corrs. v. Schacht, 524 U.S. 381, 388 (1998) (stating that diversity jurisdiction exists "only if there is no plaintiff and no defendant who are citizens of the same State"); Allstate Ins. Co. v. Hughes, 358 F.3d 1 Nationstar requests that the Court take judicial notice of Exhibit A under Federal Rule of Evidence 201 because it was printed from a government website, so the source of the information is reliable and "not subject to reasonable dispute" because the facts are "capable of accurate and ready determination by resort to sources whose accuracy cannot reasonably be questioned." FRE 201(b)(2). Case 3:17-cv-00041-HDM-VPC Document 14 Filed 03/07/17 Page 2 of 4 {41019480;1} 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 A K E R M A N L L P 1 16 0 T O W N C E N T E R D R IV E , S U IT E 3 30 L A S V E G A S , N E V A D A 89 1 44 T E L .: (7 02 ) 6 34 -5 00 0 - F A X : (7 02 ) 38 0 -8 57 2 1089, 1095 (9th Cir. 2004) ("Diversity jurisdiction under § 1332 requires complete diversity of citizenship, each of the plaintiffs must be a citizen of a different state than each of the defendants."). Because Plaintiff and at least one defendant (Clear Recon) are both citizens of Nevada, there is not complete diversity, and without diversity, the Court has no jurisdiction to proceed. IV. CONCLUSION Nationstar and U.S. Bank respectfully request that the Court find there is no complete diversity and that as a result, the Court has no jurisdiction to proceed with this lawsuit. Nationstar and U.S. Bank respectfully request that the Court issue an order dismissing the case. DATED this 7th day of March, 2017. AKERMAN LLP /s/ Rex D. Garner MELANIE D. MORGAN, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 8215 REX D. GARNER, ESQ. Nevada Bar No. 9401 1160 Town Center Drive, Suite 330 Las Vegas, Nevada 89144 Attorneys for Nationstar Mortgage, LLC and U.S. Bank National Association, as Trustee for Bear Stearns Alt-A Trust 2006-3, Mortgage Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2006-3 Case 3:17-cv-00041-HDM-VPC Document 14 Filed 03/07/17 Page 3 of 4 {41019480;1} 4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 A K E R M A N L L P 1 16 0 T O W N C E N T E R D R IV E , S U IT E 3 30 L A S V E G A S , N E V A D A 89 1 44 T E L .: (7 02 ) 6 34 -5 00 0 - F A X : (7 02 ) 38 0 -8 57 2 CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE I HEREBY CERTIFY that on the 7th day of March, 2017, and pursuant to FRCP 5(b), I electronically served via CM/ECF a copy of the foregoing DEFENDANT NATIONSTAR MORTGAGE LLC AND U.S. BANK NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, AS TRUSTEE FOR BEAR STEARNS ALT-A TRUST 2006-3, MORTGAGE PASS-THROUGH CERTIFICATES, SERIES 2006-3'S MOTION TO DISMISS FOR LACK OF COMPLETE DIVERSITY JURISDICTION on all parties and counsel as identified on the Court generated notice of electronic filing. R. Craig Lusiani, Esq. Charles R. Kozak, Esq. KOZAK LUSIANI LAW, LLC 3100 Mill Street, Suite 115 Reno, NV 89502 Attorneys for Sandra D. Mueller-Lusiani /s/ Michael Hannon An employee of AKERMAN LLP Case 3:17-cv-00041-HDM-VPC Document 14 Filed 03/07/17 Page 4 of 4 {29927086;1} EXHIBIT A EXHIBIT A Case 3:17-cv-00041-HDM-VPC Document 14-1 Filed 03/07/17 Page 1 of 4 CLEAR RECON CORP Business Entity Information Status: Active File Date: 10/18/2010 Type: Domestic Corporation Entity Number: E0503172010-3 Qualifying State: NV List of Officers Due: 10/31/2017 Managed By: Expiration Date: NV Business ID: NV20101759915 Business License Exp: 10/31/2017 Additional Information Central Index Key: Registered Agent Information Name: NATIONAL REGISTERED AGENTS, INC. OF NV Address 1: 701 S CARSON ST STE 200 Address 2: City: CARSON CITY State: NV Zip Code: 89701 Phone: Fax: Mailing Address 1: Mailing Address 2: Mailing City: Mailing State: NV Mailing Zip Code: Agent Type: Commercial Registered Agent - Corporation Jurisdiction: NEVADA Status: Active Financial Information No Par Share Count: 100,000.00 Capital Amount: $ 0 No stock records found for this company − Officers Include Inactive Officers Secretary - ARIANNA L BLACK Address 1: 4375 JUTLAND DRIVE, SUITE 200 Address 2: City: SAN DIEGO State: CA Zip Code: 92117 Country: USA Status: Active Email: Treasurer - DAVID S DALLAL Address 1: 4375 JUTLAND DRIVE, SUITE 200 Address 2: City: SAN DIEGO State: CA Zip Code: 92117 Country: USA Status: Active Email: President - STEVEN W PITE Page 1 of 3Entity Details - Secretary of State, Nevada 3/6/2017http://nvsos.gov/sosentitysearch/PrintCorp.aspx?lx8nvq=SsrktbI0FLMJxD6cn7R3jw%253d... Case 3:17-cv-00041-HDM-VPC Document 14-1 Filed 03/07/17 Page 2 of 4 Address 1: 4375 JUTLAND DRIVE, SUITE 200 Address 2: City: SAN DIEGO State: CA Zip Code: 92117 Country: USA Status: Active Email: Director - STEVEN W PITE Address 1: 4375 JUTLAND DRIVE, SUITE 200 Address 2: City: SAN DIEGO State: CA Zip Code: 92117 Country: USA Status: Active Email: − Actions\Amendments Action Type: Articles of Incorporation Document Number: 20100781622-99 # of Pages: 2 File Date: 10/18/2010 Effective Date: Initial Stock Value: No Par Value Shares: 100,000 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Total Authorized Capital: $ 0.00 Action Type: Initial List Document Number: 20110346303-33 # of Pages: 1 File Date: 5/9/2011 Effective Date: (No notes for this action) Action Type: Annual List Document Number: 20110732868-48 # of Pages: 1 File Date: 10/11/2011 Effective Date: (No notes for this action) Action Type: Annual List Document Number: 20120692653-16 # of Pages: 1 File Date: 10/10/2012 Effective Date: (No notes for this action) Action Type: Amendment Document Number: 20120834790-96 # of Pages: 1 File Date: 12/12/2012 Effective Date: (No notes for this action) Action Type: Annual List Document Number: 20130606600-94 # of Pages: 1 File Date: 9/17/2013 Effective Date: 2013/2014 Action Type: Registered Agent Change Document Number: 20140228493-85 # of Pages: 1 File Date: 3/27/2014 Effective Date: (No notes for this action) Action Type: Annual List Page 2 of 3Entity Details - Secretary of State, Nevada 3/6/2017http://nvsos.gov/sosentitysearch/PrintCorp.aspx?lx8nvq=SsrktbI0FLMJxD6cn7R3jw%253d... Case 3:17-cv-00041-HDM-VPC Document 14-1 Filed 03/07/17 Page 3 of 4 Document Number: 20140656587-84 # of Pages: 1 File Date: 9/11/2014 Effective Date: 14-15 Action Type: Annual List Document Number: 20150462359-37 # of Pages: 1 File Date: 10/20/2015 Effective Date: (No notes for this action) Action Type: Annual List Document Number: 20160361516-21 # of Pages: 1 File Date: 8/15/2016 Effective Date: (No notes for this action) Page 3 of 3Entity Details - Secretary of State, Nevada 3/6/2017http://nvsos.gov/sosentitysearch/PrintCorp.aspx?lx8nvq=SsrktbI0FLMJxD6cn7R3jw%253d... Case 3:17-cv-00041-HDM-VPC Document 14-1 Filed 03/07/17 Page 4 of 4