Thrivent Financial for Lutherans et al v. Countrywide Financial Corporation et alRESPONSEC.D. Cal.April 23, 2012 THRIVENT’S RESPONSE TO MTD Case No. 11-CV-7154-MRP (MANx) 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 BERNSTEIN LITOWITZ BERGER & GROSSMANN LLP BLAIR A. NICHOLAS (Bar No. 178428) (blairn@blbglaw.com) TIMOTHY A. DELANGE (Bar No. 190768) (timothyd@blbglaw.com) BRETT M. MIDDLETON (Bar No. 199427) (brettm@blbglaw.com) JOSEPH W. GOODMAN (Bar. No. 230161) (joseph.goodman@blbglaw.com) 12481 High Bluff Drive, Suite 300 San Diego, CA 92130 Tel: (858) 793-0070 Fax: (858) 793-0323 -and- DAVID L. WALES (davidw@blbglaw.com) JAI K. CHANDRASEKHAR (jai@blbglaw.com) LAUREN A. MCMILLEN (lauren@blbglaw.com) 1285 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10019 Tel: (212) 554-1400 Fax: (212) 554-1444 Counsel for Plaintiffs UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT CENTRAL DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA WESTERN DIVISION In re COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL CORP. MORTGAGE-BACKED SECURITIES LITIGATION CASES THRIVENT FINANCIAL FOR LUTHERANS, et al., Plaintiffs, v. COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL CORPORATION, et al., Defendants. Case No. 11-ML-2265-MRP (MANx) THRIVENT’S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS TO DISMISS THE AMENDED COMPLAINT Judge: Hon. Mariana R. Pfaelzer Courtroom: 12 Case No. 11-CV-7154-MRP (MANx) Case 2:11-cv-07154-MRP-MAN Document 183 Filed 04/23/12 Page 1 of 4 Page ID #:8787 -1- THRIVENT’S RESPONSE TO MTD Case No. 11-CV-7154-MRP (MANx) 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 Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Thrivent Life Insurance Company, Thrivent Mutual Funds, Thrivent Variable Annuity Portfolio Funds, Thrivent Defined Benefits Plan Trust and Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Foundation (collectively, “Thrivent”) respectfully submit this memorandum in opposition to the motions to dismiss filed by: (i) Defendants Countrywide Financial Corporation, Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, LP, Countrywide Securities Corporation, Countrywide Capital Markets, LLC, CWALT, Inc., CWMBS, Inc., CWABS, Inc. and CWHEQ, Inc. (the “Countrywide Defendants”) [ECF No. 175]; (ii) Bank of America Corp., BAC Home Loans Servicing, L.P. and NB Holdings Corp. (the “Bank of America Defendants”) [ECF No. 181]; (iii) Angelo Mozilo (“Mozilo”) [ECF No. 177]; and (iv) David A. Sambol, (“Sambol”) [ECF No. 179] (collectively, “Defendants”). I. INTRODUCTION By Order dated February 17, 2012, this Court denied Defendants’ motions to dismiss Thrivent’s claims for fraud, fraudulent inducement and reckless misrepresentation. ECF No. 170 (“February 17 Order”). The Court also dismissed without prejudice claims relating to transfer of title, negligent misrepresentation, aiding and abetting and successor liability and granted Thrivent leave to amend. On March 9, 2012, Thrivent filed an Amended Complaint. ECF No. 172. On March 30, 2012, Defendants filed motions to dismiss. Defendants do not challenge the fraud, fraudulent inducement or reckless misrepresentation claims this Court previously sustained. Rather, Defendants repeat arguments challenging the claims relating to transfer of title, negligent misrepresentation and aiding and abetting. As explained in the Amended Complaint, Thrivent did not amend these allegations and included them solely to preserve appellate rights. Amended Complaint at n.1. II. THRIVENT’S RESPONSE TO DEFENDANTS’ MOTIONS Thrivent hereby incorporates all of its arguments set forth in its opposition to Defendants’ initial motions to dismiss. ECF No. 157. Thrivent reserves all Case 2:11-cv-07154-MRP-MAN Document 183 Filed 04/23/12 Page 2 of 4 Page ID #:8788 -2- THRIVENT’S RESPONSE TO MTD Case No. 11-CV-7154-MRP (MANx) 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 appellate rights with respect to these claims, including the right to argue that the February 17 Order was decided incorrectly. Forsyth v. Humana, Inc., 114 F.3d 1467, 1474 (9th Cir. 1997). The Amended Complaint adds new allegations supporting Thrivent’s claims for successor liability, actual fraudulent transfer and constructive fraudulent transfer against the Bank of America Defendants. The amended factual allegations supporting these claims are materially identical to those asserted in Allstate Ins. Co, et al. v. Countrywide Fin. Corp., et al., No. 2:11-cv-5236-MRP (MANx), 2012 WL 335730 (C.D. Cal. Feb. 2, 2012) (“Allstate II”). After full briefing and oral argument, this Court dismissed the successor liability claims in Allstate II with prejudice. Rather than waste the Court’s and the parties’ resources re-litigating issues this Court previously considered and decided, Thrivent hereby incorporates plaintiffs’ arguments in Allstate II and preserves all such arguments for appeal, including the right to argue that Allstate II was decided incorrectly for any reason. Plaintiffs do not oppose entry of the Bank of America Defendants’ proposed Order. III. CONCLUSION For the foregoing reasons, Thrivent hereby incorporates its arguments in opposition to Defendants’ previous motions to dismiss, as well as the arguments in Allstate II, in opposition to Defendants’ motions to dismiss [ECF Nos. 175, 177, 179, 181] for the purposes of preserving appellate rights. See Forsyth, 114 F.3d at 1474. Dated: April 23, 2012 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Timothy A. DeLange TIMOTHY A. DELANGE BLAIR A. NICHOLAS (Bar No. 178428) (blairn@blbglaw.com) TIMOTHY A. DELANGE (Bar No. 190768) (timothyd@blbglaw.com) BRETT M. MIDDLETON (Bar No. 199427) (brettm@blbglaw.com) JOSEPH W. GOODMAN (Bar No. 230161) (joseph.goodman@blbglaw.com) Case 2:11-cv-07154-MRP-MAN Document 183 Filed 04/23/12 Page 3 of 4 Page ID #:8789 -3- THRIVENT’S RESPONSE TO MTD Case No. 11-CV-7154-MRP (MANx) 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 12481 High Bluff Drive, Suite 300 San Diego, CA 92130 Tel: (858) 793-0070 Fax: (858) 793-0323 -and- DAVID L. WALES (davidw@blbglaw.com) JAI K. CHANDRASEKHAR (jai@blbglaw.com) LAUREN A. MCMILLEN (lauren@blbglaw.com) 1285 Avenue of the Americas, 38th Floor New York, NY 10019 Tel: (212) 554-1400 Fax: (212) 554-1444 Counsel for Plaintiffs Case 2:11-cv-07154-MRP-MAN Document 183 Filed 04/23/12 Page 4 of 4 Page ID #:8790