Athena Kostopoulos, on behalf of herself and others similarly situated v. Nationstar Mortgage LLC, d/b/a Mr. Cooper and Friedman Vartolo, LLP, and John Does 1-25

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granted Defendants’ motions to dismiss Athena Kostopoulos’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claims against Nationstar Mortgage LLC and Friedman Vartolo, LLP. The court held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine deprived it of subject-matter jurisdiction because the claims challenged state-court foreclosure judgments and sought review or rejection of those judgments. The complaint was dismissed with prejudice.

Holdings

1. The Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred Plaintiff's claims because she lost in state court, alleged injuries caused by state-court judgments rendered before the federal action, and invited the district court to review and reject those judgments.
2. The complaint was dismissed with prejudice because the court lacked subject matter jurisdiction under Rooker-Feldman.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine deprived the federal district court of subject matter jurisdiction over Plaintiff's FDCPA claims challenging Nationstar's authority to pursue foreclosure.
2. Whether Plaintiff's FDCPA claims were, in substance, an effort to obtain federal review and rejection of prior state-court foreclosure judgments.
3. Whether the court needed to reach Defendants' alternative arguments under Rules 12(b)(6) and 23 after determining that Rooker-Feldman barred the action.

Disposition

dismissed