Michael J. Kelsey v. Loancare LLC and Ditech Financial LLC d/b/a Loancare LLC

Summary

The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey granted Loancare LLC and Ditech Financial LLC’s motion to dismiss Michael J. Kelsey’s amended complaint. The court held that the Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred claims attacking the state-court foreclosure judgment and that res judicata precluded the remaining statutory and related claims.

Holdings

1. The Rooker-Feldman doctrine barred Kelsey's claims to the extent they challenged the state-court judgment of foreclosure or the validity of the underlying mortgage because the state court entered judgment before the federal action and Kelsey invited the federal court to review and reject that judgment.
2. Res judicata barred Kelsey's remaining claims because the prior state foreclosure action resulted in a final judgment on the merits, involved the same parties or parties in privity, and involved the same causes of action or claims that were brought or could have been brought in the prior action.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the Rooker-Feldman doctrine deprived the federal district court of jurisdiction over Kelsey's claims attacking the state-court foreclosure judgment and the validity of the mortgage.
2. Whether res judicata barred Kelsey's remaining claims under the NJCFA, FDCPA, TILA, RESPA, and CFPB regulations.
3. Whether the amended complaint should be dismissed under Rules 12(b)(1), 12(b)(6), and 9(b).

Disposition

dismissed