OPINION AND ORDER DENYING MOTION TO DISMISS
THIS MATTER is before the Court on AHMSI and Deutsche Bank’s Motion to Dismiss [DE 7], The Court has carefully considered the motion, response, reply, oral argument of counsel at a hearing held on February 27, 2013, and is otherwise fully advised in the premises.
Introduction
Plaintiff, Madelaine Martorella (“Martorella”), has brought this action against Defendants Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, as Indenture Trustee for American Home Mortgage Investment Trust 2006-1 (“Deutsche Bank”) and American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc. (“AHM-SI”) (collectively, “Defendants”). This action arises out of Defendants’ participation in an alleged scheme to charge Martorella and the members of the putative classes for the cost of force-placed insurance coverage on their property at grossly excessive rates. Martorella alleges that Defendants acted in bad faith by charging for force-placed insurance at exorbitantly high premiums that bear no relationship to the insurable risk in return for kickbacks from the insurance carriers. As a result, Defendants and their insurance carriers allegedly reaped huge profits from insurance policies which cost mortgagors many times the market rate for competitively priced insurance policies while providing significantly less insurance coverage. Defendants move to dismiss the Class Action Complaint (“Complaint” or “Compl.”) filed by Martorella and to strike the class action allegations contained therein.
Standard of Review
For purposes of deciding a motion to dismiss, the Court accepts the allegations of the complaint as true and views the facts in the light most favorable to it. See, e.g., Hill v. White,
Martorella is the owner and mortgagor of property located in Palm Beach County, Florida (“IVtartorella Property”). Compl. ¶ 5. Deutsche Bank holds the standard form note and mortgage on the Martorella Property and has appointed AHMSI to act as its agent to service Martorella’s loan. Compl. ¶¶ 6-7. When it assumed the servicing of Martorella’s loan, AHMSI assumed the obligations under Martorella’s standard form note and mortgage. Compl. ¶ 8.
Under the standard form mortgage entered into by Martorella and the members of the class, if the homeowner fails to maintain property insurance coverage, then AHMSI may step in and buy a property insurance policy on behalf of the homeowner so that the home remains insured. Compl. ¶ 10. Such policies commonly are referred to as “force-placed insurance.” However, in exercising their right to protect the lender’s interest in the property owned by Martorella and the members of the class, Plaintiff asserts that Defendants had to act consistently with the covenant of good faith and fair dealing implied in the mortgages. Thus, Plaintiff claims Defendants were required to exercise their discretion in good faith and within reasonable limits consistent with the parties’ purpose in contracting. Compl. ¶11.
It is further alleged that in early 2009, AHMSI, acting as agent for Deutsche Bank, wrongly claimed that Martorella did not have insurance on her property and it purchased force-placed insurance through a specialty insurance carrier named Empire Indemnity Insurance Company (“Empire”). Compl. ¶ 12. As a result, Martorella’s insurance premium increased nearly fourfold, as reflected by the increase in her monthly escrow fees from $499.31 per month to $1,924.81 per month. Compl. ¶ 13. Martorella immediately notified AHMSI of its error and provided AHMSI with proof of her insurance coverage on the property. Compl. ¶ 14. Despite this notification, Deutsche Bank foreclosed on the Martorella Property in June 2009, which foreclosure stemmed from the fact that AHMSI had wrongly quadrupled her monthly escrow and refused to accept the correct monthly payment from her. Compl. ¶ 15. In August 2009, AHMSI acknowledged its error and notified Martorella that the force-placed policy had been cancelled. However, AHMSI refused to remove the charges for one month’s coverage, even though Martorella had continuous coverage. Compl. ¶ 16.
Plaintiff claims that force-placed insurance is two to four times (but sometimes up to ten times) more costly than regular hazard insurance policies. At the same time, force-placed insurance policies provide less comprehensive insurance coverage than a typical homeowner’s policy. Compl. ¶ 17. Plaintiff asserts that the premiums imposed in this case for force-placed insurance are neither bona-fide nor reasonable, and do not bear a reasonable relationship to the insurable risk. Id.
It is also alleged that the servicers’ wrongful insurance practices stem from a conflict of interest that aligns servicers and their force-place-insurer partners against the borrowers. Force-placed insurance is frequently placed with an insurance carrier in exchange for commissions, reinsurance fees or other remuneration paid by the insurance company to the mortgage servicers, such as AHMSI. Compl. ¶ 18. Instead of purchasing less expensive policies, which would benefit the borrowers, the mortgage servicers such as AHMSI place the policies with the force-placed insurers that pay them commissions, or other kickbacks, thus driving up the premiums for force-placed insurance. Id. The interests of the servicers and the
AHMSI engaged in the foregoing abusive practices when it force-placed insurance upon the Martorella Property, which benefítted AHMSI. Compl. ¶ 22. Martorella claims her experience was typical of other members of the class, many of whom had insurance force placed in error, and all of whom were charged grossly excessive premiums for their force-placed insurance policies. Compl. ¶¶ 132, 31-32.
Martorella asserts four different claims for relief in her Complaint. She alleges that
• Defendants violated the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act, Fla. Stat. § 501.201 et seq. (“FDUTPA”) (Counts I-IV);
• Defendants breached the mortgage agreement and the covenant of good faith and fair dealing implied therein (Counts V-VHI);
• Defendants violated the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, Fla. Stat. § 559.72 (“FCCPA”) (Counts IXX); and
• Defendant AHMSI was unjustly enriched (Count XI).
Martorella brings this case for herself and on behalf of a class of all individuals in Florida who have had residential mortgages serviced by AHMSI, as agent for Deutsche Bank, or another note holder, and for whom AHMSI purchased force-placed insurance from November 1, 2007 to the present. Compl. ¶ 25. She also brings this case on behalf of three subclasses of individuals in Florida who have had residential mortgages serviced by AHMSI. Compl. ¶ 26.
Discussion
1. Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act
Defendants assert Counts I through IV (FDUTPA violations) fail because (a) the conduct alleged does not involve trade or commerce; (b) Martorella identifies no deceptive act; and (c) neither AHMSI nor Deutsche Bank’s alleged conduct is linked to an injury or any cognizable damages.
Although not specifically identified in the statute, there are three elements that are required to be alleged to establish a claim pursuant to the FDUTPA: (1) a deceptive act or unfair practice; (2) causation; and (3) actual damages. Borchardt v. Mako Marine Int'l Inc.,
A. Allegation of Deceptive or Unfair Act
Defendants argue that there were no deceptive or unfair acts with regard to the imposition of force-placed insurance on the Martorella Property because the terms of the mortgages permitted the placing of such insurance. In making that argument, Defendants mischaracterize the allegations in the Complaint. Plaintiff does not allege that Defendants cannot force-place insurance in accordance with the mortgages’ terms, but rather, that they violated the FDUTPA by purchasing excessively priced insurance policies that provide less comprehensive coverage, while keeping a portion of those excessive premiums as commissions or other remuneration.
Under the FDUTPA, an unfair practice is “one that ‘offends established public policy’ and one that is ‘immoral,
B. In the Course of Trade or Commerce
Defendants also argue that Plaintiff has not established that any unfair or deceptive act was committed in trade or commerce. Defendants do not disagree that under Fla. Stat. § 501.203(8), “ ‘trade or commerce’ means the advertising, soliciting, providing, offering, or distributing, whether by sale, rental, or otherwise, of any good or service, or any property, whether tangible or intangible, or any other article, commodity, or thing of value, wherever situated.” However, they argue that the conduct at issue here — which they describe as “mortgage loan servicing”— was not in the course of trade or commerce. The court rejects Defendants’ assertions.
The conduct challenged in the Complaint is Defendants’ provision of insurance (a product) to Martorella for which Martorella paid excessive premiums and Defendants received kickbacks in the form of commissions. Such conduct falls squarely within “the statute’s broad definition of ‘trade or commerce.’ ” Schauer v. Gen. Motors Acceptance Corp.,
C. Causation and Damages
Defendants also argue that Plaintiff has not adequately alleged causation and recoverable damages. The Court disagrees.
Martorella alleges that Defendants’ unfair practices caused her damage when Defendants erroneously placed insurance coverage on the Martorella Property at
Martorella states in her response that she agrees that the FDUTPA only allows for recovery of “actual damages” and not for “consequential damages.” However, Plaintiff seeks to recover her actual damages, the payment which Defendants allegedly assessed against her wrongfully and have failed to refund to her. Plaintiff is also able to pursue declaratory and injunctive relief under FDUTPA.
2. Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Dealing
A covenant of good faith and fair dealing is implied in every contract. See Burger King Corp. v. Weaver,
Generally, a claim for breach of the implied covenant cannot be maintained in absence of an alleged breach of an express contractual term. Centurion Air Cargo, Inc. v. United Parcel Svc. Co.,
Where, as here, a contract vests a party with discretion, the implied duty of good faith and fair dealing attaches as a gap-filling default rule. Speedway SuperAm., LLC v. Tropic Enters., Inc.,
[U]nder an agreement that appears by word or silence to invest one party with a degree of discretion in performance sufficient to deprive another party of a substantial proportion of the agreement’s value, the parties’ intent to be bound by an enforceable contract raises an implied obligation of good faith to observe reasonable limits in exercising that discretion, consistent with the parties’ purpose or purposes in contracting.
Cox,
Here, the force-placed insurance clause granted Defendants discretion in determining whether to purchase force-placed insurance after a policy had lapsed, and under what terms. Plaintiffs allegations that Defendants failed to observe reasonable limits in exercising their discretion to force-placing policies at grossly excessive premiums in exchange for kickbacks from the insurance carriers fully states a claim for breach of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. Kunzelmann v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 11-CV-81373-DMM,
3. Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act
Martorella alleges in Counts IX and X that AHMSI and Deutsche Bank violated Fla. Stat. § 559.72(9), which makes it unlawful to “[c]laim, attempt, or threaten to enforce a debt when such person knows that the debt is not legitimate, or assert the existence of some other legal right when such person knows the right does not exist.” Defendants argue that Plaintiff has not stated a claim under the FCCPA for two reasons: (1) that they were not collecting a debt but were enforcing a security interest (the mortgage) and (2) that Plaintiff has not adequately pled actual knowledge of the violations by Defendants. The Court rejects these arguments.
The Eleventh Circuit, in rejecting a law firm defendant’s argument that it was not engaged in debt collection explained:
The rule the Ellis law firm asks us to adopt would exempt from the provisions of § 1692e any communication that attempts to enforce a security interest regardless of whether it also attempts to collect the underlying debt. That rule would create a loophole in the FDCPA.1 A big one. In every case involving a secured debt, the proposed rule would allow the party demanding payment on the underlying debt to dodge the dictates of § 1692e by giving notice of foreclosure on the secured interest. The practical result would be that the Act would apply only to efforts to collect unsecured debts. So long as a debt was secured, a lender (or its law firm) could harass or mislead a debtor without violating the FDCPA. That can’t be right. It isn’t. A communication related to debt collection does not become unrelated to debt collection simply because it also relates to the enforcement of a security interest. A debt is still a “debt” even if it is secured.
Reese v. Ellis, Painter, Ratterree & Adams, LLP,
As for the argument that Plaintiff has not alleged actual knowledge on the part of Defendants, Plaintiff relies upon her assertion that she “notified AHMSI of its error and provided AHMSI with proof of her insurance coverage.” Compl. ¶ 14. Even after this notification, Plaintiff asserts Defendants proceeded with their debt collection activities, and despite acknowledging their error, refused to refund the premium for one month. Compl. ¶¶ 15-16. Actual knowledge is adequately alleged.
4. Unjust Enrichment
Defendants contend Plaintiffs unjust enrichment claim in Count XI should be dismissed because an express contract exists. Florida courts have held that “ ‘a plaintiff cannot pursue a quasi-contract claim for unjust enrichment if an express contract exists concerning the same subject matter.’ ” Alberta Ltd. v. Netpaying, Inc.,
However, a party may plead in the alternative for relief under an express contract and for unjust enrichment. See ThunderWave, Inc. v. Carnival Corp.,
Defendants assert that “no party contests the existence of the contract
5. Class Action Allegations
Defendants move to dismiss the class allegations arguing that a class could never be certified because Martorella is atypical of most putative class members, and individual issues would predominate the remainder of Martorella’s claims.
“The question of class certification is generally not addressed on a motion to dismiss.” Chaney v. Crystal Beach Capital, LLC,
Conclusion
In accordance with the findings above, it is hereby
ORDERED AND ADJUDGED that AHMSI and Deutsche Bank’s Motion to Dismiss [DE 7] is denied.
Notes
. In Florida, consumer debt collection practices are regulated by both the FCCPA and the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692-1692p (FDCPA). Both acts generally apply to the same types of conduct, and Florida courts must give “great weight”
