Yaghobi v. Wells Fargo Bank CA2/1

Filed 5/30/14 Yaghobi v. Wells Fargo Bank CA2/1 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION ONE

DAVID YAGHOBI, B246200

Plaintiff and Appellant, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. BC479197) v.

WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A.,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Daniel Buckley, Judge. Affirmed.

______

Mitchell Keiter for Plaintiff and Appellant.

Kutak Rock, Jeffrey S. Gerardo, Steven M. Dailey, and Antoinette P. Hewitt for Defendant and Respondent.

______

David Yaghobi sued Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. for breach of contract and promissory estoppel. The superior court sustained Wells Fargo’s demurrer without leave to amend, and Yaghobi appeals. We affirm. BACKGROUND This case arises out of Yaghobi’s attempts to obtain a loan modification on the trust deed on real property he owned. Because we are reviewing a judgment of dismissal after the sustaining of a demurrer without leave to amend, our summary of the facts is drawn from the allegations in Yaghobi’s operative pleading. Yaghobi alleges that in 2010 he retained certain individuals and entities to assist and represent him in his loan modification efforts. The first law firm that he retained advised him to stop paying his mortgage, apparently in order to put pressure on the lender, Wells Fargo. In early 2011, Yaghobi became concerned about that approach and went to a Wells Fargo office to try “to pay his mortgage,” but Wells Fargo “refused [the] payment.” A few months later, Yaghobi received notice of a trustee’s sale of the property. He informed his attorney, who told him that “there was nothing else that could be done in his case and that he would have to file [b]ankruptcy.” Yaghobi then retained new counsel to file his bankruptcy petition and represent him in negotiations with Wells Fargo. The bankruptcy petition was filed on April 29 but dismissed on May 20 for failure to file necessary documents. Yaghobi’s property was sold to a third party in a trustee’s sale on or about June 6, 2011. On February 16, 2012, Yaghobi filed suit against the lawyers and firms that had represented him, and also against Wells Fargo. The only cause of action alleged against Wells Fargo was for breach of contract. Yaghobi’s theory was that he was a third-party beneficiary of the “Servicer Participation Agreement” (SPA) entered into by Wells Fargo as part of the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Yaghobi sought both damages and cancellation of the sale of his property.