Collins v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. CA2/2

Filed 7/6/16 Collins v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. CA2/2 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for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 This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.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 TWO

DAVID COLLINS et al., B260099

Plaintiffs and Appellants, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. EC062385) v.

DEUTSCHE BANK NATIONAL TRUST COMPANY, etc. et al.,

Defendant and Respondent.

APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County. Donna Fields Goldstein, Judge. Affirmed.

Law Office of Michael D. Finley, Michael D. Finley for Plaintiffs and Appellants.

Wright, Finlay & Zak, Jonathan D. Fink, Magdalena D. Kozinska for Defendants and Respondents.

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After plaintiffs defaulted on a note secured by real property, they filed this lawsuit to forestall a trustee’s sale. The trial court dismissed the complaint after sustaining demurrers without leave to amend. On appeal, plaintiffs fail to show a reasonable possibility that they can state a viable claim, on any theory. We affirm. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY1 In 1993, plaintiffs David Collins and Yvette Herrera became owners of real property on Sunset Canyon Road in Burbank. In 2006, they borrowed $635,000 from Paul Financial, secured by a trust deed (TD) on the property. The beneficiary of the TD was Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), as nominee for the lender. Plaintiffs do not deny signing a promissory note or receiving $635,000. Instead, they allege that the loan was obtained by fraud and is void, because the broker “ignored the plaintiffs’ inability to repay the loan, knowing that their income did not allow them to qualify for such loan, and never disclosed the real details of the transaction.” In July 2011, two months after plaintiffs defaulted, a deed was recorded, signed by “Nicelette Collins,” claiming that all sums owed by plaintiffs and secured by the TD were “no longer valid or have been satisfied,” and fully reconveying the Property to plaintiffs. MERS recorded a rescission in January 2013, stating that “Nicelette Collins” was not trustee of the TD and the reconveyance was fraudulent in that plaintiffs did not pay off or satisfy the obligations secured by the TD. On March 19, 2013, MERS, as nominee for Paul Financial, assigned all interest in the TD to defendant Deutsche Bank National Trust Company (the Bank), solely as trustee for Harborview Mortgage Loan Trust Mortgage Loan Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2007-4. Plaintiffs allege that the assignment was invalid.