ELKINS – A lawsuit against LoanDepot.com has been remanded back to state court.
District Judge John Preston Bailey filed the order granting the motion to remand the lawsuit back to Webster Circuit Court on Oct. 18 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia.
The plaintiffs filed the motion to remand, claiming that the amount in controversy in order to be removed to federal court is not met.
“The defendant cannot meet its burden by relying on relief that the plaintiffs have not sought,” Bailey wrote.
The defendant has failed to meet its burden of establishing by preponderance of the evidence that the amount in controversy requirement is met in this case, according to the order.
“While the parties focus their arguments solely upon the amount in controversy, it is not clear that the parties are completely diverse,” Bailey wrote. “This court notes that the plaintiffs are West Virginia citizens, but that the citizenship of the defendant is unclear.”
As a limited liability company, LoanDepot.com’s citizenship for the purposes of diversity jurisdiction turns not on its place of formation or principal place of business, but on the citizenship of its members.
The defendant’s notice of removal does not state the citizenship of its members and the record as a whole is devoid of any reference to the members of the LLC.
Arlie C. Addington and Rena Sue Addington filed the lawsuit against LoanDepot.com on June 30. It was removed to federal court on Aug. 7.
The Addingtons alleged LoanDepot.com violated the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act.
On Feb. 19, 2014, LoanDepot.com originated a loan for the plaintiffs and in 2015, they began to struggle to keep up with the house payment and attempted to make requests for loss mitigation.
On May 2, 2016, Loan Depot.com confirmed that it had received the plaintiffs’ loss mitigation application, however, the following day, the defendant’s foreclosure trustee provided the plaintiffs with a notice that it intended to foreclose on their home.
In October 2016, the defendant offered a trial modification, but the payments were higher than their previous monthly payments.
The plaintiffs continued to submit applications for assistance, however, the defendant continued with foreclosure in July.
The Addingtons are seeking actual damages. They are being represented by Sarah K. Brown, Bren J. Pomponio and Daniel F. Hedges of Mountain State Justice.
LoanDepot.com is represented by J. Mark Adkins and Andrew C. Robey of Bowles Rice.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia case number: 2:17-cv-00104
