Goodrich et al v. Cross River Bank, No. 3:2021cv09296 - Document 77 (N.D. Cal. 2023)
Court Description: ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS AND STRIKE; GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO STRIKE CLASS ALLEGATIONS; AFFORDING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND; CONTINUING CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE. To the extent CR B seeks dismissal of the Second Cause of Action, the motion is granted, and the Second Cause of Action is dismissed without leave to amend; and, to the extent CRB seeks an order striking from the FAC paragraph 37, the motion is denied. CRB's Mot ion to Strike Class Allegations is granted and the class allegations are stricken with leave to file, no later than January 27, 2023, a Second Amended Complaint for purposes of amending the class definitions. The Case Management Conference is continued from January 27, 2023, to March 17, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. A Joint Case Management Statement shall be filed no later than March 10, 2023. Signed by Judge Maxine M. Chesney on January 13, 2023. (mmclc1, COURT STAFF) (Filed on 1/13/2023)
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Goodrich et al v. Cross River Bank Doc. 77 1 2 3 4 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 5 FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 6 7 JULIA GREENFIELD, Plaintiff, 8 v. 9 10 CROSS RIVER BANK, Defendant. United States District Court Northern District of California 11 Case No. 21-cv-09296-MMC ORDER GRANTING IN PART AND DENYING IN PART DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO DISMISS AND STRIKE; GRANTING DEFENDANT'S MOTION TO STRIKE CLASS ALLEGATIONS; AFFORDING PLAINTIFF LEAVE TO AMEND; CONTINUING CASE MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE 12 13 14 Before the Court are two motions filed September 28, 2022, by defendant Cross 15 River Bank ("CRB"): (1) "Motion to Dismiss Second Cause of Action and to Strike Under 16 Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(f)"; and (2) "Motion to Strike Class Allegations Under Fed. R. Civ. P. 17 23(d)(1)(D)." The motions have been fully briefed. Having read and considered the 18 papers filed in support of and in opposition to the motions, the Court rules as follows.1 19 A. Motion to Dismiss/Strike 20 In the first of the two above-referenced motions, CRB seeks an order dismissing 21 for failure to state a claim the Second Cause of Action alleged in plaintiff Julia 22 Greenfield's ("Greenfield') First Amended Class Action Complaint ("FAC"), and, in 23 addition, an order striking from the FAC a paragraph that, CRB asserts, contradicts 24 allegations in Greenfield's initial Complaint. 25 1. Dismissal: Second Cause of Action 26 In her initial Complaint, Greenfield asserted against CRB a single Cause of Action, 27 1 28 By order filed December 6, 2022, the Court took the matters under submission. Dockets.Justia.com United States District Court Northern District of California 1 titled "Violation of the Equal Credit Opportunities Act ["ECOA"] (15 U.S.C. § 1691) and 2 Regulation B (12 C.F.R. § 1002.9)." In support thereof, Greenfield alleged that CRB had 3 denied an application she submitted in 2021 for a loan under the Paycheck Protection 4 Program ("PPP"), and, in so doing, failed, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1691(d) and 12 5 C.F.R. § 1002.9, to provide her with a statement containing "specific reasons for the 6 denial" that were "accurate[ ]." (See Complaint ¶¶ 3-7, 44.) In response to the 7 Complaint, CRB filed an "Answer . . . [and] Counter-Complaint," wherein CRB asserts 8 three Counterclaims, all based on CRB's allegations that Greenfield, prior to having 9 submitted the PPP loan application referenced in her initial Complaint, had submitted in 10 2020 an application that "contained a false net profit figure for her business," on which 11 CRB "reasonabl[y] rel[ied]." (See Answer and Counter-Complaint ¶¶ 1, 28, 45.) 12 Greenfield thereafter filed her FAC, in which she realleged as the First Cause of Action 13 the claim alleged in her initial Complaint and added a Second Cause of Action, which 14 latter claim CRB challenges by the instant motion. 15 In her Second Cause of Action, titled "Violation of [ECOA] (15 U.S.C. § 1691(a)(3)) 16 and Regulation B (12 C.F.R. § 1002.4(a))," Greenfield alleges that CRB's Counterclaims 17 were, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a) and 12 C.F.R. § 1002.4(a), "filed with [a] 18 retaliatory motive," specifically, to "dissuade Greenfield . . . from exercising [her] rights 19 under ECOA." (See FAC ¶ 81.) 20 Pursuant to ECOA, it is "unlawful for any creditor to discriminate against any 21 applicant, with respect to any aspect of a credit transaction," based on the applicant's 22 "ha[ving] in good faith exercised any right under [ECOA]." See 15 U.S.C. § 1691(a). 23 Regulation B provides that "a creditor shall not discriminate against an application on a 24 prohibited basis regarding any aspect of a credit transaction." See 12 C.F.R. 25 § 1002.4(a). 26 CRB argues Greenfield's Second Cause of Action fails to state a cognizable claim, 27 for the asserted reason that Greenfield has not alleged facts to support a finding that 28 CRB's filing of its Counterclaims constituted an "aspect of a credit transaction," there 2 1 being, according to CRB, no credit relationship between Greenfield and CRB at the time 2 the Counterclaims were filed. As set forth below, the Court agrees. United States District Court Northern District of California 3 In a regulation promulgated by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection ("the 4 Bureau"),2 the term "credit transaction" is defined as "every aspect of an applicant's 5 dealings with a creditor regarding an application for credit or an existing extension of 6 credit." See 12 C.F.R. § 1002.2(m). Greenfield does not allege that, at the time CRB 7 filed its Counterclaims, she had a pending application for credit or any existing extension 8 of credit. Although Greenfield argues a claim under §1691(a) and § 1002.4(a) can be 9 predicated on conduct taken by a lender after the applicant's relationship with the creditor 10 has ended, Greenfield cites no authority in support of the position she takes. Rather, the 11 claims found actionable by the two authorities cited by Greenfield were brought by 12 borrowers who, unlike Greenfield, had existing accounts at the time the creditor allegedly 13 engaged in discriminatory conduct. See, e.g., Wilson v. Toussie, 260 F. Supp. 2d 530, 14 540 (E.D. N.Y. 2003) (finding "the grant of loans in a predatory manner is actionable 15 under [§ 1691(a)]); Sharp v. Chartwell Financial Services Ltd., 2000 WL 283095, at *4 16 (N.D. Ill. March 6, 2000) (finding "existing customer" stated claim under §1691(a) based 17 on allegation creditor's employee, in attempting to collect repayment, "invoked both racial 18 and gender-based epithets"); see also Federal Deposit Ins. Corp. v. Allen, 1988 WL 19 361044, at *2 (W.D. Okla. November 3, 1988) (noting "[a] consumer is protected by 20 ECOA throughout the life of the credit account"). 21 Lastly, the Court finds unpersuasive Greenfield's reliance on a recent "advisory 22 opinion" written by the Bureau, in which the Bureau states that the term "credit 23 transaction" includes "transaction[s] that take place after credit has been extended," see 24 87 Fed. Reg. 30,097 at 30,099 (May 18, 2022), such as "a revocation of credit or an 25 unfavorable change in the terms of a credit arrangement," see id. at 30,098. Nothing in 26 27 28 2 The Bureau has been directed by Congress to "prescribe regulations to carry out the purposes of [ECOA]." See 15 U.S.C. § 1691b(a). 3 United States District Court Northern District of California 1 the Bureau's opinion, however, suggests § 1691(a) applies to transactions after the 2 applicant's relationship with the lender has ended. Rather, the cited opinion explains that 3 § 1691(a) applies to "applicants who have received credit and are existing account 4 holders, not just those in the process of applying for credit." See id. (emphasis added). 5 Accordingly, to the extent CRB seeks dismissal of the Second Cause of Action, 6 the motion will be granted, and said Cause of Action will be dismissed without leave to 7 amend. 8 B. Striking: Paragraph 37 of FAC 9 In the FAC, Greenfield alleges that her 2021 PPP loan application was submitted 10 to CRB by an individual who acted as her "proxy" (see FAC ¶ 19) and whom she further 11 describes as one of CRB's "actual and ostensible agents, conspirators, partners, and/or 12 joint venturers" (see FAC ¶ 37). In support of such description, Greenfield alleges "CRB 13 used a variety of marketing channels operated by . . . [t]hird [p]arties to locate PPP 14 borrowers and facilitate their PPP loan applications with CRB," and that "Greenfield's 15 proxy was and/or is such a [t]hird [p]arty." (See id.) 16 CRB seeks an order striking from the FAC paragraph 37, the paragraph containing 17 the description of the above-referenced proxy as an agent of CRB. CRB argues an order 18 to such effect is warranted, on the asserted ground that such description contradicts 19 allegations made in Greenfield's initial Complaint, wherein Greenfield described the 20 individual as an "independent loan agent" (see Compl. ¶ 20) and as "[p]laintiffs' "loan 21 agent" (see Compl. ¶¶ 22, 28).3 22 At the outset, the Court notes that the allegations in the two pleadings are not 23 necessarily inconsistent, in that, "[u]nder long-accepted agency principles, a person may 24 be the servant of two masters, not joint employers, at one time as to one act, if the 25 service to one does not involve abandonment of the service to the other." See Dazo v. 26 27 28 3 The initial Complaint was filed by Greenfield and two other individuals. The two additional plaintiffs subsequently dismissed their claims. 4 1 Globe Airport Security Services, 295 F.3d 934, 939 (9th Cir. 2002) (internal quotation, 2 alteration, and citation omitted). Even assuming, however, paragraph 37 can only be 3 read as inconsistent with or in contradiction of the initial Complaint's allegation as to 4 agency, the Ninth Circuit has held "there is nothing in the Federal Rules of Civil 5 Procedure to prevent a party from filing successive pleadings that make inconsistent or 6 even contradictory allegations," and, consequently, "[a] district court has no free-standing 7 authority to strike pleadings simply because it believes that a party has taken inconsistent 8 positions in the litigation." See PAE Government Services, Inc. v. MPRI, Inc., 514 F.3d 9 856, 858-860 (9th Cir. 2007).4 United States District Court Northern District of California 10 Accordingly, to the extent CRB seeks an order striking paragraph 37 from the 11 FAC, the motion will be denied. 12 B. Motion to Strike Class Allegations 13 Greenfield's First Cause of Action, by which, as noted, she asserts violations of 14 § 1691(d) and of § 1002.9(a)(2), is brought both on behalf of herself individually and on 15 behalf of a class. CRB seeks an order striking the class allegations. 16 ECOA provides that, when a "creditor" takes "adverse action" against an 17 "applicant," it must provide a "statement[ ] of reasons in writing" that "contains the specific 18 reasons for the adverse action taken." See 15 U.S.C. § 1691(d)(2). Regulation B 19 similarly provides that, "when adverse action is taken," the creditor must provide a written 20 notification that contains a "statement of specific reasons for the action taken." See 12 21 C.F.R. § 1002.9(a)(2). The Bureau, in its "official interpretation," states "[t]he specific 22 reasons disclosed under [Regulation B] must relate to and accurately describe the factors 23 actually considered or scored by a creditor." See 12 C.F.R. pt. 1002, Supp. I, 24 § 1002.9(b)(2)-2. 25 26 27 28 4 Although a court, at least where the plaintiff "is given an opportunity to respond under the procedures of Rule 11," may strike "inconsistent allegations" made in "bad faith," see id. at 860, in this instance CRB has not argued Greenfield, by including paragraph 37 in the FAC, has acted in bad faith. 5 Here, Greenfield alleges, her proxy submitted her 2021 application by United States District Court Northern District of California 1 2 "upload[ing]" her "supporting documentation" into CRB's "online portal" and thereafter 3 received a "message" stating "Application Complete!" (see FAC ¶ 45), and that CRB, in 4 later denying her application, sent her proxy an email in which CRB stated, 5 "[u]nfortunately, the application(s) referenced below was (were) not successful in this 6 attempt for approval through [CRB's] automated system," after which CRB "listed roughly 7 fifty loan applicants" and then further stated, "[r]eason for [d]enial: [i]nsufficient 8 information or documentation to make a PPP credit decision." (See FAC ¶ 20.) 9 According to Greenfield, the applications referenced in the above-quoted email 10 contained, contrary to CRB's email, "sufficient information for CRB to make a credit 11 decision" (see FAC ¶ 3) and, consequently, that the above-quoted reason for denial was 12 "not true, accurate, or specific" (see FAC ¶ 4). Based on the above allegations, Greenfield, in addition to bringing an individual 13 14 claim, seeks to certify the following two classes: 15 All PPP loan applicants located in the United States (1) who, in 2021, completed a loan application to Cross River Bank and received a "Application Complete!" message from Cross River Bank’s portal(s); (2) who were given the following reason for denial: "Reason for Denial: Insufficient information or documentation to make a PPP credit decision" and/or "Unfortunately, the application(s) referenced below was (were) not successful in this attempt for approval through our automated system," and (3) who did not receive any other statement of reasons for Cross River Bank's denial of their PPP loan application from Cross River Bank within 30 days of such denial. 16 17 18 19 20 All PPP loan applicants located in the United States (1) who, in 2020, received a PPP loan from Cross River Bank and (2) who, in 2021, completed a loan application to Cross River Bank using data consistent with their 2020 PPP loan application; (3) who were given the following reason for denial: "Reason for Denial: Insufficient information or documentation to make a PPP credit decision" and/or "Unfortunately, the application(s) referenced below was (were) not successful in this attempt for approval through our automated system," and (4) who did not receive any other statement of reasons for Cross River Bank’s denial of their PPP loan application from Cross River Bank within 30 days of such denial. 21 22 23 24 25 26 (See FAC ¶ 53.) 27 // 28 6 In moving for an order striking the class allegations, CRB argues the proposed 1 2 classes are fail-safe and, in addition, would require individualized determinations. 3 1. Fail-Safe Classes 4 A fail-safe class is one "defined so narrowly as to preclude membership unless the 5 liability of the defendant is established." See Ruiz Torres v. Mercer Canyons, Inc., 835 6 F.3d 1125, 1138 n.7 (9th Cir. 2016) (internal quotation, citation, and alteration omitted). Here, CRB relies on Greenfield's allegation that both putative classes consist of United States District Court Northern District of California 7 8 persons "who, in 2021, completed a loan application" (see FAC ¶ 53), which phrase, 9 CRB argues, is a statement that the class members submitted applications that were 10 complete, i.e., applications that provided CRB with "sufficient data for a credit decision," 11 see 12 C.F.R. Pt. 1002, Supp. I, ¶ 9(a)(1)-3 (defining "incomplete application" as 12 application that "lacks sufficient data for a credit decision); see also 12 C.F.R. § 1002.2(f) 13 (defining "completed application" as "an application in connection with which the creditor 14 has received all the information that the creditor regularly obtains and considers in 15 evaluating applications for the amount and type of credit requested"). In so alleging, Greenfield uses "completed" as a conclusion that CRB received all 16 17 material necessary to make a credit decision, i.e., her use of the word defines the class in 18 a manner that limits membership to those who will prevail (see FAC ¶ 3) (alleging 19 Greenfield and putative class members "completed PPP loan applications in 2021 with 20 sufficient information for CRB to make a credit decision")), and, consequently, the class 21 definitions are deficient. Greenfield, however, states, as to the first of the two class 22 definitions, she is prepared to remove the words "completed an application to Cross River 23 Bank and," or to substitute "submitted" for "completed" (see Pl.'s Opp. at 10:5-15), and, 24 as to the second of the two class definitions, to substitute "submitted" for "completed" 25 (see id.). Accordingly, the class allegations are subject to dismissal, with leave to amend as 26 27 proposed. 28 // 7 1 2. Need for Individualized Determinations 2 By order filed July 26, 2022, the Court granted CRB's motion to strike the class 3 allegations contained in the initial Complaint, finding Greenfield had failed to show a 4 determination as to whether class members' applications were complete could be 5 conducted without engaging in an individualized review of each application. Greenfield 6 was, however, afforded leave to amend. United States District Court Northern District of California 7 In amending, Greenfield has added allegations pertaining to the manner in which 8 CRB processed the applications she and the putative class members submitted, which 9 allegations the Court, as set forth below, finds sufficient at the pleading stage to allege 10 circumstances that, if established by Greenfield, would not appear to require 11 individualized determinations. 12 In particular, Greenfield, as noted, now alleges that, after she submitted her 13 application, she received from CRB a message stating, "Application Complete!" (see FAC 14 ¶ 45), a statement that could be understood as an admission as to the adequacy of the 15 material both submitted by Greenfield and by all putative class members who received 16 the same message.5 Additionally, Greenfield now alleges that CRB's review "processes" 17 were "completely automated" and "without human intervention" (see FAC ¶ 43), that "the 18 automated systems used by CRB . . . did not indicate why the systems had not approved 19 particular PPP loans" (see FAC ¶ 41), and that CRB knew "the automated system 20 flagged or rejected batches of applications but not why the system was unable to approve 21 an individual loan" (see id.), allegations that, if established, could support a class-wide 22 finding that the reason for denial given, i.e., incompleteness of the class members' 23 5 24 25 26 27 28 As set forth above, the first of the two proposed classes is limited to persons who received the same message. The second of the two proposed classes, while not expressly limited in the same manner, is defined by what would appear to be a similar, but implicit, acknowledgement of completeness, given CRB's acceptance of those class members' earlier applications, which acceptance, as with the first class, was followed by an allegedly inconsistent rejection. Although, as to the second, such allegation is based on the submission of applications containing "data consistent with" the class members' earlier applications, thereby, arguably, requiring an individualized comparison, that issue has not been raised in the parties' papers presently before the Court. 8 United States District Court Northern District of California 1 respective applications, was not the reason "actually considered" by CRB. See 12 C.F.R. 2 Pt. 1002, Supp. I, ¶ 9(b)(2)-2 (providing "[t]he specific reasons disclosed . . . must relate 3 to and accurately describe the factors actually considered or scored by a creditor"); see 4 also 12 C.F.R. Pt. 1002, App. C., comment 4 (providing "[i]f the reasons listed on the form 5 are not the factors actually used, a creditor will not satisfy the notice requirement by 6 simply checking the closest identifiable factor listed"). 7 Although CRB, in its motion, asserts it determined Greenfield's application was 8 incomplete "based on its review of the contents of her 2021 application file against the 9 relevant PPP regulations" (see Def.'s Mot. at 9:1-3), such contradictory assertions cannot 10 be considered at the pleading stage. See Buonomo v. Optimum Outcomes, Inc., 301 11 F.R.D. 292, 295 (N.D. Ill 2014) (holding where "dispute concerning class certification is 12 factual in nature," motion to strike at pleading stage is "premature") (citing cases). Lastly, 13 although CRB points out that the FAC alleges "CRB could manually review a loan 14 application rejected by the system" (see FAC ¶ 48), the FAC does not allege that CRB in 15 fact engaged in any such manual review and, indeed, as noted, alleges CRB processed 16 PPP loan applications "without human intervention" (see FAC ¶ 43). Accordingly, the class allegations are not subject to striking on the asserted 17 18 ground an individualized would be necessary. CONCLUSION 19 20 For the reasons stated above: 21 1. CRB's Motion to Dismiss Second Cause of Action and to Strike Under Fed. R. 22 Civ. P. 12(f) is hereby GRANTED in part and DENIED in part, as follows: a. To the extent CRB seeks dismissal of the Second Cause of Action, the 23 24 motion is GRANTED, and the Second Cause of Action is hereby DISMISSED without 25 leave to amend; and b. To the extent CRB seeks an order striking from the FAC paragraph 37, 26 27 the motion is hereby DENIED. 28 // 9 1 2. CRB's Motion to Strike Class Allegations is hereby GRANTED and the class 2 allegations are hereby STRICKEN with leave to file, no later than January 27, 2023, 3 2023, a Second Amended Complaint for purposes of amending the class definitions. 4 Lastly, in light of the above, the Case Management Conference is hereby 5 CONTINUED from January 27, 2023, to March 17, 2023, at 10:30 a.m. A Joint Case 6 Management Statement shall be filed no later than March 10, 2023. 7 IT IS SO ORDERED. 8 9 Dated: January 13, 2023 MAXINE M. CHESNEY United States District Judge 10 United States District Court Northern District of California 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 10
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