Merritt Case - Federal Appeal - The opening brief by Countrywide & Bank Of America

DOCKET NO. 09-17678

IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALSFOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT

_________________________________________________________________SALMA MERRITT and DAVID MERRITT,Plaintiffs-Appellants,vs.COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL CORPORATION; COUNTRYWIDE HOMELOANS, INC.; ANGELO MOZILO; DAVID SAMBOL; MICHAEL COLYER,BANK OF AMERICA; KEN LEWIS; WELLS FARGO; JOHN STUMPF;JOHNNY CHEN; JOHN BENSON; DOE 1; DOES 2-100,Defendants-Appellees.

Appeal From District Court Case No. C09-01179 JW (Consolidated)The Honorable James Ware Presiding

OPENING BRIEF OFCOUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS, INC.,COUNTRYWIDE FINANCIAL CORPORATION,BANK OF AMERICA CORPORATION,MICHAEL COLYER, DAVID SAMBOL,and KENNETH LEWIS

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TABLE OF CONTENTSPage

CORPORATE DISCLOSURE STATEMENT.........................................................1

EXCERPTS OF RECORD........................................................................................1

JURISDICTIONAL STATEMENT..........................................................................1

STATEMENT OF THE ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW.............................1

INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................2

STATEMENT OF THE FACTS AND THE CASE..................................................3

THE ORDER AT ISSUE...........................................................................................8

STANDARD OF REVIEW.......................................................................................9

ARGUMENT...........................................................................................................10I. THE DISCLOSURE CLAIMS FAIL AS A MATTER OF LAW………....10(A) The Truth in Lending Act………………………………………….. 16(B) The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act………………….….… 20II. THE LANHAM ACT CLAIMS FAIL AS A MATTER OF LAW………..20III. THE RACIAL DISCRIMINATION AND RICO CLAIMSFAIL AS A MATTER OF LAW…………………………………………...23(A) Discrimination under the Civil Rights Act…………………………..24(B) The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act………….27IV. DISCRETE DEFENSES AVAILABLE TOSPECIFIC DEFENDANTS………………………………………………...31CONCLUSION AND REQUEST FOR RELIEF....................................................32

STATEMENT OF RELATED CASES...................................................................32

CERTIFICATES......................................................................................................34

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TABLE OF AUTHORITIESCASES

Ackerman v. Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Co.,172 F.3d 467 (7th Cir. 1999)..............................................................................28Acri v. Varian Associates, Inc., 114 F.3d 999 (9th Cir. 1997)..................................8Allen v. United Financial Mortgage Corp.,660 F. Supp. 2d 1089 (N.D. Cal. 2009)........................................................19-20Amaral v. Wachovia Mortgage Corp.,2010 WL 618282 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 17, 2010)......................................................19Anunziato v. eMachines, Inc., 402 F. Supp. 2d 1133 (C.D. Cal. 2005)..................22Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 129 S. Ct. 1937 (2009)......................................................9, 24, 26Basham v. Finance America Corp., 583 F.2d 918 (7th Cir. 1978)..........................14Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007).......................................9, 24Blake v. Dierdorff, 856 F.2d 1365 (9th Cir. 1988)..................................................27Bonavitacola Electric Contractor, Inc. v. Boro Developers, Inc., 2003 WL329145 (E.D. Pa. Feb. 12, 2003), aff’d, 87 Fed. Appx. 227 (3d Cir. 2003).......28Branch v. Tunnell, 14 F.3d 449 (1994), overruled on other grounds,Galbraith v. County of Santa Clara, 307 F.3d 1119 (9th Cir. 2002)....................4Carnegie-Mellon University v. Cohill, 484 U.S. 343 (1988)....................................8Conerly v. Westinghouse Electric Corp., 623 F.2d 117 (9th Cir. 1980).................12Durning v. First Boston Corp., 815 F.2d 1265 (9th Cir. 1987).................................9Edelman v. Bank of America Corp., 2009 WL 1285858 (C.D. Cal. Apr. 17,2009)...................................................................................................................11

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