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Bowers v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems

2011 WL 2149423, No. 10 Civ. 4141 (2011)

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Bowers v. Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems

United States District Court for the District of Kansas
2011 WL 2149423, No. 10 Civ. 4141 (2011)

Facts

In 2008, Roy and Sheila Bowers (plaintiffs) executed a residential mortgage to secure repayment of a $184,222 loan. In 2009, Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS) (defendant) erroneously executed a certificate of satisfaction indicating that the Bowerses’ mortgage had been released. Four months later, MERS sent another document stating that the certificate of satisfaction had been executed in error and the Bowerses’ mortgage remained in effect because the debt had not been paid in full. The Bowerses brought suit against MERS for slander and disparagement of title, conversion, negligence, fraud, misrepresentation, and violation of the Kansas Consumer Protection Act. In its answer, MERS denied liability and asserted 18 affirmative defenses, all of which were pleaded in conclusory fashion. For example, one stated in full: “Plaintiffs’ claims for economic loss are barred by their contributory fault.” The Bowerses moved to strike all of MERS’s affirmative defenses under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (FRCP) 12(f). The Bowers argued that MERS’s conclusory affirmative defenses were legally insufficient as they failed to satisfy FRCP 8 and the heightened pleading standard established in Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly and Ashcroft v. Iqbal.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Waxse, J.)

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