FILED
NOT FOR PUBLICATION JAN 17 2014
MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT
ROBERT M. SWEENEY, No. 12-55220
Plaintiff - Appellant, D.C. No. 2:11-cv-05098-GW-JEM
v.
MEMORANDUM*
AMERICAN HOME MORTGAGE
SERVICING, INC.; POWER
DEFAULT SERVICES, INC., a
Delaware corporation; US BANK
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION, As
Trustee for MASTR Adjustable Rate
Mortgages Trust 2007-1, Mortgage
Pass-Through Certificates, Series 2007-1
(esa US Bank, National Association and
MASTR Adjustable Rate Mortgages
Trust 2007-1, Mortgage Pass-Through
Certificates, Series-1); MORTGAGE
ELECTRONICS REGISTRATION
SERVICES, INC., a Delaware
corporation,
Defendants - Appellees.
Appeal from the United States District Court
for the Central District of California
George H. Wu, District Judge, Presiding
Argued and Submitted January 8, 2014
Pasadena, California
*
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent
except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3.
page 2
Before: KOZINSKI, Chief Judge, REINHARDT and CLIFTON, Circuit
Judges.
Although Plaintiff alleges that the Substitution of Trustee form designating
Power Default Services as trustee was a forgery, the Second Amended Complaint
(SAC) fails to plead critical elements of such a claim. “While legal conclusions
can provide the framework of a complaint, they must be supported by factual
allegations.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679 (2009). Without any claim that
the signatory lacked authority to sign the Substitution of Trustee form or that
Defendants acted with an intent to defraud, the SAC fails to go beyond “labels and
conclusions” and provide “[f]actual allegations . . . to raise a right to relief above
the speculative level.” Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555 (2007).
The SAC is Plaintiff’s fourth filing to raise claims challenging the validity of
the foreclosure. Because Plaintiff still falls short of stating a valid claim for relief,
the district court did not abuse its discretion in concluding that the complaint
cannot be saved by amendment and dismissing with prejudice. See Hearns v. San
Bernardino Police Dep’t., 530 F.3d 1124, 1129 (9th Cir. 2008).
AFFIRMED.