Leonard W. Houston v. Wells Fargo
- Clarke
- 7:24-cv-07637
- U.S. District Court · Southern District of New York
- 2
In Leonard W. Houston v. Wells Fargo, Judge Clarke denied Houston’s motion to reopen and related sanctions request because evidence did not link the fees to this case.
Leonard W. Houston and Wells Fargo; the order also directed the Clerk of Court to terminate ECF No. 31.
What happened
Leonard W. Houston voluntarily dismissed his case against Wells Fargo, and the court closed it on June 18, 2025. He later asked the court to reopen the case, saying Wells Fargo had charged him attorneys’ fees in this lawsuit.
Wells Fargo opposed the request. Its employee, Rick Penno, stated that the fees added to Houston’s mortgage account were authorized by the mortgage terms and came from a related foreclosure lawsuit based on default, not from this case. The court found no evidence connecting the fees to this lawsuit.
The court denied the motion to reopen and also denied the motion to the extent it sought sanctions. Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke directed the Clerk of Court to terminate the motion from the docket.
The detailed version
- Leonard W. Houston v. Wells Fargo · No. 7:24-cv-07637
- Clarke
- Oct. 30, 2025
Background
The court had closed Leonard W. Houston’s case on June 18, 2025, after Houston filed a notice voluntarily dismissing it under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(1)(A)(i). On September 24, 2025, Houston moved to reopen the case under Rule 60(b), asserting that Wells Fargo had assessed attorneys’ fees against him in this action.
Rule 60(b) Standard
Rule 60(b) allows a district court to relieve a party from a final judgment, order, or proceeding in specified circumstances or for another reason that justifies relief. The court explained that such relief is discretionary and generally requires exceptional circumstances, highly convincing evidence, good cause for not acting sooner, and no undue hardship to the opposing party.
Court’s Analysis
The court found that Houston had not submitted convincing evidence supporting reopening. An affidavit from Rick Penno, identified as a Vice President of Loan Documentation for Wells Fargo, stated that the attorneys’ fees added to Houston’s mortgage account were unrelated to this case, were expressly contemplated by the mortgage terms, and arose from a related foreclosure lawsuit based on default. The court found no evidence that the fees came from the present action.
Disposition
The court denied the motion to reopen. It also denied the motion to the extent Houston sought sanctions, for the same reasons. Judge Jessica G. L. Clarke directed the Clerk of Court to terminate ECF No. 31.
Read the full 2-page opinion on CourtListener, the free public archive maintained by the Free Law Project.