Guzzo v. Mason McDuffie Mortgage Co.

Background

The court had previously allowed Libby Guzzo to file a proposed First Amended Complaint and directed her to file it by March 8, 2024. The court had deferred ruling on Guzzo’s motion to remand the removed case to state court. That motion was based on Guzzo’s plan to remove her claim under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act from the proposed amended complaint. That federal claim was the basis for federal jurisdiction.

Guzzo did not file the proposed amended complaint. As a result, the original complaint remained the operative pleading. The original complaint remained pending against Adam Rosen and included the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act claim. The opinion also states that Newfi Lending and Greenbox Loans, Inc. had been voluntarily dismissed earlier, but it does not provide the completed discussion of Mason McDuffie Mortgage Co.’s motion to dismiss.

Rulings

The court denied Guzzo’s motion to remand. Because the original complaint still included a federal claim, the court did not send the case back to state court.

The court did not dismiss the federal claim in this order. Instead, it directed Guzzo to show cause in writing, by April 12, 2024, and in no more than five pages, why the claim under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act should not be dismissed without leave to amend. The court noted that Guzzo alleged Rosen violated the Act by appropriating, mishandling, and transmitting her personal information. It also noted that several courts had concluded that the Act provides no private right of action and that the court had found no authority reaching the opposite conclusion.

The court continued the case-management conference from April 26, 2024, to May 31, 2024, at 10:30 a.m., and required a joint case-management statement by May 24, 2024.