After a former homeowner brought suit in federal court in New Jersey against the chief executive officer of a national mortgage lender, Goldberg Segalla attorneys John M. McConnell and Matthew E. Selmasska succeeded in having the case dismissed in its entirety.

In this matter, the plaintiff lost title to a home following a 2017 proceeding in the Superior Court of New Jersey. The lawsuit against the lender’s CEO was the plaintiff’s attempt to recover the property, which was later foreclosed upon.

John and Matt made short work of the plaintiff’s complaint, filing a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim, arguing that the plaintiff’s claims against our client did not have sufficient factual predicates and—even if they did—no possible set of facts would entitle the plaintiff to relief against our client as a matter of law. They also argued that the plaintiff’s claims were barred under the Rooker-Feldman doctrine, which strips federal trial courts of jurisdiction over controversies that are essentially appeals from state court judgments.

In a 13-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty agreed with Goldberg Segalla’s arguments and entered a dismissal with prejudice, finding that under no set of facts could the plaintiff state a plausible claim for relief as a matter of law. In dismissing the claims, the court also declined to grant the plaintiff leave to amend his complaint, reasoning that any future amendment would be futile.

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John M. McConnell is a partner in Goldberg Segalla’s Princeton office, a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Arbitration leadership, and a member of the Civil Litigation and Trial leadership.

Matthew E. Selmasska is an associate in Goldberg Segalla’s Philadelphia office and is a member of the firm’s Commercial Litigation and Arbitration group where he concentrates his practice on business and commercial litigation.