Katina Riggs-Degraftenreed v. Wells Fargo Home Mortgage , 676 F. App'x 613 ( 2017 )


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  •                   United States Court of Appeals
    For the Eighth Circuit
    ___________________________
    No. 16-1490
    ___________________________
    Katina Riggs-Degraftenreed
    lllllllllllllllllllll Plaintiff - Appellant
    v.
    Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Inc.; Wells Fargo Bank N.A.; Wilson & Associates, PLLC
    lllllllllllllllllllll Defendants - Appellees
    ____________
    Appeal from United States District Court
    for the Eastern District of Arkansas - Little Rock
    ____________
    Submitted: February 7, 2017
    Filed: February 14, 2017
    [Unpublished]
    ____________
    Before COLLOTON, MURPHY, and GRUENDER, Circuit Judges.
    ____________
    PER CURIAM.
    Following entry of final judgment in her removed civil action, Katina
    Riggs-Degraftenreed appeals the district court’s1 dismissal of her state-law claims of
    1
    The Honorable D.P. Marshall, Jr., United States District Judge for the Eastern
    District of Arkansas.
    fraud and conversion, which arose from communications surrounding the anticipated
    foreclosure of her home mortgage. We review de novo, see Plymouth Cty. v.
    Merscorp, Inc., 
    774 F.3d 1155
    , 1158 (8th Cir. 2014), and we agree with the district
    court that Arkansas law precluded Riggs-Degraftenreed from bringing a conversion
    action on a promissory note that she signed. See Ark. Code Ann. §§ 4-3-420(a),
    -105(c), -103(a)(6). Considering the allegations in and exhibits appended to all of her
    complaints,2 we are of the opinion that, even assuming the inclusion of the November
    4 and 23, 2009 letters from Wilson & Associates satisfied Fed. R. Civ. P. 9(b), Riggs-
    Degraftenreed failed to state a prima facie case of fraud against either their sender or
    its principal (the Wells Fargo defendants). See Curtis Lumber Co. v. La. Pac. Corp.,
    
    618 F.3d 762
    , 772 (8th Cir. 2010) (in Arkansas, fraud requires: “(1) a false
    representation of material fact; (2) knowledge that the representation is false or that
    there is insufficient evidence upon which to make the representation; (3) intent to
    induce action or inaction in reliance upon the representation; (4) justifiable reliance
    on the representation; and (5) damage suffered as a result of the reliance.” (quoting
    Goforth v. Smith, 
    991 S.W.2d 579
    , 586 (Ark. 1999)).
    Her complaints failed to show how she was damaged by the November 4 letter.
    See Tyson Foods, Inc. v. Davis, 
    66 S.W.3d 568
    , 577 (Ark. 2002). As to the
    November 23 missive, we fail to see how the provision of an itemized accounting of
    foreclosure-related expenses—which Riggs-Degraftenreed had the opportunity to
    question or contest prior to payment—would constitute fraud, in the absence of
    allegations that defendants had knowledge of the alleged inaccuracies to which she,
    herself, did not also have access. See Brookside Vill. Mobile Homes v. Meyers, 
    782 S.W.2d 365
    , 367 (Ark. 1990) (“The burden of proving fraud requires not only a
    showing that the [plaintiff] was without knowledge of the facts, but also that the
    2
    Contrary to appellees’ assertions, our review is not limited to the face of the
    Fourth Amended Complaint, because this complaint successfully incorporated each
    of the prior complaints by reference, as permitted under Ark. R. Civ. P. 10(c), prior
    to the action’s removal to federal court.
    -2-
    ascertainment of the undisclosed fact was not within the reach of the [plaintiff]’s
    diligent attention or observation.”).
    Accordingly, we affirm. See 8th Cir. R. 47B.
    ______________________________
    -3-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 16-1490

Citation Numbers: 676 F. App'x 613

Judges: Colloton, Murphy, Gruender

Filed Date: 2/14/2017

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 10/19/2024