Foreclosure – Abstention Doctrine

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Daniel Loughran, et al., v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al.,

Case No.: 19-3530

Officials: EASTERBROOK, WOOD, and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Foreclosure – Abstention Doctrine

Daniel and Margaret Loughran defaulted on their home mortgage in 2011. In the ensuing foreclosure litigation, the Loughrans have not contested that they are in default. Instead, they have pursued a series of procedural delay tactics, as a result of which they remain in possession of their home despite not having made a mortgage payment in nine years.

This case concerns one of the Loughrans’ many maneuvers. In January 2019, after their state‐court foreclosure litigation was already over seven years old, the Loughrans accused U.S. Bank and its counsel of committing fraud in the course of those proceedings. In May 2019, sensing that their fraud claim was going nowhere, the Loughrans tried their luck in federal court, with a complaint that copied and pasted large swaths of text from their state‐court filings. Citing the doctrine first announced in Colorado River Water Conservation District v. United States, 424 U.S. 800 (1976), and noting the practical identity between the federal and state actions, the district court stayed the federal proceedings. The Loughrans have appealed that decision, which we now affirm.

Affirmed
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Derek A Hawkins is Corporate Counsel, at Salesforce.