Zambrano
Zambrano v. Ocwen Loan Servicing CA2/1
Opinion
Opinion
FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS BELOW
Because “[a] demurrer tests the legal sufficiency of the challenged pleading,” “[w]e accept as true all material facts properly pleaded in the complaint.” (Brown v. Los Angeles Unified School Dist. (2021) 60 Cal.App.5th 1092, 1103.) Accordingly, the following factual background summary is based solely on the properly pleaded allegations in the FAC, which we accept as true for the purposes of our demurrer analysis.
A. Alleged Factual Basis for Claims In 2005, Zambrano obtained a $325,600 loan payable over 30 years, secured by a deed of trust against his home. That loan contained an “adjustable rate rider,” which, after one year, allowed the interest rate on the loan to fluctuate within a certain range every six months.1 The loan also contained an “interest-only addendum” that permitted Zambrano to make no payments on the principal of the loan for the first five years. Thus, during this initial five-year period, Zambrano’s minimum monthly payment on the loan would be the monthly interest due at the applicable (potentially fluctuating) interest rate. The addendum also permitted voluntary payments of principal. After the five-year interest-only