Guerpo
Guerpo v. Amresco Residential Mortgage Corp.
Opinion
Lead Opinion
MEMORANDUM *
Felicidad Guerpo (“Guerpo”) appeals the district court’s dismissal of her Truth in Lending Act (“TILA”) complaint against the original and subsequent holders of the mortgage on her house.
When Guerpo declared bankruptcy, her property became the property of the bankruptcy estate. 11 U.S.C. § 541 (a). This included “all legal or equitable interests of the debtor in property,” id. at § 541(a)(1), a phrase that has been interpreted to include causes of action, Sierra Switchboard Co. v. Westinghouse Elec. Corp., 789 F.2d 705 , 707 (9th Cir.1986), including TILA rescission claims, Rowland v. Novus Fin. Corp., 949 F.Supp. 1447, 1453 (D.Haw.1996). Thus, only the bankruptcy trustee could bring the TILA action, and the district court did not err in holding that Guerpo lacked statutory standing to sue. For the same reason, the district court did not err in denying Guerpo’s Motion to Alter and Amend the Judgment.
Nor did the district court err in refusing to give Guerpo a lengthier extension of time to cure the standing problem. To grant the second extension, the court would have had to issue a temporary restraining order (“TRO”) to prevent the sale at auction of Guerpo’s…