Unreported / Non-Citable
Background
In December 2024, unrepresented plaintiffs Leroy Fonteno and his daughter Jameisha Fonteno sued Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. and Quality Loan Service Corporation in state court, bringing claims arising from Wells Fargo's initiation of foreclosure proceedings. Wells Fargo removed the case to the Northern District of California in January 2025 based on diversity jurisdiction, and the Fontenos filed their First Amended Complaint in September 2025.
After the amended complaint was filed, Jameisha Fonteno submitted a declaration explaining that her father had died in July 2025. Wells Fargo responded by challenging Ms. Fonteno's standing to pursue the alleged claims and requested that the court issue an order to show cause as to whether she is the successor in interest of her father's estate. Ms. Fonteno replied with an additional declaration attaching Mr. Fonteno's will, which directs that his entire estate be distributed to her outright and free of trust.
Wells Fargo maintained that Ms. Fonteno lacks standing to pursue claims arising from the origination of the loan or the foreclosure of the property because she is not the original borrower, citing district court decisions holding that a plaintiff who is not a party to a mortgage loan cannot assert TILA, RESPA, ECOA, UCL, or fraud claims against a lender for improper disclosures.
The Court’s Holding
The court, in an order to show cause re: standing, recognized that California law provides an expansive survivorship framework under which a decedent's successor in interest may continue a pending action, citing Cal. Civ. Proc. Code § 377.31 and Ninth Circuit authority that claims should rarely abate for lack of a proper plaintiff. The court also noted that under federal RESPA regulations a confirmed successor in interest is considered a borrower, and it cited decisions allowing RESPA claims to proceed where plaintiffs sufficiently alleged successor-in-interest status.
The court explained that under California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.32, Ms. Fonteno must execute and file a declaration under penalty of perjury containing specific required statements: the decedent's name, the date and place of death, confirmation that no estate administration proceeding is pending in California, facts supporting her status as successor in interest, affirmation that no other person has a superior right to proceed, and a perjury affirmation. She must also attach a certified copy of the death certificate.
By November 18, 2026, the court ordered Ms. Fonteno to provide a declaration that meets the requirements of § 377.32 and thus establishes her standing to pursue Mr. Fonteno's claims as his successor in interest. The order is an order to show cause with a date-certain compliance directive, not a final ruling that she has standing.
Key Takeaways
- When a plaintiff dies during litigation, the court may issue an order to show cause requiring the would-be successor in interest to prove standing under California Code of Civil Procedure § 377.32's specific declaration requirements before the action may continue.
- The operative directive here carries a deadline: Ms. Fonteno must provide the § 377.32-compliant declaration by November 18, 2026.
- Federal RESPA regulations treat a confirmed successor in interest as a borrower, which can provide a pathway to pursue mortgage servicing claims even when the plaintiff was not the original borrower.
- A will directing distribution of the estate to a specific beneficiary is relevant but not sufficient by itself; the statutory declaration procedure, including a certified death certificate, must be followed.
- Courts in the Ninth Circuit have generally held that California's survivorship law is expansive and claims should rarely abate for lack of a proper plaintiff, but compliance with the formal declaration requirements remains necessary.
Why It Matters
This order to show cause illustrates the intersection of state survivorship law and federal mortgage servicing regulations in foreclosure litigation. It demonstrates that while California law broadly permits successors in interest to continue a decedent's claims, the court will require strict compliance with the statutory declaration requirements — on a set schedule — before recognizing standing.
The order also highlights how RESPA's confirmed-successor-in-interest regulation can provide a pathway for family members to pursue mortgage claims after a borrower's death, even when lenders challenge their standing as non-borrowers.