Pierre Andre Basson v. Mortgage Electric Registration Systems, Inc. ( 2018 )


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  •                Case: 18-12110   Date Filed: 11/02/2018   Page: 1 of 4
    [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    ________________________
    No. 18-12110
    Non-Argument Calendar
    ________________________
    D.C. Docket No. 2:17-cv-00180-RWS
    PIERRE ANDRE BASSON,
    Plaintiff - Appellant,
    versus
    MORTGAGE ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION SYSTEMS, INC.,
    CITIMORTGAGE, INC.,
    FEDERAL NATIONAL MORTGAGE ASSOCIATION,
    Defendants - Appellees.
    ________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Northern District of Georgia
    ________________________
    (November 2, 2018)
    Before MARCUS, WILLIAM PRYOR and GRANT, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:
    Pierre Andre Basson, proceeding pro se, appeals the dismissal of his
    complaint for quiet title, fraud, and emergency temporary restraining order under
    Case: 18-12110    Date Filed: 11/02/2018   Page: 2 of 4
    Georgia law for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted. The
    complaint was before the district court based on diversity jurisdiction after notice
    of removal. The only issue Basson raises on appeal is whether the district court
    erred in failing to convert the appellees’ motions to dismiss into motions for
    summary judgment when the district court considered documents attached to one
    of the motions to dismiss. After thorough review, we affirm.
    We review de novo whether a district court was required to convert a motion
    to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment. Cf. SFM Holdings, Ltd. v. Banc
    of Am. Sec., LLC, 
    600 F.3d 1334
    , 1336-37 (11th Cir. 2010).
    Typically, a motion to dismiss must be converted into a motion for summary
    judgment when a district court considers matters outside the pleadings. Fed. R.
    Civ. P. 12(d); Day v. Taylor, 
    400 F.3d 1272
    , 1275-76 (11th Cir. 2005). However,
    the district court may always consider exhibits attached to the complaint on a
    12(b)(6) motion, because exhibits are part of the pleadings. Fed. R. Civ. P. 10(c);
    Thaeter v. Palm Beach Cty. Sheriff’s Office, 
    449 F.3d 1342
    , 1352 (11th Cir. 2006).
    The district court may also consider documents referenced in the complaint,
    even if they are not physically attached, if the documents are (1) central to the
    complaint and (2) no party questions their authenticity. 
    Day, 400 F.3d at 1276
    .
    We have held that a document is central to a complaint when it is a “necessary part
    of [the plaintiff’s] effort to make out a claim.” 
    Id. When a
    defendant attaches
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    Case: 18-12110     Date Filed: 11/02/2018   Page: 3 of 4
    documents that meet this standard to a motion to dismiss, the court may consider
    the documents without converting the motion to dismiss into a motion for
    summary judgment. See 
    id. at 1275-76.
    Here, the two security deed assignments attached to the defendants’ motion
    to dismiss are identical to the two assignments attached to Basson’s complaint.
    Because documents attached to the complaint are part of the pleadings, the district
    court properly considered the security deed assignments on a motion to dismiss.
    The defendants also attached the original security deed executed by Basson
    to their motion to dismiss. Although Basson did not attach this document to his
    complaint, he referenced it within the complaint, and the security deed is central to
    the complaint. As the record reveals, the terms of the original security deed are
    necessary to determine Basson’s rights to quiet title and to prove his claim that the
    deed was fraudulently assigned. Further, Basson alleged a violation of the terms of
    the security deed in his request to enjoin the foreclosure of his home. And Basson
    has never disputed the authenticity of the original security deed. On this record,
    the district court properly considered the security deed without converting the
    motion to dismiss into a motion for summary judgment.
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    Case: 18-12110    Date Filed: 11/02/2018   Page: 4 of 4
    In short, the district court did not reach outside the four corners of the
    complaint when it reviewed the documents attached to the motion to dismiss.
    Accordingly, we affirm the district court’s dismissal of Basson’s complaint.
    AFFIRMED.
    4