Plaintiff Regions Bank d/b/a Regions Funding voluntarily dismissed without prejudice the following defendants from its complaint:
James Cergol, August 20, 2007; and
Samuel Burnett, October 1, 2007;
The court ordered dismissal of the following defendants based on a lack of personal jurisdiction:
Rick Goldie- according to the Order, "Mr. Goldie is a citizen of Ohio. According to Plaintiff Regions Bank, et al., Mr. Goldie is the trustee of Goldenrod Trust, which sold property to Mr. Groves and received money from Best Title and Mr. Groves. That money is alleged to have been wired to Mr. Groves and Best Title by Plaintiff in response to Groves Funding’s fraudulent loan applications, and then passed on to Mr. Goldie. Subsection (3) is not satisfied. Plaintiff has not alleged anything that would likely satisfy due process, much less the Georgia long-arm statute. Mr. Goldie did not do or solicit business in Georgia, or engage in any persistent course of conduct here, or derive any revenue from goods or services rendered in Georgia. Mr. Goldie is the named trustee of an Ohio trust that received money that at one time belonged to Plaintiff in Georgia. He did not reach out to Georgia, or purposely avail himself of Georgia, or, so far as the court can tell, have any connection to Georgia at all. Therefore, Plaintiff’s claims against Mr. Goldie are dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction."
Susan Lynch- according to the Order, "Ms. Lynch is a citizen of Florida. Plaintiff has described Susan Lynch as the ex-wife of Timothy Lynch, owner of Pyramid II, which is a business purchased by Mr. Groves with money allegedly belonging to Plaintiff. Ms. Lynch, according to Plaintiff, may currently be a partial owner of the business. Even assuming that Ms. Lynch maintains her ownership of the business, the court still finds that it does not have personal jurisdiction over her. Ms. Lynch did not do or solicit business in Georgia, or engage in any persistent course of conduct here, or derive any revenue from goods or services rendered in Georgia. At most, Ms. Lynch was a partial owner of a Florida company that was purchased by an Ohio citizen (Mr. Groves) with money that originated in Georgia. That connection does not satisfy the requirements of constitutional due process, much less the Georgia long-arm statute. Therefore, Plaintiff’s claims against Ms. Lynch are dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction."
Timothy Lynch- according to the Order, "Mr. Lynch is a citizen of Florida. He owns Pyramid II, a Florida business acquired by Mr. Groves, allegedly using Plaintiff’s money. According to Plaintiff, Mr. Lynch received Plaintiff’s money, by way of Mr. Groves, to cover the purchase price of his company, and then later lent Mr. Groves money that Mr. Groves subsequently returned to Plaintiff by way of Best Title. Subsection (3) is not satisfied, because he did not do or solicit business in Georgia, or engage in any persistent course of conduct here, or derive any revenue from goods or services rendered in Georgia. The court cannot find any contact that Mr. Lynch might have had with Georgia. Therefore, Plaintiff’s claims against Mr. Lynch are dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction."
Pyramid II and Pyramid America- according to the Order, "Pyramid II and Pyramid America are Florida entities. Plaintiff has not alleged any reason that this court has jurisdiction over either company, aside from its description of Mr. Lynch’s and Ms. Lynch’s involvement in this alleged conspiracy. Therefore, for the same reasons as pertain to this court’s lack of jurisdiction over Mr. Lynch, Plaintiff’s claims against Pyramid II and Pyramid America are dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction."
Jackie Tucker- according to the Order, "Plaintiff has conceded that this court does not have jurisdiction over Ms. Tucker. Therefore, as noted during the hearing, Plaintiff’s claims against Ms. Tucker are dismissed without prejudice for lack of personal jurisdiction."


Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors.