This case arises out of foreclosure proceedings instituted by U. S. Bank, N.A. against the residence owned by Otis Wayne Phillips. Phillips filed suit seeking damages and an injunction to prevent foreclosure, alleging that U. S. Bank had failed to properly evaluate his request for a loan modification under the federal Home Affordable Modification Program “HAMP”. Specifically, Phillips’s complaint set forth claims for third-party beneficiary breach of contract; breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing; negligent implementation of HAMP; and wrongful attempted foreclosure. U.S. Bank filed a motion to dismiss Phillips’s claims, arguing that he failed to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. The trial court denied U. S. Bank’s motion.
We granted U. S. Bank’s application for interlocutory appeal to consider the propriety of the trial court’s order. The instant appeal ensued. U. S. Bank contends that dismissal of the complaint was required as a matter of law since Phillips was not a third-party beneficiary to the HAMP contract between U. S. Bank and the federal government; HAMP does not provide a private right of action to Phillips; and Phillips’s claims failed to set forth viable causes of action. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the dismissal as to the claims for third-party beneficiary breach of contract, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, and negligent implementation of HAMP. We vacate the trial court’s decision as to the claim for wrongful attempted foreclosure and remand this case pending the Georgia Supreme Court’s issuance of a decision in You v. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N. A., Case No. S13Q0040 docketed Sept. 13, 2012. Accordingly, the trial court’s decision is reversed in part and vacated in part, and this case is remanded with direction.
