MEMORANDUM DECISION AND ORDER Before the Court is the defendant’s motion to dismiss. For the reasons explained below, the motion is granted. The plaintiffs, who are mother and daughter, bring this lawsuit against Teresa’s sister Shirley Lessane, asserting claims of fraud, breach of contract, and loss of personal property. The plaintiffs allege that Teresa and the defendant co-owned residential property located at 156 MacDonough Street in Brooklyn, New York and that the defendant sold the house without Teresa’s consent, and then unlawfully evicted the plaintiffs from the house and damaged their personal property.1 Teresa previously brought claims against the defendant in New York state court and in this district, premised on the same underlying facts as this case. In the earlier actions, Teresa alleged that she was a tenant of 156 MacDonough Street; in this action, she claims that she was an owner of that property. BACKGROUND I. Factual Background The plaintiffs allege that “over 40 years ago,” Teresa and the defendant purchased the property at 156 MacDonough Street and refinanced their mortgage five years later. At that point, Teresa’s name was removed from the deed. (ECF No. 12 at 2.) The plaintiffs lived on the top floor of the property, and the defendant lived on the lower floor. (Id.) In May 2018, the plaintiffs discovered that someone had changed the locks and moved their personal belongings, including furniture, clothing, and electronics, to a storage facility in New Jersey. (Id. at 3.)2 The defendant sold the house for $1.7 million and did not give Teresa any of the proceeds from the sale. (Id. at 4.) II. Previous State and Federal Court Actions In June 2018, Teresa brought a lawsuit in the Civil Court of the City of New York, Kings County, and made different claims arising out of the same set of facts against the defendant. (ECF No. 15-2 (State Action Petition).) The plaintiff claimed that the defendant “unlawfully withheld possession” of the 156 MacDonough Street property from her. She sought treble damages pursuant to New York Real Property Actions & Proceedings Law (“RPAPL”) §853. (Id.) In a sworn affidavit dated July 5, 2018, Teresa stated that she was a tenant of 156 MacDonough Street (ECF No. 15-5
1, 15 (State Action Affidavit)), that she lived at the house with her daughter and grandchild (id.
