Abels v. JBC Legal Group, P.C.

227 F.R.D. 541, 2005 WL 1149787
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. California
DecidedMay 16, 2005
DocketNo. C04-02345JW(RS)
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 227 F.R.D. 541 (Abels v. JBC Legal Group, P.C.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. California primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Abels v. JBC Legal Group, P.C., 227 F.R.D. 541, 2005 WL 1149787 (N.D. Cal. 2005).

Opinion

ORDER GRANTING IN PART PLAINTIFF’S MOTION FOR CLASS CERTIFICATION AND STAYING CERTIFICATION OF PLAINTIFF’S § 17200 CLAIM

WARE, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff, Raymond Abels (“Plaintiff’ or “Abels”), brings this case as a class action against Defendant JBC Legal Group, RC. (“JBC”), a corporation, and Jack Boyajian, an individual (collectively “Defendants”) for violations of the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692 et seq. (“FDCPA”), California Civil Code § 1788 et. seq. (“CA FDCPA” or “Rosenthal Act”), and the California Business and Professional Code §§ 17200 et. seq (“17200”). Plaintiff moves to certify a plaintiff class:

i) consisting all persons with addresses within the State of California;
ii) who were sent one or more collection letters from Defendants in a form similar or identical to Plaintiffs Exhibits A or B;
iii) to recover dishonored check written for personal, family, or household purpose and which were not returned undelivered by the United States Postal Service.

(Motion 11111-2).

A hearing was held on March 28, 2004. For the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs motion for class certification is:

[543]*543GRANTED as to the FDCPA claim as it pertains to all Defendants;
GRANTED as to the CA FDCPA claim as it pertains to Defendant JBC only. DENIED as to the CA FDCPA claim as it pertains to Defendant Boyajian.
STAYED as to the § 17200 claim.

II. BACKGROUND

Plaintiff seeks class certification to assert violations of: Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692, California Civil Code § 1788, and California Business and Professional Code § 17200 et. seq. The FDCPA regulates the behavior of collection agencies attempting to collect a debt on behalf of another. The CA FDCPA regulates collection agencies and original creditors attempting to collect debts on behalf of another or on their own behalf. Section 17200 prohibits debt collectors from using false or misleading communications in an attempt to collect a debt. Plaintiff and the purported class seek actual damages, statutory damages, attorney’s fees, costs, and equitable relief pursuant to FDCPA, CA FDCPA, and § 17200. (Complaint 11111-2).

The alleged violations stem from Defendants’ written communications attempting to collect an alleged debt from Plaintiff, and all others similarly situated in California. Abels allegedly owed a consumer debt for a check that was returned in the year 1993, some 11 years ago. On April 24, 2004, Defendants sent two collection letters to Plaintiff. (Complaint 113). Plaintiff contends these letters were false, deceptive and misleading, and threatened to take action that cannot be taken or were not intended to be taken, and attempted to collect amounts not authorized by contract or law. (Motion HH 2-3). Plaintiff alleges that the proposed class could include 100,000 persons with addresses within the State of California between June 15, 2003 and June 15, 2004 and June 15, 2000 and June 15, 2004. (Motion 115).

Defendants do not oppose class certification of the FDCPA claim. However, Defendants oppose certification of the California Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“Rosenthal Act”) sub-class. Defendants contend that the plain language of the Rosenthal Act clearly states that remedies are only recoverable, procedurally, in an individual action. In addition, Defendants contend that the Rosenthal Act does not apply to lawyers or law firms. (Opposition 14). Defendants also oppose certification of the California Business and Professional Code § 17200 claim. Defendants contend that under California Proposition 64, the Lead Plaintiff does not have standing. (Opposition 11115-7). Lastly, the Defendants argue that this Court must deny Plaintiffs request for class certification under Rule 23(b)(2) because the requested declaratory relief does not “correspond” to any requested injunctive relief, and because monetary damages predominate. (Opposition 1116-19).

III. STANDARDS

Class certification is governed by Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Class actions are generally appropriate where standardized documents are at issue. Ingram v. Corporate Receivables, Inc., No. 02 C 6608, 2003 WL 21982152, 2003 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14389 (N.D.Ill, Aug. 19, 2003). Before a class action can be certified under Rule 23(a), Fed.R.Civ.P., four prerequisites must be satisfied:

(a) Prerequisites to a Class Action. One or more members of a class may sue or be sued as representative parties on behalf of all only if (1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable, (2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class, (3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class, and (4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

Plaintiff bears the burden of establishing these four requirements, which are often referred to as (1) numerosity, (2) commonality, (3) typicality, and (4) adequacy of representation. Hanon v. Dataproducts Corp., 976 F.2d 497, 508 (9th Cir.1992).

In addition to meeting the four prerequisites, the Court must find that the action satisfies one of the three conditions of Rule 23(b), Fed.R.Civ.P. In this case, Plaintiff requests certification pursuant to subdivision (b)(2) and (b)(3):

[544]*544An action may be maintained as a class action if the prerequisites of subdivision (a) are satisfied, and in addition:
(2) the party opposing the class has acted or refused to act on grounds generally applicable to the class, thereby, making appropriate final injunctive relief or corresponding declaratory relief with respect to the class as a whole ...
(3) the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only individuals members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of the controversy. The matters pertinent to the findings include: (A) the interest of members of the class in individually controlling the prosecution or defense of separate actions; (B) the extent and nature of any litigation concerning the controversy already commenced by or against members of the class; (C) the desirability or undesirability of concentrating the litigation of the claims in the particular forum; (D) the difficulties likely to be encountered in the management of a class action.

Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(b)(2) and (b)(3).

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
227 F.R.D. 541, 2005 WL 1149787, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/abels-v-jbc-legal-group-pc-cand-2005.