Abramov v. I.C. System, Inc.

54 F. Supp. 3d 270, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146284, 2014 WL 5147549
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedOctober 14, 2014
DocketNo. 14-cv-4000 (ADS)(ARL)
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 54 F. Supp. 3d 270 (Abramov v. I.C. System, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Abramov v. I.C. System, Inc., 54 F. Supp. 3d 270, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146284, 2014 WL 5147549 (E.D.N.Y. 2014).

Opinion

DECISION AND ORDER

SPATT, District Judge.

On June 26, 2014, the Plaintiff Elman Abramov (the “Plaintiff”) brought this class action lawsuit on behalf of himself and a proposed nationwide class seeking redress for certain actions taken by the Defendants I.C. System, Inc. (“I.C. System”) and John Does 1-25 (collectively the “Defendants”) allegedly in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. (the “FDCPA”).

“The FDCPA imposes liability on ‘debt collectors’ for certain prohibited debt collection practices.” Abrahmov v. Fid. Info. Corp., No. 12-CV-3453 (NGG)(SMG), 2013 WL 5352473, at *2 (E.D.N.Y. Sept. 23, 2013) (citation omitted). Congress enacted the FDCPA “with the aim of eliminating abusive practices in the debt collection industry, and also sought to ensure that ‘those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged.’ ” Jacobson v. Healthcare Fin. Servs., Inc., 516 F.3d 85, 89 (2d Cir.2008) (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 1692e).

To state a claim under the FDCPA, a plaintiff must satisfy the following threshold requirements: “(1) [t]he plaintiff must be a ‘consumer;’ (2) the defendant [273]*273must be a ‘debt collector;’ and (3) • the defendant must'have committed some act or omission in violation of the FDCPA.” Abrahmov, 2013 WL 5352473, at *2 (citation omitted); accord Suquilanda v. Cohen & Slamowitz, LLP, No. 10-CV-5868 (PEC), 2011 WL 4344044, at *6 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 8, 2011).

By way of background, on May 26, 2014, I.C. System — a company that operates with the alleged principal purpose of collecting debts alleged to be due another— caused to be delivered to the Plaintiff a letter (the “Letter”) in an attempt to collect an alleged obligation owed to a third party, AT & T, by the Plaintiff. On the front of the letter, the following notice was provided, in relevant part:

NOTICE
Unless you notify this office within 30 days after receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will assume this debt is valid. If you notify this office in writing within 30 days from receiving this notice that you dispute the validity of this debt or any portion thereof, this office will obtain verification of the debt or obtain a copy of a judgment and mail you a copy of such judgment or verification. If you request of this office in writing within 30 days after receiving this notice this office will provide you with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor.
If you feel you are or have been a victim of Theft of Identity, please follow the instructions above to dispute the debt to us in writing within 30 days of this notice and please call AT & T at 1-866-718-2011.

(Montoya Deck, Exh. B).

The Plaintiff alleges violations on the part of the Defendants of the provisions of 15 U.S.C. § 1692e and 1692g.

On August 19, 2014, I.C. System moved pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ.P.”) 12(b)(6) to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted.

On August 28, 2014, I.C. System served the Plaintiff with a Rule 68 Offer of Judgment, which provided as follows:

Pursuant to Fed.R.Civ.P. 68, defendant I.C. System, Inc. hereby offers to allow judgment to be taken against it in this action as to the individual Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) claim of plaintiff Elman Abramov in the amount of (a) One Thousand Five Hundred and One Dollars ($1,501.00) payable to Elman Abramov plus (b) reasonable attorney’s fees and costs to be determined by the Court, payable to Elman Abramov for the benefit of all attorneys in this matter, including counsel of record. Any judgment entered pursuant to this offer will be in full satisfaction of the plaintiffs individual claims under the FDCPA for damages, costs, and attorney’s fees in this action. See Compl. [Dkt. # 1], ¶¶ 39-47.
If this Offer of Judgment is not accepted in writing within fourteen (14) days after its services, it shall be deemed withdrawn.

(The Pi’s Exh. C.)

That day, the Plaintiffs counsel e-mailed I.C. System’s counsel advising that “said Offer is improper at this time and therefore Plaintiff can neither accept nor reject said Offer.” (Pi’s Exh. D.) The Plaintiff also contended that an Offer of Judgment could not moot a putative class action absent undue delay in the filing of a motion for class certification.

On September 10, 2014, the Plaintiff filed a memorandum in opposition to the [274]*274motion to dismiss, arguing that (1) I.C. System’s Offer of Judgment mooted the motion to dismiss because I.C. System did not expressly dispute liability and that, in any event, (2) the Plaintiff stated a claim under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e, 1692g.

I. DISCUSSION

A. The Effect of the Rule 68 Offer of Judgment

Rule 68 allows a defendant to “serve on an opposing party an offer to allow judgment on specified terms .... ” Fed. R.Civ.P. 68(a). If, within fourteen days of service, the opposing party accepts the offer, “either party may then file the offer and notice of acceptance ... [and] [t]he clerk must then enter judgment.” Fed. R.Civ.P. 68(a). However, where the opposing party does not accept the offer, “[i]f the judgment that the offeree finally obtains is not more favorable than the unaccepted offer, the offeree must pay the costs incurred after the offer was made.” Fed.R.Civ.P. 68(d). The rule is intended “to encourage settlement and avoid litigation.” Marek v. Chesny, 473 U.S. 1, 5, 105 S.Ct. 3012, 87 L.Ed.2d 1 (1985).

However, the Court finds that nothing in the language of Fed.R.Civ.P. 68 precludes a defendant from simultaneously offering the plaintiff full relief and also moving to dismiss the plaintiffs claims, notwithstanding any contradiction in such a litigation strategy.

Further, the cases relied upon by the Plaintiff do not hold to the contrary. For example, in Stanczyk v. City of New York, 752 F.3d 273

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Bluebook (online)
54 F. Supp. 3d 270, 2014 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 146284, 2014 WL 5147549, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/abramov-v-ic-system-inc-nyed-2014.