Collins v. Erin Capital Management, LLC

290 F.R.D. 689, 2013 WL 1164026, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39348
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedMarch 21, 2013
DocketNo. 12-22839-CIV
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 290 F.R.D. 689 (Collins v. Erin Capital Management, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Collins v. Erin Capital Management, LLC, 290 F.R.D. 689, 2013 WL 1164026, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39348 (S.D. Fla. 2013).

Opinion

ORDER

CECILIA M. ALTONAGA, District Judge.

THIS CAUSE came before the Court on Plaintiff, Willie Collins’s (“Collins[’s]”) Motion for Class Certification (“Motion”) [ECF No. 43], filed on February 6, 2013. Defendant, Erin Capital Management, LLC (“Erin Capital”), filed its Response in Opposition to Plaintiffs Motion for Class Certification (“Response”) [ECF No. 44] on February 25, 2013, and Collins filed his Reply [ECF No. 45] on March 7, 2013. The Court has carefully considered the parties’ written submissions, oral arguments presented on March 12, 2013, and applicable law.

I. BACKGROUND

This case involves alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. sections 1692-1692p (“FDCPA”), committed by Erin Capital. Collins alleges Erin Capital failed to register with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation before collecting, or attempting to collect debts from consumers as required by the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, sections 559.55-559.785, Florida Statutes (2011) (“FCCPA”). (See Am. Compl. ¶ 1 [ECF No. 19]). Erin Capital is a New York debt collector that purchases defaulted-upon credit card debts and attempts to collect the delinquent debts from Florida consumers. (See id. ¶¶ 4, 7-8). Collins resides in Orange County, Florida. (See id. ¶ 4).

Erin Capital sought to collect a debt from Collins arising from his use of a Citibank Mastercard credit card (“Citibank Master-card”) issued to Collins. (See id. ¶ 10). Collins used the Citibank Mastercard for “personal, family or household purposes, including but not limited to, the purchase of such things as clothes, groceries, personal gifts, and travel-related expenses.” (Id). On October 5, 2011, Erin Capital initiated a garnishment proceeding against Collins in pursuit of an alleged debt of $6,169.53 (see id. ¶ 12), and succeeded in garnishing Collins’s wages through the state court (see id. ¶ 17). Erin Capital subsequently registered itself as a consumer collection agency with the Florida Office of Financial Regulation on August 27, 2012. (See id. ¶ 14).

Collins filed his original Complaint [ECF No. 1] on August 4, 2012 and the Amended Complaint on October 4, 2012. The Amended Complaint contains two counts alleging: (1) violations of 15 U.S.C. section 1692e (“Count I”), and (2) entitlement to restitution (“Count II”).1 (See id. ¶¶ 29-30, 31-36). Count I alleges Erin Capital’s failure to obtain a consumer debt collection license as mandated by the FCCPA, while actively engaged in debt collection in the State of Florida, violates various provisions of the FDCPA including 15 U.S.C. sections 1692e, 1692e(2), 1692e(5), and 1692e(10). (See id. ¶ 30). Collins asserts he has suffered actual damages “as a direct result of the unlawful garnishment.” (Id. ¶ 19). Collins requests statutory damages, actual damages, litigation expenses, and costs of the present action in connection with Count I. (See id. 10). Pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, Collins also seeks to certify a class consisting ch.

(i) all persons (ii) whom were the subject of collection activity from [Erin Capital] (iii) in an attempt to collect a debt incurred for personal, family, or household purposes (iv) who incurred actual damages in the form of direct, indirect, voluntary, or involuntary payment arising from or attributable to [Erin Capitales collection efforts (v) during the one year period prior to the filing of the original writ of garnishment in this action through the date of certification.

[693]*693{Id. ¶ 20). Erin Capital opposes certification of this class on several grounds addressed below.

II. LEGAL STANDARD

“The class action is ‘an exception to the usual rule that litigation is conducted by and on behalf of the individual named parties only.’ ” Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. v. Dukes, __U.S.__, 131 S.Ct. 2541, 2550, 180 L.Ed.2d 374 (2011) (quoting Califano v. Yamasaki, 442 U.S. 682, 700-01, 99 S.Ct. 2545, 61 L.Ed.2d 176 (1979)). “Questions concerning class certification are left to the sound discretion of the district court.” Cooper v. Southern Co., 390 F.3d 695, 711 (11th Cir.2004) (citing Armstrong v. Martin Marietta Corp., 138 F.3d 1374, 1386 (11th Cir.1998)), overruled on other grounds by Ash v. Tyson Foods, Inc., 546 U.S. 454, 457, 126 S.Ct. 1195, 163 L.Ed.2d 1053 (2006). With this “great power comes great responsibility; the awesome power of a district court must be ‘exercised within the framework of [Federal Rule of Civil Procedure] 23.’ ” Klay v. Humana, Inc., 382 F.3d 1241, 1251 (11th Cir.2004) (quoting Castano v. Am. Tobacco Co., 84 F.3d 734, 740 (5th Cir.1996)). Thus, to be entitled to class certification, the party seeking certification must have standing and meet each of the requirements specified in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a), as well as the requirements of at least one subsection of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(b). See Klay, 382 F.3d at 1250.

Rule 23(a) “ensures that the named plaintiffs are appropriate representatives of the class whose claims they wish to litigate.” Wal-Mart, 131 S.Ct. at 2550. Under Rule 23(a), the party seeking class certification has the burden of showing that the four requirements of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation are satisfied. See Vega v. T-Mobile USA, Inc., 564 F.3d 1256, 1265 (11th Cir.2009). Rule 23(a) provides one or more members of a class may sue as representative on behalf of all members 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.

Fed.R.CivP. 23(a).

The class must also satisfy one of the three additional requirements of Rule 23(b). Collins asserts a class is appropriate under Rules 23(b)(2) and 23(b)(3).

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Bluebook (online)
290 F.R.D. 689, 2013 WL 1164026, 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 39348, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/collins-v-erin-capital-management-llc-flsd-2013.