Edwards v. McCormick

196 F.R.D. 487, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16219, 2000 WL 1634073
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Ohio
DecidedOctober 31, 2000
DocketNo. C2-99-1343
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 196 F.R.D. 487 (Edwards v. McCormick) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Ohio primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Edwards v. McCormick, 196 F.R.D. 487, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16219, 2000 WL 1634073 (S.D. Ohio 2000).

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER DENYING CLASS CERTIFICATION

MARBLEY, District Judge.

This matter comes before the Court on Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification, filed pursuant to Federal Rules of Civil Procedure 23(a) and 23(b)(2), and Defendant’s Motion in Opposition to Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification.1 Plaintiffs seek to certify a class defined as: all consumers who have received or will receive, at any time on or after December 13, 1997, from Defendant Jack E. McCormick, a communication to collect on debts owed for medical care. For the following reasons, the Court DENIES Plaintiffs’ Motion for Class Certification.

I. Causes of Action Asserted

Plaintiffs bring this action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 (“FDCPA”), and Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act, Ohio Rev.Code § 1345.01 (“OCSPA”). Plaintiff Ruth Edwards is acting on her own behalf and on behalf of the estate of her deceased spouse, Thomas C. Edwards. Plaintiff Edwards also seeks to represent a putative class of plaintiffs.

Plaintiff Edwards alleges that Mr. McCormick violated the FDCPA and the OCSPA:

(1) by threatening to take action that could not legally be taken, or that was not intended to be taken, in connection with the collection of debts, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(5); (2) by using false representations and deceptive means to attempt to collect a judgement, in violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(10); and (3) by taking judgment against Plaintiff Edwards for medical goods and services provided to Mr. Edwards since the judgment is not authorized by any agreement or permitted by law. Plaintiff Edwards further alleges that Mr. McCormick acted as a “supplier” as defined by the OCSPA and knowingly committed unfair, deceptive, and unconscionable acts and/or practices in violation of the OCS-PA. Ohio Rev.Code § 1345.09.

Defendant McCormick asserts that the letter with the alleged misrepresentations,2 was sent to the Edwards family due to human error, and that such illegal letters were sent to no additional persons. Mr. McCormick interposes the bona fide error defense embodied in § 1692k(c) of the FDCPA with [490]*490respect to Plaintiffs’ individual claims. He also contends that the uniqueness of his mistake means that Plaintiffs’ putative class is phantom.

II. Factual Background

Prior to his death, Mr. Edwards received medical treatment from the physicians and health care personnel of Hocking Valley. On June 29, 1998, his outstanding balance was $7,058.88. Through Physicians Credit Bureau, Hocking Valley contracted with Mr. McCormick to collect this debt from Mr. Edwards. On August 27, 1998, Physicians Credit Bureau referred to Mr. McCormick an account in the amount of $4,069.81 owed by Mr. and Mrs. Edwards to Hocking Valley. Treatment rendered to Mrs. Edwards accounted for $997.42 of this unpaid bill.

Mr. McCormick consolidated these two accounts and, on October 19, 1998, initiated a legal action against Plaintiffs seeking $11,128.69 for medical services and goods supplied on credit by Hocking Valley to Mr. and Mrs. Edwards. On or about December 14, 1998, a judgement lien was filed in the Hocking County Court of Common Pleas in favor of Hocking Valley, creating a lien on all the Edwards’s real property in the amount of $7,058.88 plus interest of ten percent per annum and legal costs of the action.

On or about December 16, 1998, Mr. McCormick sent a letter to the Edwards residence which threatened foreclosure and sale of the Edwards’s home unless they arranged for payment of the judgment lien. Plaintiff Edwards did not make any payment arrangements in response to Defendant McCormick’s letter regarding the judgment lien. Neither Mr. McCormick nor Hocking Valley took any action to foreclose on the Edwards’s home prior to Hocking Valley’s settling out of this case.

III. Analysis

Before certifying a class, a court must engage in “rigorous analysis” of the plaintiffs ability to meet the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. General Tel. Co. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 161, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982). The district court must carefully consider whether the requirements of Rule 23 are satisfied prior to certifying a class. Shipp v. Memphis Area Office, Tenn. Dep’t of Employment, 581 F.2d 1167 (6th Cir.1978); Senter v. General Motors Corp., 532 F.2d 511 (6th Cir.1976). The party that moves for class certification has the burden of proof under Rule 23. See Senter, 532 F.2d at 520 finding that “[a] plaintiff must show that the action satisfies the requirements of Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.”.

The plaintiff “must satisfy all four of the prerequisites contained in Rule 23(a) and then demonstrate that the class he seeks to represent falls within one of the subcategories of Rule 23(b).” Senter, 532 F.2d at 522. The courts must not inquire, however, into the merits of the underlying claims of the class representative. Eisen v. Carlisle & Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 178, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974). The Court should accept as true the plaintiffs allegations in the complaint. Shelter Realty Corp. v. Allied Maint. Corp., 574 F.2d 656, 661 n. 15 (2d Cir.1978); Blackie v. Barrack, 524 F.2d 891, 901 n. 17 (9th Cir.1975); Mayo v. Sears, Roebuck & Co., 148 F.R.D. 576, 579 (S.D.Ohio 1993). Resolution of the class certification may, however, require the court “to probe behind the pleadings before coming to rest on the certification question.” Falcon, 457 U.S. at 160,102 S.Ct. 2364. Though “[i]n ruling on a class action a judge may consider reasonable inferences drawn from facts before him at that stage of the proceedings,” Senter, 532 F.2d at 523, plaintiffs may not rely on pure speculation to satisfy Rule 23’s requirements. Cwiak v. Flint Ink Corp., 186 F.R.D. 494, 497 (N.D.Ill.1999).

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Ladd v. Nashville Booting, LLC
M.D. Tennessee, 2023
Wilbur Macy v. GC Services Ltd. P'ship
897 F.3d 747 (Sixth Circuit, 2018)
Macy v. GC Services Ltd. Partnership
318 F.R.D. 335 (W.D. Kentucky, 2017)
Roose v. Lincoln County Employee Group Health Plan
2015 MT 324 (Montana Supreme Court, 2015)
Kinder v. Northwestern Bank
278 F.R.D. 176 (W.D. Michigan, 2011)
Sher v. Raytheon Co.
261 F.R.D. 651 (M.D. Florida, 2009)
Taylor v. CSX Transportation, Inc.
264 F.R.D. 281 (N.D. Ohio, 2007)
Pettrey v. Enterprise Title Agency, Inc.
241 F.R.D. 268 (N.D. Ohio, 2006)
Mann v. Acclaim Financial Services, Inc.
232 F.R.D. 278 (S.D. Ohio, 2003)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
196 F.R.D. 487, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16219, 2000 WL 1634073, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/edwards-v-mccormick-ohsd-2000.