Egge v. Healthspan Services Co.

208 F.R.D. 265, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8868, 2002 WL 1011758
CourtDistrict Court, D. Minnesota
DecidedMay 16, 2002
DocketNo. CIV. 00-934 ADM/AJB
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 208 F.R.D. 265 (Egge v. Healthspan Services Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Minnesota primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Egge v. Healthspan Services Co., 208 F.R.D. 265, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8868, 2002 WL 1011758 (mnd 2002).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MONTGOMERY, District Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

On January 25, 2002, the Motion to Certify Class [Doc. No. 62] of Plaintiff David Egge (“Egge” or “Plaintiff’), and the Motion to Deny Class Certification [Doc. No. 58] of Defendant Healthspan Services Company d/b/a Reliance Recoveries (“Reliance”), were argued before the undersigned United States District Judge. Egge alleges Reliance violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e & 1692f, by assessing interest on accounts with no underlying legal obligation or promise by the debt- or to pay such interest. Am. Compl. 1110. Egge seeks certification of a class of plaintiffs similarly situated to himself. For the reasons set forth below, Egge’s Motion is granted, and Reliance’s Motion is denied.

II. BACKGROUND

In March 1995, Egge’s wife was hospitalized for about three weeks and incurred medical expenses with Allina’s Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In sum, Egge was responsible for $3,959.00 of medical bills,1 of which $50 was paid. On November 13, 1995, Allina assigned the remaining debt to Reliance for collection.

On or about November 14, 1995, Reliance mailed a form letter collection notice to Egge identifying his account balance and stating that “interest may be charged at 6% per annum on the past due balance.” Lewis Aff. Ex. B. On or about December 14, 1995, Reliance sent a second letter to Egge containing the same sentence stating that interest “may” be charged. Reliance began assessing interest on Egge’s account on January 7, 1996, approximately 53 days after the first letter was sent. Without further notice, interest was charged retroactively to the date [267]*267of the first letter, and was charged thereafter periodically, usually on a monthly basis.

Thereafter, all correspondence from Reliance to Egge identified only a total account balance, and did not separate the principal and the interest amounts. Egge alleges that Reliance failed to affirmatively state that interest had been charged, and that none of the other form letters sent to him after January 7, 1996, ever mentioned the word “interest.” Reliance contends that identifying the total account balance constitutes a sufficient statement of interest charges, because “even the least sophisticated consumer would recognize that the amount claimed owing by Reliance on the debtor’s unpaid account was increasing due to an interest assessment.” Def. Mem. in Opp. at 15. Egge asserts that interest is chargeable only when .the debtor has agreed to pay it,2 and that neither he nor any putative class member were party to an agreement to charge interest.3

In a sample of 50 prospective class members, all of the debtors received one letter containing the sentence “interest may be charged at 6% per annum on the past due balance,” and approximately half of the debtors received a second such letter, as Egge did, approximately 35 days later. All but one debtor sampled were assessed 6% retroactive interest charges approximately 53-55 days after receipt of the first collection letter.4 For all putative class members, the collection letters each contained the identical sentence regarding interest charges, and all received either one or two letters, but no more than two. Plaintiff asserts that none of the other prospective class members received any form of notice of interest assessment other than these letters, and that there is no evidence of any prospective class member having objected in response to the letters. None of the putative class members were provided any statement of the amount of interest charged. While no putative class members agreed to pay interest, all prospective class members received the same letter or letters, and were charged interest retroactively approximately 55 days after receipt of the first letter.

Accordingly, Egge claims Reliance violated the FDCPA. Reliance counters by asserting the affirmative defense of the “account stated” doctrine. Reliance argues that “[a] party’s retention without objection for an unreasonably long time of a statement of an account rendered by the other party is a manifestation of assent.” American Druggists Ins. v. Thompson Lumber Co., 349 N.W.2d 569, 573 (Minn.Ct.App.1984) (citing Restatement (Second) of Contracts § 282(1) (1981)); see also Joseph V. Edeskuty & As-socs. v. Jacksonville Kraft Paper Co., 702 F.Supp. 741, 748 (D.Minn.1988). At this stage, however, the merits of Egge’s claim and Reliance’s defense are not at issue. Ei-sen v. Carlisle and Jacquelin, 417 U.S. 156, 177, 94 S.Ct. 2140, 40 L.Ed.2d 732 (1974) (“We find nothing in either the language or history of Rule 23 that gives a court any authority to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the merits of a suit in order to determine whether it may be maintained as a class action.”). For resolution of the Motions, the requirements of Fed.R.Civ.P. 23 for class certification will be analyzed.

III. DISCUSSION

A. Rule 23(a) Requirements

For class certification to be appropriate, (1) the class must be so numerous that join-der of all members is impracticable (numer-osity), (2) there must be questions of law or fact common to the class (commonality), (3) the claims or defenses of the representative party must be typical of the class (typicality), [268]*268and (4) the representative party must fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class (adequacy). Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a). Reliance does not contest the numerosity requirement.5

1. Commonality

Reliance asserts that Egge’s claim does not meet the commonality requirement because Egge received two letters, and approximately two months elapsed before interest was charged to him, while some class members received only one letter and generally individual debtors received only one month notice prior to assessment of interest on their account. Roe Dep. at 42-43. Reliance also argues that because Egge did not object to the assessment of interest, his claim might be uncommon if other class members are determined to have objected. „ Egge responds that no evidence exists of any putative class member having objected, and that no class member had adequate notice that interest was being charged such that they would know to object. Reliance asserts the affirmative defense of the “account stated” doctrine, which requires a determination of the sufficiency of notice received by each individual debtor. Reliance claims that because the number of letters received and the amount of elapsed time is not identical for Egge and all other class members, his claim is uncommon. “When the resolution of a common legal issue is dependent upon factual determinations that will be different for each purported class plaintiff, ...

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Bluebook (online)
208 F.R.D. 265, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8868, 2002 WL 1011758, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/egge-v-healthspan-services-co-mnd-2002.