George Wilson, on Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated v. Quadramed Corporation, George Wilson

225 F.3d 350
CourtCourt of Appeals for the Third Circuit
DecidedSeptember 7, 2000
Docket99-5758
StatusPublished
Cited by228 cases

This text of 225 F.3d 350 (George Wilson, on Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated v. Quadramed Corporation, George Wilson) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
George Wilson, on Behalf of Himself and All Others Similarly Situated v. Quadramed Corporation, George Wilson, 225 F.3d 350 (3d Cir. 2000).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

MANSMANN, Circuit Judge.

The question before us is whether the District Court erred as a matter of law in holding that language contained in a debt collection letter, which notified the debtor that his account has been placed with the debt collector for “immediate collection,” and that it “shall afford [the debtor] the opportunity to pay this bill immediately and avoid further action against you,” did not overshadow or contradict the required validation notice under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a) and, therefore, did not confuse or mislead the “least sophisticated debtor” as to his statutory rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to validate and dispute the debt. The debtor has also asked this court to certify a class under Fed.R.Civ.P. 23(a) and (b)(3) which would allegedly consist of similarly situated debtors, i.e., debtors who received the same debt collection letter from the debt collector.

Because we do not find any violation of section 1692g here, we will affirm the judg *352 ment of the District Court. Accordingly, we need not reach the debtor’s request for class certification.

I.

On or about September 1, 1998, defendant Quadramed Corporation (“Qua-dramed” or the “debt collector”), on behalf of Robert Wood Johnson Memorial Hospital (the “creditor”), sent to the plaintiff, George Wilson (“Wilson” or the “debtor”), a one-page letter notifying him that it was attempting to collect a debt he allegedly owed to the hospital for almost two years. The body of the letter contains three paragraphs which read as follows:

Our client has placed your account with us for immediate collection. We shall afford you the opportunity to pay this bill immediately and avoid further action against you.
To insure immediate credit to your account, make your check or money order payable to ERI. Be sure to include the top portion of this statement and place your account number on your remittance.
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, this office will obtain verification of the debt or obtain a copy of a judgement and mail you a copy of such judgement or verification. If you request 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.

All three paragraphs are printed in the same font, size and color type-face. Approximately two inches above the body of the letter with a flush right margin appears, “THIS IS AN ATTEMPT TO COLLECT A DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE.” In addition, the letter provides the debt collector’s name and address, the creditor’s name, the date of service, balance due and client account number. The letter closes with the name of the Accounts Representative and her telephone number. All of this information, other than the body of the letter, is typed in all capital letters.

Wilson filed a purported class action suit, alleging that the debt collection letter violates section 1692g of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“the Act”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692g. Quadramed filed a motion to dismiss Wilson’s complaint under Fed.R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6). Wilson filed a cross motion for partial summary judgment on liability and for class certification.

The District Court, in a letter opinion dated August 25, 1999, granted Qua-dramed’s motion to dismiss and denied Wilson’s motion for partial summary judgment and for class certification. The District Court held that the “format of the letter does not obscure the plaintiffs rights under the statute.” Wilson v. Qua-dramed Corporation, No. 99-CV-95, Letter Order at 7 (D.N.J. Aug. 25, 1999) (“Letter Order”). In this regard, the District Court found that the “validation notice appears on the front of the letter along with the allegedly offending language and is written in the same size font.” Id. As to the substance of Qua-dramed’s letter, the court noted that the “letter does not make an explicit demand for payment, but states that the defendant ‘shall offer the plaintiff an opportunity’ to make payment.” Id. Moreover, the court specifically found that the letter does not request payment within a time period shorter than the statutory thirty-day period. Thus, the court concluded that the first two paragraphs of the letter did not contradict the third, and that “even the least sophisticated debtor would understand that he is being given a choice, that he has options.... Such a debtor would not be mislead or confused into foregoing his statutory rights.” Id. at 8.

*353 Thereafter, Wilson filed a timely notice of appeal. 1 The District Court’s dismissal of this suit pursuant to Fed. R.Civ.P. 12(b)(6) is subject to de novo review. 2 Klein v. General Nutrition Companies, Inc., 186 F.3d 338, 342 (3d Cir.1999); Weiner v. Quaker Oats Co., 129 F.3d 310, 315 (3d Cir.1997). Accordingly, we must accept plaintiffs factual allegations as true and may affirm the District Court only if it appears that the plaintiff cannot prove any set of facts entitling him to relief. Klein, 186 F.3d at 342; see also In re Westinghouse Securities Litigation, 90 F.3d 696, 706 (3d Cir.1996) (citation omitted). Moreover, in granting Quadramed’s motion to dismiss, the District Court also denied Wilson’s cross-motion for partial summary judgment as to liability and for class certification. Our review of District Court’s denial of the partial summary judgment motion is de novo. 3 We turn now to the merits of this appeal.

II.

Although the debt collection letter here presents a close question, we are not convinced that the language in the first two paragraphs overshadows or contradicts the validation notice such that the “least sophisticated debtor” would be confused or mislead as to his rights to dispute or seek validation of the debt.

A.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a debt collector is required to include the following information in a debt collection letter to a consumer:

(1) the amount of the debt;

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Bluebook (online)
225 F.3d 350, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/george-wilson-on-behalf-of-himself-and-all-others-similarly-situated-v-ca3-2000.