Glenn v. Cavalry Investments LLC (In re Glenn)

542 B.R. 833
CourtUnited States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedJanuary 5, 2016
DocketCase No. 14bk31070; Adversary No. 15ap00560
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 542 B.R. 833 (Glenn v. Cavalry Investments LLC (In re Glenn)) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering United States Bankruptcy Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Glenn v. Cavalry Investments LLC (In re Glenn), 542 B.R. 833 (Ill. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM DECISION

TIMOTHY A. BARNES, Judge

The matter before the court arises out of the Motion to Dismiss Adversary Proceeding [Adv. Dkt. No. 15] (the “Motion to Dismiss”) filed by Cavalry Investments, LLC (“Cavalry ”),1 seeking dismissal of the Adversary Complaint Objecting to Proof of Claim and for Damages for Violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and for Fraud on the Court [Adv. Dkt. No. 1] (the “Complaint ”), filed by Darryl Glenn (the “Debtor ”).

The Complaint asserts a recent cause célebre in the bankruptcy courts,2 that the filing in a bankruptcy proceeding of a proof of claim on account of a time-barred debt violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq. (the “FDCPA ”), and thus is not only sanc-tionable, but fraudulent.

This question, whether the filing of a proof of claim on account of a time-barred debt violates the FDCPA, is presently under consideration by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. See, e.g., Owens v. LVNV Funding, Appeal No. 15-2044 (7th Cir. filed May 13, 2015). In many instances, as a result, the parties have asked this court to stay ruling pending the Seventh Circuit’s decision. In this matter, however, the parties have requested that the court rale. Given that the Seventh Circuit has not yet ruled on this specific issue, therefore, the court is left with making its way through the extant law.

That law is becoming voluminous. In this district alone, a number of recent [835]*835cases have come down, and those cases are fairly split on the question. Compare Robinson v. eCast Settlement Corporation, Case No. 14cv8277, 2015 WL 494626, at *3-4 (N.D.Ill. Feb. 3, 2015) (Shah, J.) (holding that such FDCPA claims fail to state a claim); Murff v. LVNV Funding, LLC (In re Murff), Case No. 13bk44431, Adv. No. 14ap00790, 2015 WL 3690994, at *5 (Bankr.N.D.Ill. June 15, 2015) (Goldgar, J.) (same); LaGrone v. LVNV Funding LLC and Resurgent Capital Services (In re LaGrone), 525 B.R. 419, 425-26 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.2015) (Wedoff, J.) (same) with Taylor v. Galaxy Asset Purchasing, LLC, 108 F.Supp.3d 628, 630-32 (N.D.Ill.2015) (Darrah, J.); Reed v. LVNV Funding, LLC, Case No. 14cv8371, 2015 WL 1510375, at *4-5 (N.D.Ill. Mar. 27, 2015) (Bucklo, J.); Taylor v. Midland Funding, LLC, 94 F.Supp.3d 941, 947 (N.D.Ill.2015) (Guzman, J.); Davenport v. Cavalry Investments, LLC (In re Davenport), Case No. 14bk30261, Adv. No. 15ap00559, 2015 WL 8746384, at *2-3 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.Dec. 14, 2105) (Doyle, J.) (holding that there is or may be a justiciable legal claim); Edwards' v. LVNV Funding, LLC and Resurgent Capital Services, LP (In re Edwards), 539 B.R. 360, 367 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.2015) (Doyle, J.) (same); Avalos v. LVNV Funding, LLC (In re Avalos), 531 B.R. 748, 756-57 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.2015) (Schmetterer, J.) (same); Brimmage v. Quantums Group LLC and Elite Recovery Acquisition, LLC (In re Brimmage), 523 B.R. 134, 142 (Bankr.N.D.Ill.2015) (Cox, J.) (same).

Outside of this district but still within the Seventh Circuit, the courts are also split on the question. Compare Donaldson v. LVNV Funding, LLC, 97 F.Supp.3d 1033, 1039-40 (S.D.Ind.2015) (proofs of claims that do not misrepresent time-barred debt are not misleading) with Patrick v. Pyod, LLC, Resurgent Capital Services, LP, 39 F.Supp.3d 1032, 1036 (S.D.Ind.2015) (even proofs of claims that do not misrepresent time-barred debt are misleading); In re Sekema, 523 B.R. 651, 654-55 (Bankr.N.D.Ind.2015) (sanctioning a creditor for filing a claim on a time-barred debt).

Going even further afield, one quickly see's that the issue is a national one, and that the courts are equally divided outside of the Seventh Circuit. Compare Simmons v. Roundup Funding, LLC, 622 F.3d 93, 96 (2nd Cir.2010) (“The FDCPA is designed to protect defenseless debtors and to give them remedies against abuse by creditors. There is no need to protect debtors who are already under the protection of the bankruptcy court, and there is no need to supplement the remedies afforded by bankruptcy itself.”); Gatewood v. CP Medical, LLC (In re Gatewood), 533 B.R. 905, 910 (8th Cir. BAP 2015) (“The FDCPA does not prohibit all debt collection practices. Instead, it simply prohibits false, misleading, deceptive, unfair, or unconscionable debt collection practices.”); B-Real, LLC v. Chaussee (In re Chaus-see), 399 B.R. 225, 241 (9th Cir. BAP 2008) (“[W]e are convinced that the Code and Rules are up to the task of compensating a debtor for any damages or costs occasioned by, and to punish and deter, those who would abuse the bankruptcy claims process.”) with Crawford v. LVNV Funding, LLC, 758 F.3d 1254, 1261-62 (11th Cir.2014) (The “filing of a time-barred proof of claim against [the debtor] in bankruptcy was ’unfair,’ ’unconscionable,’ ’deceptive,’ and ’misleading’ within the broad scope of § 1692e and § 1692f [of the FDCPA].”).

Thus, as it stands now, neither direct authority on point nor a clear majority rule exists. With this in mind, the court considers the matter at bar.

A. Background

The facts in this matter, insofar as they relate to the Motion to Dismiss, are not in [836]*836dispute.3 The Debtor is a natural person who resides in Chicago, Illinois. On August 25, 2014 (the “Petition Date”), the Debtor voluntarily commenced, under chapter 13 of title 11 of the United States Code, 11 U.S.C. § 101, et seq. (2012, as amended) (the “Bankruptcy Code”), the above-captioned bankruptcy case.

In the Debtor’s bankruptcy case, a deadline for the submission of claims (the “Bar Date”) was set for February 17, 2015. Notice of the Bar Date was generated on August 26, 2014, by way of the “Notice of Commencement of Case Under the Bankruptcy Code, Meeting of Creditors, and Fixing of Dates.” Official Form 91 [Dkt. No. 8] (the “Bar Date Notice ”).4 A copy of the Bar Date Notice was sent electronically to Cavalry on August 27, 2014. BNC Certificate of Notice [Dkt. No. 10],

On August 26, 2014, Cavalry filed its Proof of Claim on Official Form 10.5 In the addenda to the Proof of Claim, Cavalry clearly set forth the criteria required by Rule 3001 of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (the “Bankruptcy Rules” and as to a specific Bankruptcy Rule, “Bankruptcy Rule - — ”), including the specific requirements of Bankruptcy Rule 3001(c)(3). This subsection requires detailed information in relation to open-end or revolving consumer credit agreements. The legislative notes to this subsection state that:

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

Related

LLC 1 07CH12487
N.D. Illinois, 2019
In re Contreras
571 B.R. 789 (N.D. Illinois, 2017)
Gierum v. Glick (In re Glick)
568 B.R. 634 (N.D. Illinois, 2017)
Tia Robinson v. eCast Settlement Corporation
832 F.3d 726 (Seventh Circuit, 2016)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
542 B.R. 833, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/glenn-v-cavalry-investments-llc-in-re-glenn-ilnb-2016.