Kelsey v. Forster & Garbus, LLP

353 F. Supp. 3d 223
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. New York
DecidedFebruary 11, 2019
Docket6:18-CV-06099 EAW
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 353 F. Supp. 3d 223 (Kelsey v. Forster & Garbus, LLP) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Kelsey v. Forster & Garbus, LLP, 353 F. Supp. 3d 223 (W.D.N.Y. 2019).

Opinion

ELIZABETH A. WOLFORD, United States District Judge

INTRODUCTION

Plaintiff William B. Kelsey ("Plaintiff") commenced this action on February 1, 2018, alleging that defendant law firm Forster & Garbus, LLP ("Defendant") sought to collect a debt from Plaintiff in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. ("FDCPA"). (Dkt. 1). Plaintiff claims that Defendant filed an attorney affirmation in an underlying state court action commenced against him that falsely asserted that he had failed to answer the summons and complaint or otherwise appear in that action. (Id. at 3-4).

Presently before the Court is Defendant's motion for judgment on the pleadings. (Dkt. 6). For the following reasons, Defendant's motion is granted, and Plaintiff's Complaint is dismissed.

BACKGROUND

The following facts are drawn from Plaintiff's Complaint unless otherwise indicated and are assumed true for purposes of this motion. (Dkt. 1). Plaintiff alleges that on March 24, 2017, Defendant filed a lawsuit on behalf of Navient Credit Finance Corporation ("Navient") against Plaintiff in New York State Supreme Court, County of Orleans. (Id. at ¶ 10). Defendant served Plaintiff with a summons and complaint on May 22, 2017, and Plaintiff filed his answer "with the court and mailed the same to [Navient]." (Id. at ¶¶ 11-12). However, on August 15, 2017, Defendant filed an attorney affirmation with the state court, affirming that the time for Plaintiff "to appear or answer has expired" and that Plaintiff has "not appeared or answered." (Id. at ¶ 13; see id. at ¶ 14). As a result, Defendant "obtained a default judgment against Plaintiff." (Id. at ¶ 14).

On or about November 2, 2017, Plaintiff filed an order to show cause with the state court to vacate the default judgment rendered against him. (See Dkt. 6-4 at 14-17 (state court filings) ). On or about November 17, 2017, a state court judge set a return date on the motion for December 15, 2017. (Id. at 16). By attorney affirmation, dated December 11, 2017, Defendant consented to the vacatur of the default judgment and agreed to accept the answer filed with the state court. (Id. at 18-19). The default judgment has since been vacated. (Dkt. 8 at 3 (Plaintiff's response papers) ).

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On February 1, 2018, Plaintiff commenced this action against Defendant alleging that the attorney affirmation filed in state court falsely represented that Plaintiff failed to answer the summons and complaint *226and had not otherwise appeared in the state action. (Dkt. at 3-4). Plaintiff alleges that he "both appeared and answered by filing the answer with the court and serving it on [Navient]." (Id. at ¶ 21). Plaintiff claims that by filing this false affirmation in state court, Defendant violated § 1692e of the FDCPA. (Id. at ¶ 23).

On March 15, 2018, Defendant filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings, seeking dismissal of this action. (Dkt. 6). Defendant argues that Plaintiff did not comply with state court procedures in answering the summons and complaint, and thus, Plaintiff failed to properly appear in the state action. (Dkt. 6-1 at 3-4). Defendant also contends that Plaintiff's attempts to serve his answer did not constitute an "informal appearance" in that action, and even if they did, Defendant's affirmation was "technically accurate" because Plaintiff "did not appear in the [state court] action as contemplated under CPLR 320(a)." (Id. at 5-6). Plaintiff opposes Defendant's motion. (Dkt. 8).

DISCUSSION

I. Defendant's Motion for Judgment on the Pleadings is Granted

A. Legal Standard

"Judgment on the pleadings may be granted under Rule 12(c) where the material facts are undisputed and where judgment on the merits is possible merely by considering the contents of the pleadings." McAuliffe v. Barnhart , 571 F.Supp.2d 400, 402 (W.D.N.Y. 2008). "In deciding a Rule 12(c) motion for judgment on the pleadings, the court should 'apply the same standard as that applicable to a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), accepting the allegations contained in the complaint as true and drawing all reasonable inferences in favor of the nonmoving party.' " Aboushama v. EMF Corp. , 214 F.Supp.3d 202, 205 (W.D.N.Y. 2016) (quoting Mantena v. Johnson , 809 F.3d 721, 727-28 (2d Cir. 2015) ).

"In considering a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), a district court may consider the facts alleged in the complaint, documents attached to the complaint as exhibits, and documents incorporated by reference in the complaint." DiFolco v. MSNBC Cable L.L.C. , 622 F.3d 104, 111 (2d Cir. 2010). To withstand dismissal, a complaint must set forth "enough facts to state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly , 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Turkmen v. Ashcroft , 589 F.3d 542, 546 (2d Cir. 2009) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ).

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353 F. Supp. 3d 223, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/kelsey-v-forster-garbus-llp-nywd-2019.