Lear v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc.

309 F. Supp. 3d 1237
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedApril 25, 2018
DocketCASE NO. 17–62206–CIV–ZLOCH
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 309 F. Supp. 3d 1237 (Lear v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, S.D. Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Lear v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., 309 F. Supp. 3d 1237 (S.D. Fla. 2018).

Opinion

WILLIAM J. ZLOCH, Sr. United States District Judge

THIS MATTER is before the Court upon Defendant Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc.'s, Motion To Dismiss Plaintiff's Complaint (DE 10). The Court has carefully reviewed said Motion, the entire court file and is otherwise fully advised in the premises.

Plaintiff Lonny Lear (hereinafter "Plaintiff") initiated the above-styled cause with the filing of his Complaint (DE 1). In Counts I and III of said Complaint, Plaintiff alleges that Defendant Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc. (hereinafter "Defendant"), violated the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, Fla. Stat. § 559.55 et seq. (hereinafter "FCCPA"), and the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq. (hereinafter "FDCPA"), respectively, by sending mortgage statements to Plaintiff after being informed that Plaintiff was represented by counsel in regard to the mortgage debt. By prior Order (DE 24), the Court declined to exercise supplemental jurisdiction over Count II of the Complaint (DE 1).

In the instant Motion (DE 10), Defendant claims that Plaintiff's remaining claims must be dismissed for two reasons. Defendant contends that it was required to send the mortgage statements at issue by the Truth In Lending Act, which does not conflict with the FDCPA, and Defendant argues, preempts the FCCPA. In addition, Defendant argues that the statements at issue do not constitute debt collection communications *1239and therefore do not violate the FDCPA and FCCPA.

The FCCPA and the FDCPA both prohibit the sending of debt collection communications to a debtor if the sender has been notified that the debtor is being represented by counsel in regards to the debt. In relevant part, the FCCPA provides that, in the collection of debts, the following is unlawful:

[To] [c]ommunicate with a debtor if the person knows that the debtor is represented by an attorney with respect to such debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, unless the debtor's attorney fails to respond within 30 days to a communication from the person, unless the debtor's attorney consents to a direct communication with the debtor, or unless the debtor initiates the communication.

Fla. Stat. § 559.72(18). Similarly, the FDCPA provides:

Without the prior consent of the consumer given directly to the debt collector or the express permission of a court of competent jurisdiction, a debt collector may not communicate with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt-
(2) if the debt collector knows the consumer is represented by an attorney with respect to such debt and has knowledge of, or can readily ascertain, such attorney's name and address, unless the attorney fails to respond within a reasonable period of time to a communication from the debt collector or unless the attorney consents to direct communication with the consumer

15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a). The statutes are largely identical and "the FCCPA is construed in accordance with the FDCPA." Lilly v. Bayview Loan Servicing, LLC, No: 2:17-cv-00345, 2017 WL 4410040 at *2 (M.D. Fla. 2017) (citing Oppenheim v. I.C. System, Inc., 627 F.3d 833, 839 (11th Cir. 2010) ).

In the above-styled cause, Defendant was advised that Plaintiff was represented by counsel as to a mortgage debt and was provided with the name and address of Plaintiff's counsel but continued to send mortgage statements to Plaintiff. In the instant Motion (DE 10), Defendant argues that it was legally required to send those mortgage statements under the Truth In Lending Act. The Truth In Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1601, et seq. (hereinafter "TILA"), requires the servicer of a mortgage to send periodic statements to the consumer that include, among other items, the amount due. See 12 C.F.R. § 1026.41. However, the servicer is not required to include a demand for payment in those statements. See id.

A loan servicer must perform its duties under TILA, but a periodic statement that is sent pursuant to TILA may violate the FCCPA and FDCPA, causing the servicer to be liable under the latter statutes. The mere fact that a periodic statement complies with TILA does not exonerate the sender because "[a] communication can have more than one purpose, for example, providing information to a debtor as well [as] collecting a debt." Pinson v. Albertelli Law Partners, LLC, 618 Fed.Appx. 551, 553 (11th Cir. 2015) (citations omitted). The relevant provisions of the FCCPA and FDCPA are concerned with debt collection activity, which in periodic statements is indicated by "debt collection language." Brown v. Select Portfolio Serviving, Inc., No. 16-62999, 2017 WL 1157253, at *3 (S.D. Fla. March 24, 2017) (quoting Kelliher v. Target Nat. Bank, 826 F.Supp.2d 1324, 1328 (M.D. Fla. 2011) ). It is entirely possible to send a communication pursuant to TILA that does not contain such language, so, contrary to Defendant's argument, TILA does *1240not preempt the FCCPA. See Kelliher, 826 F.Supp.2d at 1329 (holding that the FCCPA is not preempted by TILA). The fact that TILA requires Defendant to send Plaintiff periodic statements does not mean that Plaintiff's claims fail as a matter of law.

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Related

Cruz v. Selene Finance, LP
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Constance Daniels v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc.
34 F.4th 1260 (Eleventh Circuit, 2022)
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Shaffer v. Servis One, Inc.
347 F. Supp. 3d 1039 (M.D. Florida, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
309 F. Supp. 3d 1237, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lear-v-select-portfolio-servicing-inc-flsd-2018.