Macy v. GC Services Ltd. Partnership

318 F.R.D. 335, 2017 WL 489420, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16193
CourtDistrict Court, W.D. Kentucky
DecidedFebruary 6, 2017
DocketCivil Action No. 3:15-cv-819-DJH-CHL
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 318 F.R.D. 335 (Macy v. GC Services Ltd. Partnership) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, W.D. Kentucky primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Macy v. GC Services Ltd. Partnership, 318 F.R.D. 335, 2017 WL 489420, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16193 (W.D. Ky. 2017).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

David J. Hale, Judge, United States District Court

Plaintiffs Wilbur Macy and Pamela Stowe allege that Defendant GC Services Limited Partnership violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by sending them debt-collection letters that did not accurately convey their rights under the Act. (Docket No. 1) They now seek certification of a class consisting of similarly situated debtors. (D.N. 22) Because GC Services’ opposition to certification primarily rests on its contention that the plaintiffs lack standing—a position the Court rejected in a previous opinion (D.N. 29)—and because the plaintiffs have satisfied the requirements of Rule 23, the motion for class certification will be granted.

I. BACKGROUND

Macy and Stowe each received a letter from GC Services notifying them that their Synchrony Bank credit-card accounts had been referred to GC Services for collection. (D.N. 1, PagelD #4-5) After stating the debt balance, the letters advised:

If you dispute this balance or the validity of this debt, please contact us. If you do not dispute this debt within 30 days after you receive this debt, we will assume the debt is valid.
However, if you do dispute all or any portion of this debt within 30 days of receiving this letter, we will obtain verification of the debt from our client and send it to you. Or, if within 30 days of receiving this letter you request the name and address of the original creditor, we will provide it to you in the event it differs from our client, Synchrony Bank.

(M, PagelD # 5 ¶27, PagelD # 6 ¶29 (emphasis removed))

[338]*338According to the plaintiffs, this notice was deficient because it failed to inform them that GC Services was only obligated to provide the additional debt and creditor information if they disputed their debts in writing. (Id., PagelD #6 ¶¶ 30-81) On behalf of themselves and others similarly situated, Macy and Stowe assert violations of the two subsections of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act that impose the in-writing requirement, 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a)(4), (5). (Id., Pa-gelD # 9-10) They seek statutory damages and injunctive relief. (D.N. 1, PagelD # 11)

II. ANALYSIS

A. Class Certification

The plaintiffs seek certification of the following class:

(1)All persons with a Kentucky or Nevada address, (2) to whom GC Services Limited Partnership mailed an initial communication that stated: (a) “if you do dispute all or any portion of this debt within 30 days of receiving this letter, we will obtain verification of the debt from our client and send it to you,” and/or (b) “if within 30 days of receiving this letter you request the name and address of the original creditor, we will provide it to you in the event it differs from our client,” (3) between November 5, 2014 and November 5, 2015, (4) in connection with the collection of a consumer debt, (5) that was not returned as undeliverable to GC Services Limited Partnership.

(D.N. 22, PagelD # 139) Pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a case may proceed as a class action if

(1) the class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable;
(2) there are questions of law or fact common to the class;
(3) the claims or defenses of the representative parties are typical of the claims or defenses of the class; and
(4) the representative parties will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a). The Court must also find that the action satisfies subsection (b)(1), (2), or (3) of Rule 23. Here, the plaintiffs rely on subsection (b)(3), which provides that a class action is appropriate if “the court finds that the questions of law or fact common to class members predominate over any questions affecting only individual members, and that a class action is superior to other available methods for fairly and efficiently adjudicating the controversy.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(b)(3).

GC Services maintains that none of the Rule 23 requirements are met here because the plaintiffs and proposed class members lack standing to pursue their claims. (See D.N. 25) According to GC Services, no class should be certified here because neither the named plaintiffs nor the proposed class members could be shown to have suffered an injury in fact, a prerequisite for constitutional standing. (See id.) The Court previously held that Macy and Stowe adequately alleged injury in fact, however. (See D.N. 29, PagelD #300) Thus, to the extent GC Services asserts that they lack standing, its argument is rejected for the reasons stated in the Court’s September 29, 2016 Memorandum Opinion and Order. (See D.N. 25, PagelD # 229-31; D.N. 29, PagelD # 296-300)

The Court likewise rejects GC Services’ contention that the proposed class is unascer-tainable because Macy and Stowe have not demonstrated that each class member suffered an injury sufficient to confer standing. (See D.N. 25, PagelD # 232-35) While the Sixth Circuit has yet to address the issue directly, see Rikos v. Procter & Gamble Co., 799 F.3d 497, 524 n.9 (6th Cir. 2015), “the vast majority of courts,” including several within this circuit, have held that no showing of standing need be made as to putative class members. 2 William B. Rubenstein, Newberg on Class Actions § 2:3 (5th ed. 2016); see, e.g., In re Nw. Airlines Corp. Antitrust Litig., 208 F.R.D. 174, 225 (E.D. Mich. 2002) (“[I]t is not necessary, at the class certification stage, for Plaintiffs to show that each and every class member could satisfy an individualized standing inquiry.”). Instead, concerns regarding “absent class member injury” are to be addressed through the Rule 23 analysis. Newberg, supra, at § 2:3. The Court will therefore proceed to consider the plaintiffs’ motion under Rule 23, beginning [339]*339with the requirements of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation. See Newberg, supra, at § 2:3 (describing this approach as “preferable”); see also Gooch v. Life Investors Ins. Co. of Am., 672 F.3d 402, 422 (6th Cir. 2012) (“Once [a plaintiffs individual] standing has been established, whether a plaintiff will be able to represent the putative class, including absent class members, depends solely on whether he is able to meet the additional criteria encompassed in Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure

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

Related

Dickens ex rel. Estate v. GC Servs. Ltd.
336 F. Supp. 3d 1369 (M.D. Florida, 2018)
Wilbur Macy v. GC Services Ltd. P'ship
897 F.3d 747 (Sixth Circuit, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
318 F.R.D. 335, 2017 WL 489420, 2017 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16193, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/macy-v-gc-services-ltd-partnership-kywd-2017.