Maleh v. United Collection Bureau, Inc.

287 F. Supp. 3d 265
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. New York
DecidedJanuary 26, 2018
Docket16–CV–5873 (MKB)
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 287 F. Supp. 3d 265 (Maleh v. United Collection Bureau, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. New York primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Maleh v. United Collection Bureau, Inc., 287 F. Supp. 3d 265 (E.D.N.Y. 2018).

Opinion

MARGO K. BRODIE, United States District Judge

Plaintiff Barouk Maleh commenced the above-captioned putative class action against Defendant United Collection Bureau, Inc. ("UCB"), alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. ("FDCPA"). (Compl., Docket Entry No. 1.) Defendant moves to dismiss the Complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. (Def. Mot. to Dismiss ("Def. Mot."), Docket Entry No. 15; Def. Mem. in Supp. of Def. Mot. ("Def. Mem."), Docket Entry No. 15-1.) For the reasons discussed below, the Court grants Defendant's motion.

*269I. Background

The Court assumes the truth of the factual allegations in the Complaint for the purpose of deciding Defendant's motion. At some time prior to August 31, 2016, Plaintiff allegedly incurred an obligation to Citibank, N.A. ("Citibank"). (Compl. ¶ 15.) According to Plaintiff, "[t]he ...obligation arose out of a transaction in which money, property, insurance or services, which are the subject of the transaction, are primarily for personal, family or household purposes." (Id. ¶ 16.) At an unspecified time thereafter, Citibank contracted with Defendant to collect the debt. (Id. ¶ 21.) Defendant then sent Plaintiff a written letter dated August 31, 2016, seeking payment in satisfaction of the debt. (Id. ¶ 22; Def. Collection Letter dated Aug. 31, 2016 ("Collection Letter"), annexed to Compl. as Ex. A.) The bottom of the letter listed the creditor as Citibank, N.A., stated that the letter was regarding a "Citi Mastercard," and listed Plaintiff's "Current Account Balance" as $26,658.34. (Collection Letter.) The top of the letter stated, in relevant part, the following:

The below is an itemized accounting of the debt as required by state statute:

(Collection Letter.) Plaintiff filed suit on October 21, 2016 on behalf of himself and all other New York residents who received a collection letter from Defendant in substantially the same form. (Compl. ¶ 12.) Plaintiff argues that Defendant's attempt to collect "post charge-off interest"1 violates sections 1692e and 1692f of the FDCPA, (id. ¶¶ 31-47), and that the Collection Letter, in "fail[ing] to disclose whether the balance may further increase due to interest and fees," (id. ¶ 60), fails to "clearly, explicitly and unambiguously convey the amount of debt" in violation of section 1692g, (id. ¶ 61). Plaintiff seeks damages, as well as declaratory and injunctive relief. (Id. ¶¶ 7, 72.)

II. Discussion

a. Standard of review

In reviewing a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, a court must construe the complaint liberally, "accepting all factual allegations in the complaint as true and drawing all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor." Concord Assocs., L.P. v. Entm't Prop. Trust , 817 F.3d 46, 52 (2d Cir. 2016) (quoting Chambers v. Time Warner Inc. , 282 F.3d 147, 152 (2d Cir. 2002) ); see also Tsirelman v. Daines , 794 F.3d 310, 313 (2d Cir. 2015) (quoting Jaghory v. N.Y. State Dep't of Educ. , 131 F.3d 326, 329 (2d Cir. 1997) ). A complaint must plead "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 is plausible "when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Matson v. Bd. of Educ. , 631 F.3d 57, 63 (2d Cir. 2011) (quoting Ashcroft v. Iqbal , 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) ); see also Pension Ben. Guar. Corp. ex rel. St. Vincent Catholic Med. Ctrs. Ret. Plan v. Morgan Stanley Inv. Mgmt. Inc. , 712 F.3d 705, 717-18 (2d Cir. 2013). Although *270all allegations contained in the complaint are assumed true, this principle is "inapplicable to legal conclusions" or "[t]hreadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements." Iqbal , 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

b. Statutory framework

"Congress enacted the FDCPA 'to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to insure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged, and to promote consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses.' " Vincent v. The Money Store , 736 F.3d 88, 96 (2d Cir. 2013) (quoting 15 U.S.C.

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287 F. Supp. 3d 265, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/maleh-v-united-collection-bureau-inc-nyed-2018.