Martin v. Allied Interstate, LLC

192 F. Supp. 3d 1296, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1885, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92563, 2016 WL 3619684
CourtDistrict Court, S.D. Florida
DecidedJune 17, 2016
DocketCivil Action No. 15-61140-Civ-Scola
StatusPublished
Cited by15 cases

This text of 192 F. Supp. 3d 1296 (Martin v. Allied Interstate, LLC) 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
Martin v. Allied Interstate, LLC, 192 F. Supp. 3d 1296, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1885, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92563, 2016 WL 3619684 (S.D. Fla. 2016).

Opinion

Order Granting Motion for Summary Judgment

Robert N." Scola, Jr., United States District Judge

The Plaintiff sued the Defendants for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collections Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., the Florida Consumer Collection Practices ' Act (“FCCPA”), Fla. Stat. § 569.55 et seq.,' and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), 47 U.S.C. § 227. This matter is now before the Court on the Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment (ECF No. 60) and Motions to Supplement their Rule 11 Motion (ECF Nos. 65, 77). Also pending is the Plaintiffs Motion to Voluntarily Dismiss Without Prejudice (ECF No. 85), For the following reasons, the Plaintiffs motion to dismiss is denied, the' Defendants’ motions to' supplement are denied, and the Defendants’ motion for summary judgment is granted.

1. Background

On December 23 2014, the Plaintiff received two calls from Defendant Allied Interstate LLC (“Allied”). Allied was seeking to collect on an alleged debt that “Stephanie Martin” owed eBay Inc. (“eBay”). The Plaintiff, however, asserts that she has never had an eBay account or transacted any business with eBay. The Plaintiff claims that the eBay account. must have been opened fraudulently.

On December 24, 2014, the Plaintiff faxed Allied a cease and desist letter through the online fax company FaxZero. The letter stated that the Plaintiff did not owe a debt and requested that Allied stop calling her cell phone. Although the Plaintiff received an email receipt from FaxZe-ro stating , that her. fax was sent and re-ceiyed by Allied, FaxZero currently, has no record of the fax and Allied’s corporate representative and Vice President of Operations, Jonathan Juarez, claims that it was never received. Juarez, however, is unsure of how faxes to the company are received and recorded. Between December 26, 2014 and January 12, 2015, Allied called the Plaintiffs cell phone fifteen times. Most of the calls went unanswered, but the Plaintiff states that she answered at least one call and “heard an auto dialer.” (ECF No. 60-2, Martin Dep. 86:9-14.)

On January 12, 2015, the Plaintiff faxed another cease and desist letter. The letter informed Allied that the Plaintiff had retained an attorney to pursue TCPA and FDCPA violations and requested that Allied contact her within seventy-two hours to settle the matter. The Plaintiff received a receipt from FaxZero that the fax was sent and received. The Plaintiff also completed a form on Allied’s website containing the same information. The same day, the Plaintiff received an email from advocacy.group@allied-interstate.com confirming the receipt of her complaint. Although the email was from an Allied email address, the email was signed by an employee from Defendant iQor Holdings US, Inc. (“iQor”) and also included the email address Advocacy.Group@iQor.com.

On January 13, 2015, Allied placed another .call to the Plaintiff. On January 15, 2015, the Plaintiff received an email from Brendan Lee, the Vice President of iQor’s legal department claiming that Allied had never received the Plaintiffs December 24, 2014 fax and that Allied was ceasing all collection efforts regarding the eBay debt. The Defendants further assert that Allied sent the Plaintiff a debt verification letter [1300]*1300on December 13, 2014. The Plaintiff never received the letter.

On May 29, 2015, the Plaintiff sued the Defendants for violations of the FDCPA, FCCPA, and TOPA. (ECF No. 1.) On January 11, 2016, the Defendants filed their motion for summary judgment and motion for sanctions for filing a frivolous suit. (ECF Nos. 58, 60.) To the motion, the Defendants attached records obtained from eBay which they claim provides “incontrovertible proof ... that Plaintiff Stephanie Martin was not telling the truth when she averred that the eBay account was not hers.” (See ECF No. 60 at 1.) After their original Rule 11 motion, the Defendants filed two motions to supplement, which included additional “incontrovertible evidence.” (ECF Nos. 65, 77.)

On March 9, 2016, the Plaintiffs attorney moved to withdraw. (ECF No. 79.) The Court granted the motion and gave the Plaintiff until April 22, 2016 to obtain new counsel. (ECF No. 81.) The Plaintiff elected to proceed pro se and moved to voluntarily dismiss the case without prejudice “so it c[ould] be filed again as a class action.” (ECF No. 85.)

2. The Plaintiffs Motion to Dismiss

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 41(a)(2), a plaintiff who wishes to voluntarily dismiss a case after the defendant has filed an answer or motion for summary judgment must seek leave from the district court. “[A] plaintiff may ask the court to dismiss an action at any time.” Anago Franchising, Inc. v. Shaz, LLC, 677 F.3d 1272, 1276 (11th Cir.2012). However, “[a] voluntary dismissal without prejudice, however, is not a matter of right,” Fisher v. P.R. Marine Mgmt., Inc., 940 F.2d 1502, 1502 (11th Cir.1991) (per curiam), and falls within the sound discretion of the district court, see Stephens v. Ga. Dep’t of Transp., 134 Fed.Appx. 320, 323 (11th Cir.2005).

The purpose of Rule 41(a)(2) “is primarily to prevent voluntary dismissals which unfairly affect the other side, and to permit the imposition of curative conditions.” Id. (quoting McCants v. Ford Motor Co., Inc., 781 F.2d 855, 856 (11th Cir. 1986)). “The crucial question to be determined is whether the defendant loses any substantial right by the dismissal.” Global Aerospace, Inc. v. Platinum Jet Mgmt., LLC, No. 09-60756-civ, 2011 WL 1342993 at *2 (S.D.Fla. Apr. 6, 2011) (Cohn, J.) (internal citations and quotations omitted). “While the district court “should keep in mind the interests of the defendant, for Rule 41(a)(2) exists chiefly for protection of defendants,” id. (quoting Fisher, 940 F.2d at 1503), the court should also weigh the relevant equities and do justice between the parties in each case, imposing such costs and attaching such conditions to the dismissal as are deemed appropriate, id. (quoting McCants, 781 F.2d at 857).

Here, the Plaintiff seeks to dismiss this case so that she may refile it as a class action. In July 2015, as part of the parties’ joint scheduling report, the Plaintiff agreed that additional parties would need to be added to the action and failed to join any additional parties or pursue a class action before the deadlines set out in the Court’s scheduling order. (ECF Nos. 8, 11.) Furthermore, this litigation has been going on for over a year, with extensive discovery, multiple hearings before a magistrate judge, and a fully-briefed motion for summary judgment. The Defendants have expended considerable time and expense litigating this case. See Stephens, 134 Fed.Appx.

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192 F. Supp. 3d 1296, 94 Fed. R. Serv. 3d 1885, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92563, 2016 WL 3619684, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/martin-v-allied-interstate-llc-flsd-2016.