Peters v. AT&T Corp.

179 F.R.D. 564, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9079, 1998 WL 329704
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedJune 11, 1998
DocketNo. 97 C 8273
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 179 F.R.D. 564 (Peters v. AT&T Corp.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, N.D. Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Peters v. AT&T Corp., 179 F.R.D. 564, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9079, 1998 WL 329704 (N.D. Ill. 1998).

Opinion

[566]*566 MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

BUCKLO, District Judge.

On November 26, 1997, the plaintiff, Andrew Peters, brought this action against the defendants, AT & T Corporation (“AT & T”), GC Services Limited Partnership (“GC Services”), DLS Enterprises, Inc. (“DLS”), and GC Financial Corporation (“GC Financial”), alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. Mr. Peters seeks to certify this case as a class action. DLS and GC Financial move to dismiss the complaint against them. For the reasons set forth below, Mr. Peters’ motion for class certification is granted and DLS’ and GC Financial’s motion to dismiss is denied.

Background

Mr. Peters alleges that shortly after June 2, 1997, he received via the United States mail the collection letter attached to the complaint as Exhibit A. The letter was from GC Services, a collection agency, and sought payment of an AT & T residential long-distance telephone bill. There was no telephone number provided at which a consumer could contact GC Services. The letter allegedly encouraged consumers to call AT & T at a toll free phone number to inquire about the debt and to make payments to AT & T at a fictitious address. Mr. Peters claims that GC Services had no information about the debt beyond that appearing on the face of the letter.

The complaint alleges that AT & T seeks to have payments on delinquent accounts sent to Post Office Box 8211, Fox Valley, Illinois 60572-8211. To induce AT & T’s customers to pay AT & T, AT & T and GC Services allegedly agreed to send or cause to be sent collection letters similar to the one in Exhibit A, which purport to emanate from GC Services. Mr. Peters claims, however, that GC Services had not been hired to perform any actual collection services for AT & T at the time the collection letters were sent. He says GC Services was merely lending its name to assist collection activities. AT & T, in the process of collecting its own debt, was allegedly using GC Services’ name to indicate that a third person was collecting or attempting to collect such debts.

Class Certification

Mr. Peters moves to certify this case as a class action. The proposed class consists of all persons (1) who were mailed a collection letter in the form represented by Exhibit A of the complaint, (2) which letter was not returned by the Postal Service, (3) on or after November 26, 1996, (4) in connection with a bill for residential phone service allegedly owed to AT & T.

To obtain class certification, Mr. Peters must satisfy the four requirements of Rule 23(a) and one of the requirements of Rule 23(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Harriston v. Chicago Tribune Co., 992 F.2d 697, 703 (7th Cir.1993). The failure to meet any single requirement precludes class certification. Id. I find that Mr. Peters has met the requirements of Rules 23(a) and 23(b)(3).

A. Rule 23(a)

The four prerequisites for a class action under Rule 23(a) are:

(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 only prerequisite that the defendants, GC Services, DLS, and GC Financial (collectively the “GC Defendants”),1 challenge is the ability of Mr. Peters to fairly and adequately protect the interests of the class.

1. Numerosity

The numerosity requirement is met. AT & T is a large long distance telephone carrier. The collection letter sent to Mr. Peters is a form letter to collect amounts allegedly owed to AT & T. Based on these facts, it is reasonable to infer that many [567]*567individuals received the form collection letter and that joinder of all the individuals would be impracticable.2

2. Commonality

To satisfy the Rule 23(a) commonality requirement, Mr. Peters need only demonstrate that at least one question of law or fact is common to all class members. Spencer v. Central States, Southeast & Southwest Areas Pension Fund, 778 F.Supp. 985, 989 n. 2 (N.D.Ill.1991). In this ease, the common questions of law or fact include: (1) whether GC Services plays a significant role in collecting debts that are the subject of the collection letters or is merely lending its name to AT & T; (2) whether AT & T is deemed a debt collector because it is using GC Services name; and (3) whether the form collection letters violate the FDCPA. Thus, the commonality requirement is satisfied.

S. Typicality

“A plaintiffs claim is typical if it arises from the same event or practice or course of conduct that gives rise to the claims of other class members and his or her claims are based on the same legal theory.” De La Fuente v. Stokely-Van Camp, Inc., 713 F.2d 225, 232 (7th Cir.1983) (quoting H. Newberg, Class Actions, § 1115(b), at 185 (1977)). Here, each claim arises from the receipt of collection letters similar to the one Mr. Peters received that allegedly violate the FDCPA. Typicality is therefore established.

L Adequacy of Representation

The adequacy of representation requirement has three elements: (1) the chosen class representative cannot have antagonistic or conflicting claims with other members of the class, ... (2) the named representative must have sufficient interest in the outcome to ensure vigorous advocacy, ... and, (3) counsel for the named plaintiff must be competent, experienced, qualified, and generally able to conduct the proposed litigation vigorously.

Gammon v. GC Services Ltd. Partnership, 162 F.R.D. 313, 317 (N.D.Ill.1995) (citations and quotations omitted). Mr. Peters has retained qualified counsel. (See Pl.’s App. C for qualifications). The GC Defendants argue, however, that Mr. Peters cannot adequately represent the class for three reasons.

First, the GC Defendants claim that Mr. Peters’ conduct thus far shows his lack of interest and involvement in the case. By placing the collection letter on top of his drawer for a couple of months before taking any action, by failing to write GC Services, and by failing to call AT & T, they argue that Mr. Peters is irresponsible, apathetic, and insufficiently motivated to properly represent the class. They say that Mr.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
179 F.R.D. 564, 1998 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9079, 1998 WL 329704, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peters-v-att-corp-ilnd-1998.