Reese v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC

202 F.R.D. 83, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14359, 2001 WL 901280
CourtDistrict Court, D. Connecticut
DecidedJune 14, 2001
DocketNo. Civ. 3:00CV827(JBA)
StatusPublished
Cited by13 cases

This text of 202 F.R.D. 83 (Reese v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, D. Connecticut primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Reese v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC, 202 F.R.D. 83, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14359, 2001 WL 901280 (D. Conn. 2001).

Opinion

[85]*85RULING ON PENDING MOTIONS [Docs. ## 23, 11]

ARTERTON, District Judge.

Plaintiff filed this suit on behalf of himself and three putative classes, claiming that defendants Arrow Financial Services, LLC (“Arrow”), Robert Lavin, Jack Lavin and Ronald Lavin violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692(d), (e) and (f) (“FDCPA”) and the Connecticut Uniform Trade Practices Act, Conn.Gen.Stat. § 42-110a (“CUTPA”) by their activities in connection with collecting on charged-off debt bought by defendant Arrow. According to plaintiff, defendant Arrow attempted to collect on his charged-off debt without advising plaintiff that the statute of limitations had run on such debt or that making payment on the debt would waive the statute of limitations defense and subject plaintiff to having the debt reported on his credit report. Plaintiff further contends that defendant Arrow reported the information on the charged-off debt to credit reporting services although the underlying debt was too old to be reported'.

Plaintiff seeks relief on behalf of three putative classes: (1) a one-year FDCPA class of all Connecticut residents whose consumer charged-off debt was purchased by Arrow or an entity related to the defendants when it was more than six years old, and from whom Arrow elicited payment on the debt without disclosing information essential for the consumer to make an informed decision about the consequences of renewing the statute of limitations; (2) a one-year FDCPA class of all Connecticut residents whose consumer charged-off debt was purchased by Arrow or an entity related to defendants when it was more than seven years old, and which debt was reported by Arrow on the consumer’s credit report, either directly or because of a judgment in favor of Arrow; and (3) a three-year CUTPA class consisting of all Connecticut residents whose consumer charged-off debt was purchased by Arrow or an entity [86]*86related to the defendants when it was more than six years old, and from whom Arrow elicited payment on the debt without disclosing information essential for the consumer to make an informed decision about the consequences of renewing the statute of limitations.1

Currently pending are the individual defendants’ (Robert Lavin, Jack Lavin and Ronald Lavin) motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction [Doc. #23] and plaintiffs motion for class certification [Doc. # 11]. For the reasons discussed below, defendants’ motion to dismiss is granted and plaintiffs motion for class certification is denied.

I. Defendants’ motion to dismiss

The individual Lavin defendants have moved to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction. Robert Lavin is the founder and Chairman of Arrow, Jack Lavin is the President and Chief Executive,Officer of Arrow, and Ronald Lavin is the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Arrow. According to plaintiff, because it is undisputed “that the individual defendants are the officers of the Connecticut-licensed collection agency, are debt collectors, and that they generally ratified and approved collection letters, knowing that some of the letters might be sent to debtors in Connecticut,” personal jurisdiction over the individual Lavin defendants is proper. Pl.Opp. at 5.

On a Rule 12(b)(2) motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction, plaintiff bears the burden of showing that the court has jurisdiction over defendant. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. v. Robertson-Ceco Corp., 84 F.3d 560, 566 (2d Cir.1996). “In resolving questions of personal jurisdiction in a diversity action, a district court must conduct a two-part inquiry. First, it must determine whether the plaintiff has shown that the defendant is amenable to service under the forum state’s laws; and second, it must assess whether the court’s assertion of jurisdiction under these laws comports with the requirements of due process.” Robertson-Ceco Corp., 84 F.3d. at 567.

The constitutional due process limitations on jurisdiction “require that a nonresident corporate defendant have ‘minimum contacts’ with the forum state such that it would reasonably anticipate being haled into court there.” Combustion Engineering, Inc. v. NEI Int’l Combustion Ltd., 798 F.Supp. 100, 103 (D.Conn.1992) (citing World-Wide Volkswagen Corp. v. Woodson, 444 U.S. 286, 297, 100 S.Ct. 559, 62 L.Ed.2d 490 (1980)). In determining whether the requisite constitutional minimum contacts exist, the Court is to consider “the relationship among the defendant, the forum, and the litigation.” Keeton v. Hustler Magazine, 465 U.S. 770, 775, 104 S.Ct. 1473, 79 L.Ed.2d 790 (1984).

Due process prohibits maintenance of a suit in the forum state if it “offend[s] ‘traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice.’ ” International Shoe Co. v. Washington, 326 U.S. 310, 316, 66 S.Ct. 154, 90 L.Ed. 95 (1945) (quoting Milliken v. Meyer, 311 U.S. 457, 463, 61 S.Ct. 339, 85 L.Ed. 278 (1940)). As the Supreme Court observed in Burger King Corp. v. Rudzewicz, 471 U.S. 462, 472, 105 S.Ct. 2174, 85 L.Ed.2d 528 (1985),

Where a forum seeks to assert specific jurisdiction over an out-of-state defendant who has not consented to suit there, this “fair warning” requirement is satisfied if the defendant has “purposefully directed” his activities at residents of the forum, and the litigation results from alleged injuries that “arise out of or relate to” those activities.

The two cornerstones of the “purposeful availment” requirement are voluntariness and foreseeability. “It is essential in each case that there be some act by which the defendant purposefully avails itself of the privilege of conducting activities within the forum State, thus invoking the benefits and protections of its laws.” Hanson v. Denckla, 357 U.S. 235, 253, 78 S.Ct. 1228, 2 L.Ed.2d 1283 (1958); see also Asahi Metal Indus. Co. v. Superior Ct. of Cal., 480 U.S. 102, 109, 107 S.Ct. 1026, 94 L.Ed.2d 92 (1987).

[87]*87On ai motion to dismiss, plaintiffs proof of jurisdiction is not limited to the allegations of his complaint. “Unlike a motion to dismiss for failure to state a claim under 12(b)(6), a motion to dismiss under 12(b)(2) is a test of the plaintiffs actual proof and, therefore, the court will consider affidavits submitted by the parties as well as the pleadings.” Shaw v. American Cyanamid, 534 F.Supp. 527, 528 (D.Conn.1982).

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Bluebook (online)
202 F.R.D. 83, 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14359, 2001 WL 901280, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reese-v-arrow-financial-services-llc-ctd-2001.