Rivera v. Dealer Funding, LLC

178 F. Supp. 3d 272, 89 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 521, 2016 WL 1535758, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50743
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedApril 15, 2016
DocketCIVIL ACTION No. 15-6590
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 178 F. Supp. 3d 272 (Rivera v. Dealer Funding, LLC) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, E.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rivera v. Dealer Funding, LLC, 178 F. Supp. 3d 272, 89 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 521, 2016 WL 1535758, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50743 (E.D. Pa. 2016).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

ROBERT F. KELLY, Senior Judge.

Presently before this Court is Defendant, Collateral Adjustment Corporation’s [274]*274(“Defendant CAC”) Motion to Dismiss and Strike Portions of Plaintiffs Complaint, and the Response in Opposition by Plaintiff, Elizabeth Rivera (“Plaintiff’). For the reasons set forth below, this Motion is granted.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 11, 2015, Plaintiff initiated this lawsuit by filing a Complaint against Defendant CAC, Consolidated Asset Recovery Systems Inc. (“Defendant CARS”), and Dealer Funded, LLC (“Defendant DFL”)(collectively “Defendants”). (Doc. No. 1.) The Complaint is comprised of the following four counts: Count I alleges violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) at 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. against Defendant CAC and Defendant CARS, Count II alleges violations of the Uniform Commercial Code (“U.C.C.”) at 18 Pa. C.S.A. § 9607 et seq. and the Pennsylvania Motor Vehicles Sales Finance Act (“MVSFA”) at 69 P.S. § 615 et seq. against all Defendants, Count III alleges violations of the Fair Credit Extension Uniformity Act (“FCEUA”) at 73 P.S. § 2270.1 et seq. and the Pennsylvania Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (“UTPCPL”) at 73 P.S. § 201-1 et seq. against all Defendants, and Count IV alleges negligence claims against all Defendants. (Id.)

Defendant DFL is a Georgia Corporation licensed to do business in Philadelphia as a buyer of used car credit purchase agreements. (Compl. ¶ 4.) Defendant CARS is a corporation regularly engaged in the business of debt collection and automobile repossession. (Id. ¶ 5.) Defendant CAC is a Pennsylvania Corporation also engaged in the business of automobile repossession. (Id. ¶ 6.) According to Plaintiff, Defendant CARS and Defendant CAC were hired by and acted as Defendant DFL’s agents.

The facts of this ease begin on or about October 2014, when Plaintiff entered into a Retail Installment Sales Contract (“RISC”) for the financed purchase of a 2006 BMW X3 (“subject car”). (Id. ¶10.) Plaintiff was in default on her loan, and on or about September 22, 2015, at the direction of Defendant DFL, Defendant CAC came to her residence and repossessed the subject vehicle. (Id. ¶¶ 11-12.) On or about September 29, 2015, Plaintiff went to the New Jersey Manheim lot to redeem her vehicle. (Id. ¶ 13.) Plaintiff alleges that after retrieving the vehicle and inspecting it, she noticed that personal property was removed, trash was littered throughout the vehicle, and that the vehicle had been damaged due to being improperly towed by Defendant CAC. (Id. ¶ 14.)

Presently before this Court is Defendant CAC’s Motion to Dismiss the Compliant under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (“Fed. R. Civ. P.”) for failing to attach a necessary writing upon which her entire claim is based. In the alternative, Defendant CAC moves this Court under Rules 12(b)(6) and 12(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure for an Order dismissing Counts I, II, and III of Plaintiffs Complaint for failure to state a claim, and striking paragraphs 41 and 49, as well as sections A, B, D, E, and G of Plaintiffs Prayer for Relief. In her proposed order to this Court, Plaintiff has agreed to the following: dismissal of Count III; paragraphs 41 and 49 are stricken from the Complaint; Section A’s references to the UTPCPL and FCEUA are stricken; and Section G of Plaintiffs Prayer for Relief is stricken as to Defendant CAC.

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

A motion to dismiss under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) tests the sufficiency of a complaint. Kost v. Kozakiewicz, [275]*2751 F.3d 176, 183 (3d Cir.1993). Pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6), the defendant bears the burden of demonstrating that the plaintiff has failed to set forth a claim from which relief may be granted. Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(6); see also Lucas v. City of Phila., No. 11-4376, 2012 WL 1655430, at *2 (E.D.Pa. May 2, 2012) (citing Hedges v. U.S., 404 F.3d 744, 750 (3d Cir.2005)). In evaluating a motion to dismiss, the court must view any reasonable inferences from the factual allegations in a light most favorable to the plaintiff. Buck v. Hampton Twp. Sch. Dist., 452 F.3d 256, 260 (3d Cir.2002).

The United States Supreme Court (“Supreme Court”) set forth in Twombly, and further defined in Iqbal, a two-part test to determine whether to grant or deny a motion to dismiss. See Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009); Bell Atlantic Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007). The United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (“Third Circuit”) has noted that these cases signify the progression from liberal pleading requirements to more “exacting scrutiny” of the complaint. Wilson v. City of Phila., 415 Fed.Appx. 434, 436 (3d Cir.2011).

Initially, the court must ascertain whether the complaint is supported by well-pleaded factual allegations. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. “Threadbare recitals of the elements of a cause of action, supported by mere conclusory statements, do not suffice.” Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. Conclusions of law can serve as the foundation of a complaint, but to survive dismissal they must be supported by factual allegations. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. These factual allegations must be explicated sufficiently to provide a defendant the type of notice that is contemplated by Rule 8. See Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2) (requiring a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief); see also Phillips v. County of Allegheny, 515 F.3d 224, 233 (3d Cir.2008). Where there are well-pleaded facts, courts must assume their truthfulness. Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937.

Upon a finding of a well-pleaded complaint, the court must then determine whether thesé allegations “plausibly” give rise to an entitlement to relief. Id. at 679, 129 S.Ct. 1937. This is a “context specific task that requires the reviewing court to draw on its judicial experience and common sense.” Id. Plausibility compels the pleadings to contain enough factual content to allow a court to make “a reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged.” Id. (citing Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 at 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929).

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178 F. Supp. 3d 272, 89 U.C.C. Rep. Serv. 2d (West) 521, 2016 WL 1535758, 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 50743, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rivera-v-dealer-funding-llc-paed-2016.