Robles v. Corporate Receivables, Inc.

220 F.R.D. 306, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3420, 2004 WL 414794
CourtDistrict Court, N.D. Illinois
DecidedMarch 2, 2004
DocketNo. 02 C 4703
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 220 F.R.D. 306 (Robles v. Corporate Receivables, Inc.) 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
Robles v. Corporate Receivables, Inc., 220 F.R.D. 306, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3420, 2004 WL 414794 (N.D. Ill. 2004).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

LEVIN, United States Magistrate Judge.

Before the Court is Plaintiffs renewed motion for class certification pursuant to Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. For the reasons hereinafter set forth, the Court grants Plaintiffs motion.

BACKGROUND FACTS1

On July 2, 2002, Plaintiff Jose Robles (“Plaintiff’) filed a class action complaint against Defendant Corporate Receivables, Inc. (“Defendant”), alleging that Defendant violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. Plaintiff bases his complaint on three separate debt collection letters. (Complt.HH 5, 6, 7.) In his complaint, Plaintiff alleges that the second and third letters were sent within [308]*308thirty days of the initial validation letter, thus, rendering the thirty-day validation language of the first letter ineffective. (Id. HH 6, 7, 9.)

Specifically, Plaintiff complains that the second letter (“Letter 2”), which was sent thirteen days after the initial validation letter (“Letter 1”), made it appear that the validation period referenced in Letter 1 had expired by admonishing Plaintiff that Defendant had not received a response or suitable resolution of the debt it was attempting to collect.2 (Complt.HH 6, 9.) Thus, Letter 2 made it appear that the time to seek validation had expired, when in fact, more than two weeks remained in the validation period. (Id. H 9.) Plaintiff further avers that the third letter (“Letter 3”), which was sent twenty-nine days after Letter 1, stated that Plaintiffs silence was interpreted as a refusal to pay which reinforced Defendant’s message that the time to dispute the debt had passed, when in fact it had not.3 (Id. H117, 9.) Therefore, Plaintiff alleges that the statements in Letters 2 and 3, individually or collectively, would confuse the unsophisticated consumer by creating a false sense of urgency as to whether the thirty-day (i.e., from the date of receipt of the initial validation letter or Letter 1) validation period had already expired and whether the consumer must act immediately or would have the full thirty days to dispute the validity of the alleged debt. (Id. H 9.)

Plaintiff seeks to certify a class of all Illinois residents whom Defendant sought to collect consumer debts from July 2, 2001 through July 2, 2002,4 allegedly owed to Household Bank (SB), N.A., by sending Letters 2 and 3 (or similar letters) within thirty days of Letter 1 (or similar initial validation letters). (Complt. II11; Pl.’s Mem. at 2.) The class Plaintiff seeks to certify consists of 102 individuals from whom Defendant attempted to collect said consumer debts. (Pl.’s Ex. J.)

CLASS CERTIFICATION STANDARDS5

Rule 23 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure sets forth the relevant standards for maintaining class action suits in federal court. Fed.R.Civ.P.23. In order to bring a class action suit, a plaintiff must establish that the lawsuit meets the four requirements delineated in Rule 23(a) which include: (1) numerosity; (2) commonality; (3) typicality; and (4) adequacy of representation.6 Amchem Products, Inc. v. Windsor, 521 U.S. 591, 613, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689 (1997); Fed.R.Civ.P.23(a). These elements are a prerequisite to certification, and the failure to meet any one of the four elements precludes certification of a class. Retired Chicago Police Assoc. v. City of Chicago, 7 F.3d 584, 596 (7th Cir.1993); Harriston v. Chicago Tribune Co., 992 F.2d 697, 703 (7th Cir.1993); General Tel. Co. v. Falcon, 457 U.S. 147, 156, 102 S.Ct. 2364, 72 L.Ed.2d 740 (1982)(the plaintiff must meet “ ‘the prerequisites of numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation’ specified in Rule 23(a)”). In addition, if each of these elements is satisfied, then a plaintiff must satisfy one of the three requirements of Rule 23(b).7 Amchem Products, Inc., 521 U.S. at [309]*309614, 117 S.Ct. 2231, 138 L.Ed.2d 689; Fed. R.Civ.P.23(b).

The party seeking class certification bears the burden of demonstrating that certification is appropriate. Retired Chicago Police Assoc., 7 F.3d at 596. In addition, a district court has broad discretion in determining whether certification of a class is proper. Id.

ISSUE

As seen, the Plaintiff charges that Defendant’s form debt collection letters violated the FDCPA because the validation notice mandated by § 1692g of the FDCPA — advising consumers they have thirty days to dispute the debt — was overshadowed and thus rendered ineffective, by Defendant’s second and third form debt collection letters. (Pl.’s Reply at 1.)

Plaintiff avers that class certification is appropriate herein because all of the requirements of Rule 23(a) (i.e., numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation) have been satisfied. (Pl.’s Mem. at 3.) Moreover, Plaintiff asserts that Rule 23(b)(3) has been satisfied because questions of law or fact common to the members of the class predominate over any questions affecting only the individual members of the class, and a class action, herein, is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of this controversy. (Id.) Defendant, on the other hand, contends that class certification is improper because it has unique defenses to Plaintiffs claims; therefore, Plaintiff is unable to show that his claims are typical or common to the class, that he is an adequate class representative, and that his claims predominate over questions affecting the class as a whole. (Def.’s Mem. at 3-9.) Therefore, according to Defendant, the Court should deny Plaintiffs renewed motion for class certification. (Id.)

DISCUSSION

1. TYPICALITY

Plaintiff avers that the typicality requirement of Rule 23(a)(3) is satisfied because his claims are typical of the claims of the class because they are brought pursuant to the FDCPA and relate to the identical form debt collection letter, and, therefore, involve the same course of conduct by Defendant. (Pl.’s Mem.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Pezl v. Amore Mio, Inc.
259 F.R.D. 344 (N.D. Illinois, 2009)
Baxter v. Kawasaki Motors Corp.
259 F.R.D. 336 (N.D. Illinois, 2009)
Hernandez v. Midland Credit Management, Inc.
236 F.R.D. 406 (N.D. Illinois, 2006)
Hyderi v. Washington Mutual Bank, FA
235 F.R.D. 390 (N.D. Illinois, 2006)
Jackson v. National Action Financial Services, Inc.
227 F.R.D. 284 (N.D. Illinois, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
220 F.R.D. 306, 2004 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3420, 2004 WL 414794, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robles-v-corporate-receivables-inc-ilnd-2004.