Rodolakis v. Safety Ins. Co.

327 F. Supp. 3d 274
CourtDistrict Court, District of Columbia
DecidedAugust 17, 2018
DocketCIVIL ACTION NO. 17-12080-RWZ
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 327 F. Supp. 3d 274 (Rodolakis v. Safety Ins. Co.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, District of Columbia primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Rodolakis v. Safety Ins. Co., 327 F. Supp. 3d 274 (D.D.C. 2018).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION

ZOBEL, S.D.J.

Defendants Safety Insurance Company ("Safety") and Law Offices of Thomas S.

*276Francis ("Francis") move to dismiss this putative class action case brought by plaintiff Alex Rodolakis. For the reasons detailed herein, the motions are allowed.

I. Factual Background

The complaint alleges that plaintiff was involved in an automobile accident in October 2013, and that he was, at the time, insured by defendant Safety. The operator who, plaintiff asserts, was entirely responsible for the accident, was insured by a company other than Safety. Letters attached to the complaint and defendants' motions to dismiss show that Safety paid plaintiff $2,240.82 for repairs to his vehicle and that plaintiff also received payment in the amount of $2,495.39 from the other driver's insurance company.1 Paragraph 7 of the complaint then details the crux of plaintiff's grievance: "On or about February 2, 2017, Safety acting through its counsel Francis [also named as a defendant], made demand for payment of a debt from Mr. Rodolakis. Among other things, Safety claimed under the terms of its insurance contract that it was legally entitled to collect $2,240.82 from Mr. Rodolakis." Safety later brought suit against Rodolakis in the Boston Municipal Court to recover this sum. Plaintiff resides in Barnstable County.

Plaintiff claims violations by one or both defendants of the state and federal Fair Debt Collection Practices ("FDCPA") statutes, Ch. 93A, and violations of the covenant of good faith and fair dealing. See 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. ; Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93, § 49 ; id. ch. 93A. Without any factual allegations he also purports to bring the claims on behalf of a class of "[a]ll Massachusetts consumers sued by Safety and/or Francis to collect debts in violation of the FDCPA or MDCPA." See Docket # 6, at 6.

Defendants have moved to dismiss the complaint on several grounds, including that the amount claimed was not a "debt."

II. Legal Principles

"To survive a motion to dismiss, a complaint must contain sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to 'state a claim to relief that is plausible on its face.' " Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (quoting Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 570, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007) ). "A claim has facial plausibility when the plaintiff pleads factual content that allows the court to draw the reasonable inference that the defendant is liable for the misconduct alleged." Id. For purposes of a motion to dismiss, the court accepts all well-pleaded factual allegations as true and draws all reasonable inferences in the plaintiff's favor. See Rodríguez-Reyes v. Molina-Rodríguez, 711 F.3d 49, 52-53 (1st Cir. 2013).

III. Application

A. Federal and Massachusetts FDCPA Claims (Counts II and IV)

Plaintiff's claim under the federal FDCPA must be dismissed because the complaint fails to plead that defendants sought to recover a "debt" from plaintiff. The FDCPA's stated purpose is "to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors." 15 U.S.C.A. § 1692. Under *277the law, a "debt" is "any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction...." Id. § 1692a (emphasis added); see Hawthorne v. Mac Adjustment, Inc., 140 F.3d 1367, 1371 (11th Cir.1998) ("[N]ot all obligations to pay are considered 'debts' subject to the FDCPA. Rather, the FDCPA may be triggered only when an obligation to pay arises out of a specified 'transaction.' "). Here, although Safety and plaintiff had entered into an insurance agreement, the complaint does not allege that the money defendants sought from plaintiff arose from that transaction. Rather, the complaint and the letters at most suggest that plaintiff's obligation to Safety came into being as a result of an automobile accident and the fact that, having reimbursed plaintiff for the damage to his vehicle, Safety has an equitable right to recoup its payment from any funds plaintiff might receive from the other driver's insurance company for the same damage. See Travelers Ins. Co. v. Graye, 358 Mass. 238, 263 N.E.2d 442, 443 (1970) ; Apthorp v. OneBeacon Ins. Grp., LLC, 78 Mass.App.Ct. 115, 935 N.E.2d 365

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327 F. Supp. 3d 274, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rodolakis-v-safety-ins-co-dcd-2018.