Seawell v. Universal Fidelity Corp.

235 F.R.D. 64, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8922, 2006 WL 562834
CourtDistrict Court, E.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedMarch 6, 2006
DocketNo. Civ.A. 05-479
StatusPublished
Cited by7 cases

This text of 235 F.R.D. 64 (Seawell v. Universal Fidelity Corp.) 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
Seawell v. Universal Fidelity Corp., 235 F.R.D. 64, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8922, 2006 WL 562834 (E.D. Pa. 2006).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM/ORDER

POLLAK, District Judge.

Plaintiff Donja Seawell (“Seawell”) has moved for certification of a class pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 in this FDCPA case. For the reasons given in the discussion to follow, Seawell’s motion will be granted.

I.

This litigation arises from defendant Universal Fidelity Corporation’s (“Universal”) alleged mailing of form debt collection letters to Seawell and other putative class members. Seawell alleges she received a letter from Universal that contained the following heading, in large font, in the letterhead: “Administrative Office Record of Notification.” Next to these words was an image of the American flag. Seawell maintains that a similar form letter was sent to hundreds of other consumers. Seawell claims the letterhead used in this form letter suggests to recipients that the letter was sent by an arm of the United States government, and, as such, the letter violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692, et seq. (“FDCPA”). Seawell intends to pursue the instant action on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated—that is, as a class action. Seawell’s proposed class is defined as “all persons in the United States to whom, during one year prior to the filing of the Class Action Complaint, Defendant sent a letter or other communications substantially in the form of the letter attached as Exhibit A to the Class Action Complaint (‘Letter’) in an attempt to collect a non-business debt, which letter was not returned as undeliverable by the Postal Service. Excluded from the Class are all officers and directors of the Defendant.”

II.

In order to qualify for class certification, a class representative must first show that her case satisfies all four prerequisites of Rule 23(a). The Rule 23(a) prerequisites 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.

One of the primary disputed issues in the parties’ submissions is whether Seawell has adequately demonstrated numerosity, as required by Rule 23(a)(1). Universal has asserted that numerosity is impossible to show in this case, as Universal does not maintain records of how many letters it sends on a particular letterhead. However, attached to Seawell’s most recent submission is a letter from Universal’s counsel, accompanied by a confirmed computer printout, indicating that the letter sent to Seawell was one of 321 letters of the same form produced by Universal in a single day. Furthermore, deposition testimony indicates that Universal uses a single type of letterhead for letters of the same form. Seawell thus contends that the class contains at least 321 confirmed members, easily satisfying the numerosity requirement. Universal points out that its stock of a particular letterhead sometimes runs out in the middle of a large print job of form letters, and the rest of the letters are therefore printed on different letterhead. Thus, contends Universal, it is impossible to tell whether all letters of a particular form, even if printed on the same day, were printed on the “Administrative Office” letterhead. This observation does not help Universal’s cause, as deposition testimony also indicates that Universal purchased at least one box [66]*66containing 2500 pages of “Administrative Office” letterhead. Thus, either all 321 letters printed on the same day as Seawell’s were on “Administrative Office” letterhead, or Universal exhausted its stock of “Administrative Office” letterhead that day, meaning Universal had sent out at least 2500 letters on that letterhead previously. Seawell has thus shown a strong probability that Universal sent at least 321 letters on the “Administrative Office” letterhead, and I find this showing adequate to satisfy Rule 23(a)(1). See Tenuto v. Transworld Systems, Inc., 2000 WL 1470213 (E.D.Pa. Sept.29, 2000) (“Classes of more than a hundred persons are generally sufficient to satisfy the numer-osity requirement.”).

Universal also contends that Seawell has failed to demonstrate commonality and typicality, as required by Rule 23(a)(2) and (3). However, Universal’s only argument in support of this contention is that Seawell’s failure to demonstrate numerosity automatically prevents her from showing commonality and typicality. As I have rejected Universal’s argument with respect to numerosity, its argument against commonality and typicality also fails. It is clear that these requirements are met in this case. In order to demonstrate commonality, a class representative need only show that her claims share at least one question of law or fact with those of the prospective class. Baby Neal v. Casey, 43 F.3d 48, 56 (3d Cir.1994). In order to demonstrate typicality, a class representative must show “that the common claims are comparably central to the claims of the named plaintiffs as to the claims of the absentees.” Id. at 57. Typicality is usually present in “cases challenging the same unlawful conduct which affects both the named plaintiffs and the putative class.... ” Id. at 58. In this case, the putative class consists of persons who received from Universal the same form letter on the same letterhead. It is the use of that letterhead that gives rise to the sole claim in this case. In order to prevail on her FDCPA claim, Seawell must show that the letter was deceptive from the perspective of the least sophisticated consumer. See Graziano v. Harrison, 950 F.2d 107, 111 (3d Cir.1991). This is the same showing any member of the class would have to make in order to prevail on an FDCPA claim based on the letter from Universal. I conclude that Rule 23(a)’s requirements of commonality and typicality are met. Compare Tenuto, 2000 WL 1470213; Piper v. Portnoff Law Assoc., 215 F.R.D. 495 (E.D.Pa.2003); Wilborn v. Dun & Bradstreet Corp., 180 F.R.D. 347 (N.D.Ill.1998).

The final Rule 23(a) requirement is that the class representative must adequately represent the class. The Third Circuit applies a two-prong test to determine the adequacy of a proposed class representative. The first prong of the test inquires into the “qualifications of counsel to represent the class,” and the second prong “serves to uncover conflicts of interest between named parties and the class they seek to represent.” In re Prudential Ins. Co. of America Sales Practices Litig., 148 F.3d 283, 312 (3d Cir.1998). Proposed class counsel in this case have submitted biographies as well as an extensive list of cases in which they have served as class counsel. Universal does not challenge their qualifications, and I find no reason to doubt that they are competent to prosecute this action on behalf of the class. Universal has challenged Seawell’s fitness as a class representative, urging that Seawell lacks credibility.

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Bluebook (online)
235 F.R.D. 64, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8922, 2006 WL 562834, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/seawell-v-universal-fidelity-corp-paed-2006.