Styer v. Professional Medical Management, Inc.

114 F. Supp. 3d 234, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92349, 2015 WL 4394032
CourtDistrict Court, M.D. Pennsylvania
DecidedJuly 15, 2015
DocketCivil Action No. 3:14-CV-2304
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 114 F. Supp. 3d 234 (Styer v. Professional Medical Management, Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court, M.D. Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Styer v. Professional Medical Management, Inc., 114 F. Supp. 3d 234, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92349, 2015 WL 4394032 (M.D. Pa. 2015).

Opinion

MEMORANDUM

WILLIAM J. NEALON, District Judge.

On November 5, 2014, Plaintiff, Monica Styer, filed a complaint against Defendant, Professional Medical Management, Inc., alleging a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. (“FDCPA”). (Doc. 1). On March 15, 2015, Plaintiff filed a motion for summary judgment and supporting documents. (Docs. 10-12). On March 16, 2015, Defendant filed a cross motion for summary judgment and supporting documents. (Docs. 13-15). The parties seek judgment on Plaintiffs sole claim, raised, specifically whether the Defendant’s disclosure of a quick response code (“QR code”) that, when electronically scanned, reveals Plaintiffs name, address, and account number, constitutes a violation of section 1692f(8) of the FDCPA.1 On March 23, 2015, Plaintiff filed her:brief in opposition. (Doc. 17). On ■ March 26, 2015, Defendant filed its brief in opposition. (Doc. 18). Oh April 13, 2015, Plaintiff filed her reply to Defendant’s brief in opposition. (Doc. 19). Defendant has not filed a reply to Plaintiffs brief in opposition, and the deadline for such a filing has passed. See M.D. Pa. L.R. 7.7. The motions are now ripe for disposition, and'for the reasons set forth below, Plaintiffs motion will be granted and Defendant’s motion will be denied.

I. STATEMENT OF FACTS

The parties filed joint factual and procedural stipulations, which establish that the facts relevant to this case are undisputed. (Docs. 6, 11, 15). The parties have stipulated to the following: Plaintiff is a “consumer” as defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(3). (Id. at p. 1). Defendant is a “debt collector” as defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). (Id.). ‘Within the past year [Defendant] was attempting to collect from Plaintiff an account that [Defendant] identified by number ending in 4408.” (Id.). The account is a “debt” as defined by 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5). (Docs. 6, 11, 15, p. 1). At all times relevant to this action, Defendant was acting as a debt collector attempting to collect a debt from Plaintiff. (Id. at p. 3).

On June 12, 2014, Defendant mailed a letter to Plaintiff in an attempt to collect the aforementioned debt. (Id. at p. 1). The letter was mailed in an envelope with a glassine window. (Id. at pp. 1-2). Defendant’s return address was visible through the window. (Id. at p. 2). Also [236]*236visible through the window was the QR code, which is a specific type of barcode. (Id.). The QR code contains encoded information, and can be scanned by certain devices, such as a smartphone, to decode the information and reveal its contents. (Id.). Many consumers have these scanner applications installed on their smart-phones. (Id.). The QR code, if scanned by such a device, would reveal the following information:. ONFIRUO,# K# 02-12402280-[redacted]4408-2-NCOA, Monica Styer, 12 Tuttle St., Simpson, PA, 184071322129,45,0. (Id.). The redacted portion is the account number used by Defendant to identify the Plaintiffs account, and was associated solely with Plaintiffs account. (Id.).

II. STANDARD OF REVIEW

Summary judgment “should be rendered if the pleadings, the discovery and disclosure materials' on file, and any affidavits' show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Fed. R. Civ. P. 56(c); Turner v. Schering-Plough Corp., 901 F.2d 335, 340 (3d Cir.1990). The party moving for summary judgment bears the burden of showing the absence of a' genuine issue as to any material fact. Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). Once this showing has been made, the nonmoving party must offer specific facts contradicting those averred by the movant to establish a genuine issue of material fact. Lujan v. Nat’l Wildlife Fed’n, 497 U.S. 871, 888, 110 S.Ct. 3177, 111 L.Ed.2d 695 (1990). All inferences “should be drawn in the light most favorable tov the nonmoving party, and where the nonmoving party’s evidence contradicts the movant’s, then the non-movant’s must be taken as true.” Pastore v. Bell Tel. Co., 24 F.3d 508, 512 (3d Cir.1994) (quoting Big Apple BMW, Inc. v. BMW of North Am., Inc., 974 F.2d 1358, 1363 (3d Cir.1992), cert. denied, 507 U.S. 912, 113 S.Ct. 1262, 122 L.Ed.2d 659 (1993)).

“The rule is no different where,” as in this case, “there are cross-motions for summary judgment.” Lawrence v. City of Philadelphia, 527 F.3d 299, 310 (3d Cir.2008). According to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit:

[c]ross-motions are no more than a claim by each side that it alone is entitled to summary judgment, and the making of such inherently contradictory claims does not constitute an agreement that if one is rejected the other is necessarily justified or that the losing party waives judicial consideration and determination whether genuine issues of material fact exist.

Lawrence, 527 F.3d at 310 (quoting Rains v. Cascade Indus., Inc., 402 F.2d 241, 245 (3d Cir.1968)); Holton v. Huff, 2012 WL 1354024, at *2, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53185, at *5 (M.D.Pa.2012) (Mariani, J.). On cross motions for summary judgment, “[e]ach movant must show that no genuine issue of material fact exists; if both, parties fail-to carry their respective burdens, the court must deny the motions.” Holton, 2012 WL 1354024, at *2, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 53185, at *5 (citing Facenda v. N.F.L. Films, Inc., 542 F.3d 1007, 1023 (3d Cir.2008)). “When reviewing each motion, the court is bound to view the evidence in the light most favorable to the nonmov-ant.” Id. (citing Fed. R. Crv. P. 56; United States v. Hall, 730 F.Supp. 646, 648 (M.D.Pa.1990) (Nealon, J.)). “Where there is no material fact in dispute, the moving party need only establish that it is entitled to judgment as a matter of law.” Schwab v. Reamstown Mut. Ins. Co., 2006 WL 3325645, at *1, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82815, at *3 (M.D.Pa.2006) (Caputo, J.).

In the case at bar, the parties submitted identical factual and procedural stipulations. (Docs. 11,15). Accordingly, for the [237]

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Bluebook (online)
114 F. Supp. 3d 234, 2015 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 92349, 2015 WL 4394032, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/styer-v-professional-medical-management-inc-pamd-2015.