Timlick v. Nat'l Enter. Sys., Inc.

247 Cal. Rptr. 3d 575, 35 Cal. App. 5th 674
CourtCalifornia Court of Appeal, 5th District
DecidedMay 7, 2019
DocketA154235
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 247 Cal. Rptr. 3d 575 (Timlick v. Nat'l Enter. Sys., Inc.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering California Court of Appeal, 5th District primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Timlick v. Nat'l Enter. Sys., Inc., 247 Cal. Rptr. 3d 575, 35 Cal. App. 5th 674 (Cal. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

Fujisaki, J.

*678In this appeal from the dismissal of a putative consumer class action, we are presented with two main questions. First, can a debt collector that violates the minimum type-size requirement for consumer collection letters under Civil Code sections 1812.700 to 1812.7021 utilize the procedure for curing violations under the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Rosenthal Act; § 1788 et seq.) to correct its violation? Second, after the trial court in this case found there was no triable issue of material fact that the defendant debt collector timely cured the type-size violation as to the named plaintiff, did the court err by dismissing the entire putative class action?

Our answer to each of the foregoing questions is yes. The Rosenthal Act's cure provision set forth in section 1788.30, subdivision (d) (hereafter section 1788.30(d)), is available to debt collectors to correct curable violations of the Consumer Collection Notice law. However, the trial court erred by dismissing the entire putative class action, as this allowed the debt collector to unilaterally "pick off" the named plaintiff and avoid class action litigation. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment and remand for further proceedings.

*679FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The operative class action complaint filed by Lisa Arlene Timlick alleges as *578follows. After defaulting on a loan, Timlick received a collection letter dated January 13, 2016, from third-party debt collector National Enterprise Systems, Inc. (NES). This was the first written communication from NES to Timlick regarding the subject debt. The letter did not comply with section 1812.701, subdivision (b) (hereafter section 1812.701(b)) of the Consumer Collection Notice law because certain statutorily-required language was not in a type-size that was at least the same as used to inform Timlick of the debt, or 12-point type. Timlick pleaded a single cause of action against NES for violation of section 1812.701(b) and sought to recover statutory damages, costs, and attorney's fees. She also sought to represent a class of persons in California who received an initial written communication from NES in an attempt to collect on a consumer debt during the one-year period prior to the complaint's filing date.

NES moved for summary judgment on the basis that it cured the alleged violation within the 15-day period prescribed by section 1788.30(d) for correcting curable Rosenthal Act violations. NES submitted evidence that on January 13, 2017, nine days after it was served with Timlick's complaint, NES sent a letter to Timlick, in care of her counsel of record, enclosing a revised collection letter which set forth the required language in the same type-size as that which was used to inform her of her specific debt.

In opposition to the motion, Timlick did not dispute NES's evidence or material facts. Rather, she argued section 1788.30(d) should not apply for various reasons: (1) it was implicitly repealed by a subsequently-enacted statute; (2) it applied only to violations under a different title of the Civil Code that did not contain the statute violated by NES; (3) NES's violation was not capable of being cured within the meaning of section 1788.30(d); and (4) NES's revised collection letter did not provide redress to the putative class but merely served to eliminate Timlick's standing to act as named plaintiff.

The trial court found that section 1788.30(d) applied to NES's section 1812.701(b) violation, and that NES timely cured the violation by sending the revised collection letter. The trial court granted NES's motion for summary judgment and dismissed the complaint with prejudice. Timlick timely appealed.

DISCUSSION

"On appeal after a motion for summary judgment has been granted, we review the record de novo, considering all the evidence set forth in the *680moving and opposition papers except that to which objections have been made and sustained." ( Guz v. Bechtel National, Inc. (2000) 24 Cal.4th 317, 334, 100 Cal.Rptr.2d 352, 8 P.3d 1089.) We also conduct independent review of the trial court's determination of questions of law. ( Stratton v. First Nat. Life Ins. Co. (1989) 210 Cal.App.3d 1071, 1083, 258 Cal.Rptr. 721.)

Timlick argues section 1788.30(d) and its cure provision were repealed when the Legislature enacted section 1788.17 to harmonize the Rosenthal Act with the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA; 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. ). Alternatively, Timlick argues that the cure provision applies only to violations under the title in which it is codified (title 1.6C) and that it has no application to NES's section 1812.701(b) violation, which falls under a different title (title 2.97). In any case, Timlick contends, NES's type-size violation is not one that is capable of being cured within the meaning of section 1788.30(d) because the Consumer Collection Notice law necessarily requires compliance in the debt collector's first *579written communication to the consumer debtor.2

As for the trial court's decision to dismiss the entire putative class action after granting summary judgment on Timlick's individual claim, Timlick argues this was error under the so-called "pick off exception," which is an exception to the general rule that a named plaintiff in a class action must be a member of the class she seeks to represent. ( La Sala v. American Sav. & Loan Assn. (1971) 5 Cal.3d 864, 875, 97 Cal.Rptr. 849, 489 P.2d 1113 ( La Sala ).) Timlick argues that under this exception, she did not automatically lose her standing to represent the class, and that the trial court should have given her the opportunity to amend her complaint, or redefine the class, or find a new class representative.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
247 Cal. Rptr. 3d 575, 35 Cal. App. 5th 674, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/timlick-v-natl-enter-sys-inc-calctapp5d-2019.