A federal judge in Illinois has denied a motion to have a lawsuit against Midland Credit Management certified as a class action, because the plaintiff was too subjective in defining the criteria under which the class would be created.
A copy of the ruling is available here.
Midland originally filed a lawsuit against the plaintiff, Daniel Hernandez. Six days after filing the suit, Midland sent a letter to Hernandez, which, among other information, allegedly implied that Hernandez may also be liable to pay court costs if the original lawsuit against him proceeded and he lost. In Illinois, court costs are not available until a judgment has been entered. Hernandez filed suit, alleging that the defendant asserted a right to collect court costs when it sent the letter, before a judgment was entered.
Along with himself, Hernandez also wanted to include anyone else who received similar notices. In trying to have the case certified as class-action, Hernandez said he wanted to include:
All persons in the State of Illinois to whom, during the one year prior to the filing of Plaintiff’s Complaint and continuing through the resolution of this matter, Defendant sent one or more letters or other communications similarly [sic] in the form of the October 5th Letter in an attempt to collect a non-business debt, which letter was not returned as undeliverable by the Postal Service.
Judge Joan Gotschall said that the certification was too vague and subjective to be allowed and dismissed the motion.
During a deposition, a representative of Midland identified 3,160 individuals who may have received a similar letter to Hernandez. But seeking similar communications could also mean telephone calls as well as letters, Judge Gotschall wrote. As well, to which parts of a letter or communication need to be similar in order for it to be included in the class, the judge questioned.
The plaintiff also did not include a fixed time period for the class, only saying that anyone could be included up to and including “the resolution of this matter.”
Suppose defendant sends another batch of dunning letters to people with Illinois addresses after the class is certified. If those letters are substantially similar to the [original] letter, a new group of class members would be added. And then it could happen again. Nothing could stop it until the case ends.
