A federal judge in Pennsylvania has certified a class-action lawsuit against a collection law firm for allegedly sending collection letters that falsely implied they were sent by an attorney or that an attorney had reviewed the underlying accounts.
A copy of the ruling in the case of Gibbons v. Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co. can be accessed by clicking here. Coincidentally, the defendant in this case recently won a lawsuit that was filed against it by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection for allegedly misrepresenting the amount of attorney involvement in letters and calls made to individuals with unpaid debts.
The issue with the collection letter sent to the plaintiff was the letterhead at the top of the letter, which had in bold at the top: “WELTMAN, WEINBERG & REIS Co., LPA” and, in smaller font underneath, “ATTORNEYS AT LAW,” and the signature line of the letter, which said:
“Sincerely,
Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., L.P.A.”
In seeking a class-action certification, the plaintiff wants to include every individual who received a similar letter from the defendant who resides in the region of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. During discovery, the defendant revealed it had sent about 18,000 letters using that template to individuals in that region.
The defendant tried to argue that numerosity was not satisfied because not all of the individuals who received those letters would qualify as consumers under the FDCPA, but the judge ruled that even in a fraction do meet the definition, it would satisfy the numerosity component of certifying the case as a class action. The defendant also tried to argue that the plaintiff was not a suitable class representative, which the judge rejected.
