Similar to the named plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit being emblematic of the injuries suffered by everyone in the class, I’m using this case to point out that judges across Florida are granting stays in Hunstein copycat cases in anticipation of the en banc hearing and ruling that will be forthcoming from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.
In this case, a copy of the ruling in the case of Clarke v. Hunter Warfield can be accessed by clicking here.
Making the judge’s decision to stay the case pending the outcome of the en banc hearing was the fact that the plaintiff did not oppose the motion filed by the defendant to stay the case’s proceedings.
The plaintiff sued the defendant, alleging it violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act by transmitting the plaintiff’s personal information to a third party, a vendor that prints and mails collection letters — similar to the claims alleged in hundreds of cases nationwide following the since-vacated ruling from a panel of judges on the Eleventh Circuit.
The Eleventh Circuit has agreed to rehear the case en banc next month, and in anticipation of that ruling, judges from across Florida have been granting requests to stay cases. At least a dozen or so cases have been stayed in Florida alone.
“Staying this action will promote judicial economy and ensure that neither party expends unnecessary resources,” ruled Judge Charlene Edwards Honeywell of the District Court for the Middle District of Florida. “On the other hand, requiring the parties to proceed while the Hunstein appeal pends may waste judicial resources and result in the parties expending unnecessary costs.”
