A state Appeals Court in Georgia has affirmed a lower court’s denial of class certification in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case, ruling the plaintiff failed adequately assess the size of the class, thus not meeting the numerosity component required for certification.
A copy of the ruling in the case of Cagle v. Portfolio Recovery Associates can be accessed by clicking here.
The plaintiff was sued by the defendant for not paying a credit card debt. The defendant filed an affidavit with the complaint, stating that a review of the relevant records confirmed the delinquent balance.
The plaintiff filed an answer and counterclaims, alleging the defendant sued him without investigating his debt and that the form affidavit that was used claiming his account was reviewed was deceptive. The plaintiff filed a motion to certify his class and was ordered by the judge to define what he meant by the “form affidavit” he referenced in his counterclaim. In his motion for certification, the plaintiff claimed the defendant had filed 39,500 lawsuits in Georgia to collect on unpaid debts and that a sampling of those cases indicated it used the same affidavit used in the plaintiff’s case. The plaintiff attached a list of 2,000 case captions and six of the form affidavits, which the plaintiff asserted exemplified the defendant’s use of misleading information. But the judge ruled the plaintiff failed to satisfy the numerosity requirement and denied certification.
Agreeing with the lower court judge, the Appeals Court noted the plaintiff failed to provide any evidence the six form affidavits he mentioned contained any misleading information, or that the affiants had no knowledge regarding the accounts, or if the affiants had not reviewed the accounts, or if the individuals suffered any damages as a result of the affidavits being used.
“The only conclusion, then, that can be drawn from the evidence Cagle presented to the trial court is that the number of class members would be equal to or less than 39,496 and equal to or greater than zero,” the Appeals Court wrote. “Given these circumstances, Cagle failed to satisfy the numerosity requirement, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying his motion for class certification on this ground.”
