The Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit has overturned the dismissal of a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuit, ruling that the postage and envelope paid for by the plaintiff when sending a letter to the defendant is sufficient for the plaintiff to have standing to sue. The Appeals Court has remanded the case back to the District Court for further proceedings.
The background: The plaintiff’s legal aid attorneys informed the defendant in writing that she was being represented by counsel and that she was refusing to pay the debt, while also instructing the defendant to cease contacting her and cease all further collection activities. The defendant then sent a letter to the plaintiff offering to settle the debt for 50% of the balance that was owed.
- The plaintiff filed suit, claiming the defendant violated Section 1692c of the FDCPA. The complaint alleged that the defendant’s actions “alarmed, confused and emotionally distressed” the plaintiff, while also invading her privacy, causing loss of sleep, worry, and costing her unnamed out-of-pocket expenses.
- By not detailing what the out-of-pocket expenses were, the district court judge said had no idea what they were or how they came about, and therefore could not confirm they were sufficient for the plaintiff to have standing to sue. The judge also wrote that the receipt of a letter was not enough of a concrete injury to confer standing for the plaintiff.
The ruling: The issue, though, is not about the receipt of the letter from the defendant, the Appeals Court noted. The issue is that the plaintiff purchased postage and an envelope to send the notification to the defendant and that is enough for her to have standing, it ruled.
- Citing the Seventh Circuit’s ruling in Mack. v. Resurgent, the Eighth Circuit panel noted that the “loss of even a small amount of money is a bodily injury.”
