There isn’t a ton of background and the ruling itself is also on the brief side, but what it says is probably more important than how it says it. A New York state Appeals Court has affirmed the dismissal of a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case on the grounds that the plaintiff did not have standing to sue. Given the trend of plaintiffs filing these types of cases in state court over federal court because federal judges are holding firm on plaintiffs needing to have suffered a concrete injury in order to have standing, seeing a state court ruling holding up on this issue is worthy of note.
The background: Back in 2022, the defendant sent the plaintiff a notice to collect on an unpaid debt. The plaintiff filed suit, accusing the defendant of attempting to collect on a debt she did not owe.
- The plaintiff sought to have the case dismissed, arguing the plaintiff lacked standing to sue.
- A state court judge granted the motion, which the plaintiff appealed.
The ruling: To have standing, the appeals court noted, a plaintiff “must demonstrate an injury in fact” and it is the defendant’s burden to establish the plaintiff lacks standing.
- In this case, the defendant did just that, the appeals court ruled. The plaintiff “merely asserted, without more, that the defendant sent her a notice that sought to collect a debt that she did not owe,” the court wrote. “Without any allegation that she relied upon the defendant’s alleged deceptive conduct to her detriment, or that it otherwise caused her harm, the plaintiff did not allege an injury-in-fact.”
- The plaintiff attempted to argue that the FDCPA conferred standing because of the defendant’s alleged violation, the Appeals Court noted that the plaintiff improperly raised the argument for the first time on appeal.
