Nicklaw v. CitiMortgage, Inc.: Eleventh Circuit Holds Statutory Violation Insufficient to Confer Article III Standing Absent Concrete Injury-inFact

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On October 6, 2016, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued its opinion in Nicklaw v. CitiMortgage, Inc., dismissing, for lack of Article III standing, a class action complaint that alleged statutory violations and sought only statutory damages. This important decision is the first published opinion in which the Court has applied the framework set forth by the Supreme Court in the Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins opinion, which issued in May 2016. In Spokeo, the Supreme Court held that “Article III standing requires a concrete injury even in the context of a statutory violation” and instructed that “both history and the judgment of Congress play important roles” in determining whether an intangible harm rises to the level of a concrete injury-in-fact. The Nicklaw opinion confirms that where a plaintiff brings suit based only on alleged statutory violations, the plaintiff must, to establish Article III standing, allege a concrete harm resulting from the violation rather than relying simply on the alleged statutory violation.

Background -

The plaintiff, Roger Nicklaw, used the proceeds of a real estate sale to satisfy the balance on his mortgage in July 2012. Under a New York statute, this triggered the mortgagee’s obligation to sign and record a certificate of discharge with the county clerk evidencing the satisfaction of the mortgage within thirty days. Failure to do so renders the mortgagee liable under that statute to the mortgagor for $500 to $1,500, depending on the length of the delay. Because the mortgagee in Nicklaw, CitiMortgage, allegedly failed to file a certificate of discharge within the time required by the statute, Nicklaw filed a class-action complaint based on the alleged statutory violation in federal court, seeking statutory damages for himself and a putative class. The district court dismissed Nicklaw’s claims as moot due to an earlier filing in another jurisdiction. Nicklaw appealed and CitiMortgage moved to dismiss the appeal for lack of standing.

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