The "Unique Factual Circumstances of Each Individual" in Plantiffs' Proposed Class Prompts Appellate Court to Affirm Denial of Class Certification -

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court's decision to deny Plaintiff debtor's motion to certify a class in an FDCPA action regarding a letter it received from a debt collector. According to the United States District Court for the Southern District of Alabama, the debtors in this action failed to satisfy the predominance requirement set out in Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23. Under the predominance requirement, the debtors were required to demonstrate that there are questions of law and fact common to all class members.

Plaintiff debtors are husband and wife, and they filed a class action complaint against debt collector Pinnacle for violations of the FDCPA. The Complaint against the debt collector asserted that Pinnacle attempted to collect a debt through a false, misleading and deceptive communication. The debtors proposed a class consisting of all persons in the United States who received a collection letter from Pinnacle, which states in part...