Judge William Skretny
Hallmark defaulted on credit card debt. Midland Funding LLC came to own the debt, and employed Cohen & Slamowitz (C&S) to collect it. C&S's Aug. 17, 2011, letter to Hallmark increased the debt balance, from that stated in its Aug. 1 letter, by $147—$140 of which were represented the fee for filing the complaint with the Buffalo City Court. District court held Hallmark sufficiently alleged the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's (FDCPA) violation by C&S's misrepresentation of the true amount of his debt. The $140 charge represented in C&S's Aug. 17 letter constituted an effort to collect on filing fees not only prior to judgment's entry, but even before the summons and complaint were filed. Additionally, finding the requirements of Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23 (a), (b)(3), and (g) satisfied, district court granted Hallmark's motion for class certification. Among other things, C&S had sent approximately 17,475 letters with a filing fee included in the alleged debt—similar to that received by Hallmark—to consumers. Also, the claims that the proposed class plaintiffs would assert are nearly identical to those asserted by Hallmark, whose own allegations are simple and apply to each proposed class member.
