The class-action cases, based on precedent from the 11th Circuit’s Hunstein ruling, were dismissed by the judge for lack of standing.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York Judge Gary Brown dismissed six pending cases alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Friday.
The alleged violations originated from data provided from debt collectors to mailing vendors; however, Brown wrote in a memorandum that recent developments in the law, including the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, “suggest that plaintiffs in these cases lack standing and the court therefore has no jurisdiction over these matters.”
The dismissal of the cases is a sweeping and favorable result for the accounts receivable management industry after hundreds of cases mimicking Hunstein v. Preferred Collection and Management Services Inc. have surfaced in recent months.
“In each of the cases referenced herein, the court issued a show cause order directing that each plaintiff demonstrate standing and providing the plaintiff an opportunity to providing factual material and authority. In each case, the plaintiff has failed to demonstrate a concrete injury that would provide a basis for standing,” according to Brown.