Chartier v. M. Richard Epps, P.C.
| Decision Date | 23 September 2014 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. ELH-14-1071 |
| Parties | ANDREW CHARTIER, Plaintiff, v. M. RICHARD EPPS, P.C., et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Maryland |
Andrew Chartier filed suit against M. Richard Epps, P.C. ("Epps"); Equifax Information Services, LLC ("Equifax"); TransUnion, LLC ("TransUnion");1 Cohn, Goldberg & Deutsch, LLC ("Cohn");2 and Green Tree Servicing, LLC ("Green Tree"), alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq. ("FDCPA") and the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1681, et seq. ("FCRA"). Chartier also asserts a claim for breach of contract. See ECF 5 ("Amended Complaint" or "Am. Compl.").
Pursuant to Rules 12(b)(2) and 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Epps filed a motion to dismiss (ECF 11), supported by a memorandum (ECF 11-1) (collectively, the "Epps Motion"), seeking dismissal of the Amended Complaint based on lack of personal jurisdiction and for failure to state a claim. Green Tree also filed a motion to dismiss (ECF 18) and a supporting memorandum (ECF 18-1) (collectively, the "Green Tree Motion"), urging dismissal pursuant to Rule 12(b)(6).3 Chartier has opposed both motions. ECF 28 (Oppositionto Green Tree Motion); ECF 29 (Opposition to Epps Motion). Green Tree and Epps each replied. ECF 31 (Green Tree Reply); ECF 32 (Epps Reply).
The issues have been fully briefed, and no hearing is necessary to resolve them. See Local Rule 105.6. For the reasons that follow, I will deny both motions.
This case arises from a dispute concerning the interpretation of a settlement agreement. On an unspecified date, plaintiff defaulted on his obligations under a promissory note, which was held by Green Tree as servicing agent for RBS Citizens, N.A. See Am. Compl. Exh. A (ECF 5-2). When the debt became delinquent, Green Tree assigned it to Epps for collection. Am. Compl. ¶ 12. On September 21, 2011, plaintiff entered into a Settlement Agreement and Release with Green Tree, see Am. Compl. Exh. A (the "Agreement"), which was negotiated by Epps. See Am. Compl. ¶ 13.
At the time of default, Chartier owed $42,273.17, with interest at an annual rate of eight percent. See Agreement at 1. Under the Agreement, plaintiff promised to pay $21,136.00, without interest (the "Settlement Amount"), in full satisfaction for the money owed on the promissory note.5 Agreement ¶ 1. The Agreement specified that plaintiff was to pay an initial installment of $2,500 by September 30, 2011, and then "$18,636.00 payable in equal monthly installments of $328.26 commencing on October 15, 2011 and continuing on the same day of each month thereafter until September 15, 2015 at which time the last such monthly installmentof the settlement amount shall be due and payable." Id. ¶ 2(b). The Agreement stipulated that plaintiff could pre-pay the Settlement Amount, in whole or in part, "without penalty." Id. ¶ 4; Am. Compl. ¶ 15. In addition, the Agreement provided: "[S]o long as the installment payments provided herein are received as provided herein the Lender will take no legal action to collect the promissory note." Id. ¶ 1. With respect to default, Epps was appointed as agent of Chartier to, "without further notice to Borrower, confess judgment on behalf of the Borrower for the unpaid balance . . . ." Id. ¶ 6. The Agreement also stated, id.:
In the event of a default in the making of any installment payment of the settlement amount, and if such installment is not received by Green Tree Servicing LLC within 10 days of its due date, at Lender's option, this Settlement Agreement and Release shall be null and void and in such event all payments made pursuant to this Agreement prior to the default shall be applied to the indebtedness and Borrower shall remain liable for the remaining balance of the indebtedness, which said sum shall be immediately due and payable without further notice to Borrower.
By the end of July 2013, plaintiff had paid the initial installment of $2,500.00 and made forty-eight payments of $328.26. See Am. Compl. Exh. B (email dated July 29, 2013, 3:43 p.m., from Mr. Epps6 to Chartier). Almost two years after execution of the Agreement, on July 29, 2013, Mr. Epps sent an email to plaintiff, stating that there was a typographical error in the Agreement and the monthly installment amount should have read $388.26 instead of $328.26—a difference of $60.00 per month. Am. Compl. Exh. B. Mr. Epps acknowledged the receipt from Chartier of forty-eight payments of $328.26 each, plus the initial installment, but advised plaintiff that these payments only totaled $18,256.48. Id. In addition, Mr. Epps asserted thatplaintiff still owed a remaining balance of $2,869.527 pursuant to the Agreement. Id.; Am. Compl. ¶ 17.
Plaintiff appended to the Amended Complaint a truncated version of a series of emails exchanged prior to the settlement between Mr. Epps and Justin M. Jacks, Esq., plaintiff's attorney at the time he entered into the Agreement. Am. Compl. Exh. B (email of July 29, 2013, from Mr. Epps to Chartier); see also Green Tree Mot. Exh. 1.8 In an email dated September 19, 2011, Jacks wrote to Mr. Epps: "Mr. Chartier would like to know what he needs to sign to get this agreement done on the $2500.00 down and payments in 48 month [sic] installments of $388.26." Green Tree Mot. Exh. 1 (). See also Am. Compl. Exh. B (email of July 29, 2013, from Mr. Epps to Chartier, containing text of the prior email of September 19, 2011).
On February 9, 2014, Chartier wrote an email to Mr. Epps to advise him of his current Maryland address. Am. Compl. Exh. B (email of February 9, 2014, from Chartier to Mr. Epps). Chartier stated: Id. On February 10, 2014, Mr. Epps responded to Chartier's email as follows: Am. Compl. Exh. B (email of February 10, 2014 from Mr. Epps to Chartier). Below this message, the email advised: Id. (emphasis in original). At some point thereafter, Epps forwarded the account to Cohn to collect a debt in the amount of $25,001.46. Id. ¶ 20.
Plaintiff also alleges that, in or around December 2013, he became aware that Green Tree was reporting the debt to one or more of the three national consumer reporting agencies. Id. ¶ 22. On or about January 11, 2014, plaintiff sent a letter to Equifax and TransUnion, asserting that the debt had been paid in full pursuant to a settlement with Green Tree. Id. ¶ 23. Nevertheless, plaintiff asserts, Equifax and TransUnion continued to report the debt as having a current balance due and payable. Id. ¶ 24.
A motion to dismiss for lack of personal jurisdiction arises under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(b)(2). "When a court's personal jurisdiction is properly challenged by a Rule 12(b)(2) motion, the jurisdictional question thus raised is one for the judge, with the burden on the plaintiff ultimately to prove the existence of a ground for jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence." Combs v. Bakker, 886 F.2d 673, 676 (4th Cir. 1989). Discovery and an evidentiary hearing are not required to resolve a motion under Rule 12(b)(2). See generally 5B Wright & Miller, Federal Practice & Procedure § 1351, at 274-313 (3d ed. 2004, 2012 Supp.). Rather, the district court may address the question of personal jurisdiction as a preliminary matter, ruling solely on the basis of motion papers, supporting legal memoranda, affidavits, and the allegations in thecomplaint. Consulting Engineers Corp. v. Geometric Ltd., 561 F.3d 273, 276 (4th Cir. 2009). In that circumstance, a plaintiff need only make "a prima facie showing of a sufficient jurisdictional basis to survive the jurisdictional challenge." Id.
"In deciding whether the plaintiff has made the requisite showing, the court must take all disputed facts and reasonable inferences in favor of the plaintiff." Carefirst of Maryland, Inc. v. Carefirst Pregnancy Centers, Inc., 334 F.3d 390, 396 (4th Cir. 2003). However, "'[a] threshold prima facie finding that personal jurisdiction is proper does not finally settle the issue; plaintiff must eventually prove the existence of personal jurisdiction by a preponderance of the evidence, either at trial or at a pretrial evidentiary hearing.'" New Wellington Fin. Corp. v. Flagship Resort Dev. Corp., 416 F.3d 290, 294 n.5 (4th Cir. 2005) (citation omitted).9
A defendant may test the adequacy of a complaint by way of a motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. See McBurney v. Cuccinelli, 616 F.3d 393, 408 (4th Cir. 2010). To survive a Rule 12(b)(6) motion, a complaint must satisfy the pleading standard articulated in Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2), which requires a "short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." The purpose of the rule is to provide the defendant with "fair notice" of the claim and the "grounds" for entitlement to relief. Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555-56 & n.3 (2007). That showing must consist of more than "a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action" or "naked assertion[s] devoid of further factual enhancement." Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009) (internalcitations omitted); see Painter's Mill Grille, LLC v. Brown, 716 F.3d 342, 350 (4th Cir. 2013). Rather, to defeat a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), a complaint must contain facts sufficient...
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