Three weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court raised eyebrows when it granted certiorari in Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, --- S.Ct. ---, 2015 WL 1879778 (Apr. 27, 2015), where it appears the Court will decide whether a consumer has "standing" to assert a cause of action for statutory damages without having suffered actual damage. The decision to grant certiorari in Spokeo was surprising given that the Court ducked the chance to address the same issue several years ago, as discussed in our recent blog post "Will the U.S. Supreme Court Use Robins v. Spokeo to Finally Address "Standing" in the ...
The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that unaccepted Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 offers of judgment to the named plaintiffs that, if accepted, would have provided all relief that plaintiffs sought, neither moots the individual plaintiff's claims or the putative class action. Thus, the strategy to make an offer of judgment to render the case moot and prevent class certification may no longer be viable strategy in the Eleventh Circuit. In Stein v. Buccaneers Limited Partnership, --- F.3d ---, 2014 WL 6734819 (11th Cir. 2014), six named plaintiffs filed suit ...
The Second Circuit Court of Appeal affirmed the dismissal of a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") claim brought by a non-debtor under the mootness doctrine after an offer of judgment conveyed orally in open court was rejected. In Doyle v. Midland Credit Management, Inc. ---- F. 3d ---, 2013 WL 3242148 (2d Cir. June 28, 2013), the Second Circuit held that an offer of judgment need not comply with the offer of judgment rule in order to render a case moot. Doyle filed suit against Midland alleging that Midland had harassed him, failed to disclose Midland was a debt collector, and made ...