Vela v. H & R Accounts, Inc.
| Tori Vela |
| H & R ACCOUNTS, INC. |
| 1:2022cv01332 |
| March 14, 2022 |
| US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois |
| John F Kness |
| Other Statutory Actions |
| 15 U.S.C. ยง 1692 Fair Debt Collection Act |
| Defendant |
Docket Report
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| Document Text |
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| Filing 17 REMAND with certified copy of order dated 4/27/2022 and letter to Circuit Court of Cook County via email. (jh, ) |
| Filing 16 ENTERED JUDGMENT. Mailed notice(ef, ) |
| Filing 15 MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness: This case is a putative class action concerning Defendant's effort to collect a debt from Plaintiff. Plaintiff filed this action in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, and asserted a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA); Defendant then removed the case to this Court #1 . After Defendant filed an answer #8 , Plaintiff moved to remand the case to state court; Plaintiff also seeks an award of costs in connection with her remand motion. In her now fully-briefed motion #9 #12 #13 , Plaintiff contends that jurisdiction in this Court does not exist, and that removal here was improper, because Plaintiff lacks a sufficiently concrete and particularized injury to support jurisdiction under Article III of the Constitution. Defendant counters #12 that removal is appropriate because there is sufficient injury to justify standing. Plaintiff's complaint alleges that Plaintiff has suffered confusion, concern, and worry over the debt collection letter Defendant sent to her. (Dkt. 1 at 1-2.) As the Seventh Circuit has recently explained, however, confusion and aggravation alone are insufficient to find an injury in fact under Article III and the FDCPA. Markakos v. Medicredit, Inc., 997 F.3d 778, 781 (7th Cir. 2021) (collecting cases); Brunett v. Convergent Outsourcing, Inc., 982 F.3d 1067, 1068 (7th Cir. 2020), reh'g denied (Jan. 11, 2021) ("[C]onfusion is not itself an injury."). Indeed, Plaintiff does not allege that the letter caused her to pay extra money, actually harmed her credit, or otherwise altered her response to the debt. (See Dkt. 13 at 3); see Markakos, 997 F.3d at 780. As the Seventh Circuit has repeatedly and consistently cautioned district courts to consider Article III standing in this context, and viewing Plaintiff's alleged injuries in the light of that binding precedent, the Court is compelled to grant Plaintiff's motion #9 to remand. Case remanded forthwith to the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. Whether Plaintiff has a viable claim in state court under the FDCPA is a matter for the state court to resolve. Although a remand is appropriate, the Court does not find the removal motion to be so unreasonable as to justify Plaintiff's costs. See Montgomery v. Everest Receivable Servs., Inc., 2021 WL 4806388, at *3 (N.D. Ill. Oct. 14, 2021) (granting plaintiff's motion to remand but denying her motion for costs). Accordingly, Plaintiff's motion for costs is denied. In view of this order, the status hearing set for 4/28/2022 is stricken. Enter separate judgment order. Civil case terminated. Mailed notice (ef, ) |
| Filing 14 STATUS Report by H & R Accounts, Inc. (Bedard, John) |
| Filing 13 REPLY by Tori Vela to MOTION by Plaintiff Tori Vela to remand Opposed #9 , response in opposition to motion #12 (Drew, Michael) |
| Filing 12 RESPONSE by H & R Accounts, Inc.in Opposition to MOTION by Plaintiff Tori Vela to remand Opposed #9 (Bedard, John) |
| Filing 11 MINUTE entry before the Honorable John F. Kness: By agreement of the parties, the Court sets the following briefing schedule on Plaintiff's opposed motion to remand #9 : Defendant must respond on or before 4/13/2022 and Plaintiff must reply on or before 4/20/2022. Within one week of filing, each side must provide two paper courtesy copies of their respective briefs to chambers via U.S. Mail or reliable commercial delivery service. The joint initial status report must be filed on or before 4/21/2022. The initial status hearing set for 4/19/2022 is stricken and reset for 4/28/2022 at 10:10 AM. Parties shall use the same call-in information #2 . Mailed notice (ef, ) |
| Filing 10 Agreed Briefing Schedule on Motion to Remand STATEMENT by Tori Vela (Drew, Michael) |
| Filing 9 MOTION by Plaintiff Tori Vela to remand Opposed (Drew, Michael) |
| Filing 8 Corrected ANSWER to Complaint by H & R Accounts, Inc.(Bedard, John) |
| Filing 7 Rule 7.1 Corporate Disclosure Statement by H & R Accounts, Inc. (Bedard, John) |
| Filing 6 ANSWER to Complaint by H & R Accounts, Inc.(Bedard, John) |
| Filing 5 MAILED Notice of Removal Letter to Plaintiff's Counsel, Michael William Drew. (jh, ) |
| Filing 4 ATTORNEY Appearance for Plaintiff Tori Vela by Michael William Drew (Drew, Michael) |
| Filing 3 ATTORNEY Appearance for Defendant H & R Accounts, Inc. by John Henry Bedard, Jr (Bedard, John) |
Filing 2
ORDER signed by the Honorable John F. Kness on 3/15/2022: Telephonic initial status hearing is set for 4/19/2022 at 9:40 AM. Consistent with Rule 26(f) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the parties are directed to meet and conduct a planning conference in advance of the initial status hearing. No later than seven days before the status hearing, the parties shall jointly complete and file on the docket a report that provides the information required by the Court's model Joint Initial Status Report, which can be found at https://www.ilnd.uscourts.gov/judge-info.aspx?Iu9/vqz23r5X7AkWx/nLtg== (see link entitled "Joint Initial Status Report"). If all Defendants have not yet been served or have not yet responded to requests to draft the required Joint Initial Status Report, Plaintiff must file the report on its own and must inform the Court of that circumstance. The parties are to use the following call-in number: 888-684-8852, conference code 3796759. The public and media representatives may have access to the hearing via the same number. Audio recording of the hearing is not permitted; violations of this prohibition may result in sanctions. Participants are directed to keep their device muted when they are not speaking. Mailed notice(ef, )
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| Filing 1 NOTICE of Removal from Circuit Court of Cook County, case number (2022CH00908) filed by H & R ACCOUNTS, INC. Filing fee $ 402, receipt number 0752-19243411. (Attachments: #1 Exhibit Summons, Complaint and Motion, #2 Civil Cover Sheet)(Bedard, John) |
| CASE ASSIGNED to the Honorable John F. Kness. Designated as Magistrate Judge the Honorable Gabriel A. Fuentes. Case assignment: Random assignment. (jk2, ) |
| CLERK'S NOTICE: Pursuant to Local Rule 73.1(b), a United States Magistrate Judge of this court is available to conduct all proceedings in this civil action. If all parties consent to have the currently assigned United States Magistrate Judge conduct all proceedings in this case, including trial, the entry of final judgment, and all post-trial proceedings, all parties must sign their names on the attached #Consent To# form. This consent form is eligible for filing only if executed by all parties. The parties can also express their consent to jurisdiction by a magistrate judge in any joint filing, including the Joint Initial Status Report or proposed Case Management Order. (jk2, ) |
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| Plaintiff: Tori Vela | |
| Represented By: | Michael William Drew |
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| Defendant: H & R ACCOUNTS, INC. | |
| Represented By: | John Henry Bedard, Jr. |
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