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McDonald v. Bonded Collectors, L.L.C.
Citations: 233 F.R.D. 576; 2005 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 17365; 2005 WL 2008202Docket: Civ. No. 05-CV-0687WPOR
Court: District Court, S.D. California; August 15, 2005; Federal District Court
The court has granted Plaintiff James McDonald's motion for leave to file a first amended complaint in his consumer credit lawsuit against Defendant Bonded Collectors, L.L.C. The original complaint, filed on April 4, 2005, alleged violations of federal debt collection statutes. McDonald seeks to amend the complaint to include class action allegations related to a form letter sent by the Defendant, which he claims violated both the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the state Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Defendant opposes the amendment, arguing that state law prohibits class action remedies. However, the court found that under Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, leave to amend should be granted freely when justice requires. The court determined that the amendment is timely, as it was filed three months after the original complaint and before any scheduling order was issued. There is no significant prejudice to the Defendant, and the motion aligns with the traditional factors favoring amendment. The court addressed the Defendant's futility argument regarding the state statute's limitation to individual actions. It noted a 1999 amendment to California Civil Code 1788.17, which allows debt collectors to be subject to federal remedies, including class action provisions under 15 U.S.C. 1692k(a)(2)(B). This recent amendment overrides earlier provisions limiting claims to individual actions, and legislative history indicates that it was intended to facilitate class actions for violations. Thus, the court concluded that the proposed amendment is legally permissible and should be granted. Violations are more often ignored than enforced, and without the threat of class action, there is little motivation to cease illegal conduct. The defendant's attempt to differentiate this case from Abels, based on the debt collector's violations of both federal and state debt collection statutes, is not convincing. The court acknowledges that while the debt collection letter may have breached a specific state law provision by lacking certain language, it could also be deemed misleading under federal law. California law incorporates federal provisions rather than restating them. Ultimately, the court grants the plaintiff's motion for leave to file a first amended class action complaint, with the requirement to file and serve the amended complaint by September 9, 2005.