Offer of Judgment Halts FDCPA Lawsuit

Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 68 provides that, at least fourteen days before trial, a defending party may serve a plaintiff with an offer to allow a judgment on specified terms.   Several recent district court opinions have rules that an offer of judgment providing the plaintiff with the maximum allowable relief will moot the plaintiff’s  FDCPA claim.  Moten v. Broward Cnty., No. 10-62398-CIV, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19332, 2012 WL 526790, at 2 (S.D. Fla. Feb. 16, 2012); see also  Mackenzie v. Kindred Hosp. E., LLC, 276 F. Supp. 2d 1211, 1218-19 (M.D. Fla. 2003) (dismissing FLSA claim as moot after plaintiff rejected  Rule 68 offer where offer exceeded amount plaintiff could have received at trial).

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In Young v. AmeriFinancial Solutions, LLC, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125661 (S.D. Fla. Sept. 5,2012), plaintiff filed an action against defendant under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act which provides that damages in an action brought by an individual shall not exceed $1,000.00. Defendant served an Offer of Judgment proposing to have judgment entered in the about of $1,001, plus attorney's fees incurred prior to the date of the offer. Defendant then moved the trial court to dismiss the action for lack of subject matter jurisdiction contending that the action is moot because the Offer would grant Plaintiff more than the full amount of relief that Plaintiff could obtain under the FDCPA. The Court granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction because the offer of  judgment would provide plaintiff with the maximum allowable relief on her claims.  Therefore, the court concluded, that the action was moot and the Court would no longer have subject matter jurisdiction over the suit. 

For more information about the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, or, its state law counterpart, the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, visit us at:

• Stop Collection Harassment;
or
• Consumer Rights Orlando