BETH BLOOM, UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE.
Plaintiff Aviyawna Michael ("Plaintiff") brings claims against Defendant under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") and Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act ("FCCPA"), stemming from a letter Defendant sent to Plaintiff on or about August 11, 2016, included with Plaintiff's Complaint. See ECF Nos. [1] ("Complaint"); [1-3] ("Letter"). Plaintiff claims that due to certain language contained in the Letter and "a Quick Response ("QR") code [displayed] through the transparent window of the envelope," Defendant violated the FDCPA and FCCPA. See Complaint ¶¶ 19-35, 37(a)-(c), 39-40. Defendant filed the instant Motion on December 12, 2016, arguing that the Court must dismiss the Complaint because Plaintiff lacks standing pursuant to Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins, ___ U.S. ___, 136 S.Ct. 1540, 194 L.Ed.2d 635 (2016), as revised (May 24, 2016) (hereinafter, Spokeo), and Plaintiff fails to state a claim under the FDCPA and FCCPA. Plaintiff's Response and Defendant's Reply timely followed. See ECF Nos. [15], [19].
Rule 8 of the Federal Rules requires that a pleading contain "a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed. R. Civ. P. 8(a)(2). Although a complaint "does not need detailed factual allegations," it must provide "more than labels and conclusions, and a formulaic recitation of the elements of a cause of action will not do." Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544, 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955, 167 L.Ed.2d 929 (2007); see Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937, 173 L.Ed.2d 868 (2009) (explaining that Rule 8(a)(2)'s pleading standard "demands more than an unadorned, the defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation"). In the same vein, a complaint may not rest on "`naked assertion[s]' devoid of `further factual enhancement.'" Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937 (quoting Twombly, 550 U.S. at 557, 127 S.Ct. 1955 (alteration in original)). "Factual allegations must be enough to raise a right to relief above the speculative level." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955. These elements are required to survive a motion brought under Rule 12(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, which requests dismissal for "failure to state a claim upon which relief can be granted."
When reviewing a motion under Rule 12(b)(6), a court, as a general rule, must accept the plaintiff's allegations as true and evaluate all plausible inferences derived from those facts in favor of the plaintiff. See Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Fla. v. S. Everglades Restoration Alliance, 304 F.3d 1076, 1084 (11th Cir. 2002); AXA Equitable Life Ins. Co. v. Infinity Fin. Grp., LLC, 608 F.Supp.2d 1349, 1353 (S.D. Fla. 2009). However, this tenet does not apply to legal conclusions, and courts "are not bound to accept as true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation." Twombly, 550 U.S. at 555, 127 S.Ct. 1955; see Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678, 129 S.Ct. 1937; Thaeter v. Palm Beach Cnty. Sheriff's Office, 449 F.3d 1342, 1352 (11th Cir. 2006). Moreover, "courts may infer from the factual allegations in the complaint `obvious alternative explanations,' which suggest lawful conduct rather than the unlawful conduct the plaintiff would ask the court to infer." Am. Dental Ass'n v. Cigna Corp., 605 F.3d 1283, 1290 (11th Cir. 2010) (quoting Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 682, 129 S.Ct. 1937). A court considering a Rule 12(b) motion is generally limited to the facts contained in the complaint and attached exhibits, including documents referred to in the complaint that are central to the claim. See Wilchombe v. TeeVee Toons, Inc., 555 F.3d 949, 959 (11th Cir. 2009); Maxcess, Inc. v. Lucent Technologies, Inc., 433 F.3d 1337, 1340 (11th Cir. 2005) ("[A] document outside the four corners of the complaint may still be considered if it is central to the plaintiffs claims and is undisputed in terms of authenticity.") (citing Horsley v. Feldt, 304 F.3d 1125, 1135 (11th Cir. 2002)).
The FDCPA seeks to remedy abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by debt collectors against consumers, and prohibits debt collectors from using "unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt." 15 U.S.C. § 1692f; see 15 U.S.C. § 1692e; Owen v. I.C. Sys., Inc., 629 F.3d 1263, 1270 (11th Cir. 2011). Under the FDCPA, a debt collector who "fails to comply with any provision ... with respect to any person is liable to such person" for "actual damage[s]," costs, "a reasonable attorney's fee as determined by the court," and "additional damages." 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a). "In order to prevail on an FDCPA claim, Plaintiff must establish that: (1) he was the object of collection
As the issue is jurisdictional, the Court first addresses Plaintiffs standing to bring suit. Standing requires that a plaintiff have "(1) suffered an injury in fact, (2) that is fairly traceable to the challenged conduct of the defendant, and (3) that is likely to be redressed by a favorable judicial decision." Spokeo, 136 S.Ct. at 1547 (internal citations omitted). "To establish injury in fact, a plaintiff must show that he or she suffered `an invasion of a legally protected interest' that is `concrete and particularized' and `actual or imminent, not conjectural or hypothetical.'" Id. at 1548 (quoting Lujan v. Defs. of Wildlife, 504 U.S. 555, 560, 112 S.Ct. 2130, 119 L.Ed.2d 351 (1992)). "For an injury to be particularized, it must affect the plaintiff in a personal and individual way." Id. (quotations omitted). For the injury to be "concrete," it must be "real," and not "abstract"; however it need not be "tangible." Id. at 1548-49.
In Spokeo the Supreme Court recognized that "Congress may `elevate to the status of legally cognizable injuries, concrete, de facto injuries that were previously inadequate in law." 136 S.Ct. at 1549 (quoting Lujan, 504 U.S. at 578, 112 S.Ct. 2130 (alteration omitted)). "In other words, the Supreme Court recognized where Congress has endowed plaintiffs with a substantive legal right, as opposed to creating a procedural requirement, the plaintiffs may sue to enforce such a right without establishing additional harm." Guarisma v. Microsoft Corp., 209 F.Supp.3d 1261, 1265, 2016 WL 4017196, at *3 (S.D. Fla. 2016); see Bouton v. Ocean Properties, Ltd., 201 F.Supp.3d 1341, 1351-52, 2016 WL 7324143, at *7 (S.D. Fla. 2016). Since Spokeo, the Eleventh Circuit has held that a plaintiff who alleged a violation of the FDCPA but did not allege actual damages had nonetheless plead a concrete injury because Congress, "(1) in enacting the FDCPA, ... created a substantive right to receive the required disclosures in relevant communications; and (2) the defendant violated this substantive right by failing to provide such disclosures." Guarisma, 209 F.Supp.3d at 1265, 2016 WL 4017196, *3 (citing Church v. Accretive Health, Inc., 654 Fed.Appx. 990, 994 (11th Cir. 2016)). Of course, the FDCPA does not merely provide debtors with a right to receive disclosures, but rather, is designed to combat "the serious and widespread abuses in the [debt collection area]." Jeter v. Credit Bureau, Inc., 760 F.2d 1168, 1173 (11th Cir. 1985) (quoting S. Rep. No. 95-382, 95th Cong., 1st Sess., reprinted in 1977 U.S. Code Cong. & Ad. News 1695, 1697); see Owen, 629 F.3d at 1270. To effectuate Congress's intent, "[t]he FDCPA creates a private right of action, ... authoriz[ing] an aggrieved debtor to file suit for a debt collector's failure to comply with the Act." Church, 654 Fed.Appx. at 994 (citing 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a) ("[A]ny debt collector
While Church concerned an alleged violation of 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e(11) and 1692g(a)(1)-(5), the Eleventh Circuit recognized that such violation results in harm "that Congress has elevated to the status of a legally cognizable" and concrete injury. Nothing in Church indicates that the Eleventh Circuit would determine otherwise if the rights at issue, as in the instant case, concerned a violation of a debtor's right to be free from "false representation or deceptive means" or "unfair or unconscionable" practices under 1692e(10) and 1692f, respectively.
As to the FDCPA allegations themselves, Plaintiff first claims that Defendant violated § 1692f(8) "by using any symbol, other than the debt collector's address, on any envelope when communicating with Plaintiff by use of the mails or by telegram.... In short, the envelope used to mail the Collection Letter displayed a [QR] code through the transparent window of the envelope." Complaint ¶ 37(a). 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(8) prohibits debt collectors from:
15 U.S.C. § 1692f(8); see Artell v. ARS Nat'l Servs., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS
The Eleventh Circuit has not yet entered the fray, but even assuming the "benign language" exception applicable, the record in this case is devoid of facts that establish what the QR, if scanned, might show. Unlike in Artell, infra, this case does not involve a motion for judgment on the pleadings,
Section 1692e(10) mandates that a "debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt," which includes "[t]he use of any false representation or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt or to obtain information concerning a consumer." 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(10). This determination requires that the Court view a defendant's actions through the eyes of the "least sophisticated consumer." Jeter, 760 F.2d at 1175.
LeBlanc v. Unifund CCR Partners, 601 F.3d 1185, 1194 (11th Cir. 2010) (internal quotations, alterations, and citations omitted). This "least sophisticated consumer" analysis "is best left to [a] jury," meaning that in many cases, it is not proper at the motion to dismiss stage of proceedings. LeBlanc, 601 F.3d at 1195; see Newman v. Ormond, 456 Fed.Appx. 866, 868 (11th Cir. 2012) ("where the parties agree on the basic facts of the case, but reasonably disagree upon the proper inferences to be drawn from the debt collector's actions, there exists a genuine issue of material fact that should be determined by the trier of fact and not by the court in a summary judgment context.").
Plaintiff claims that Defendant violated § 1692e(10) by (1) "improperly advis[ing] Plaintiff that, `you may incur processing charges when utilizing the online and phone methods of payment'"; and (2) "wrongfully portray[ing] the current creditor's willingness to settle the Consumer Debt for less than the full amount as having the same net result as paying the full amount of the Consumer Debt." Complaint ¶ 37(b)(1), (2) (quoting Letter) (emphasis omitted). As an initial matter, the Court does not address Plaintiff's first allegation under § 1692e(10) because Defendant does not provide sufficient argument in its Motion to support dismissal of this claim. See Motion at 1-2, 5-7; Sprint Sols., Inc. v. Fils-Amie, 44 F.Supp.3d 1224, 1228 (S.D. Fla. 2014) ("Where a defendant seeking dismissal of a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6) does not provide legal authority in support of its arguments, it has failed to satisfy its burden of establishing its entitlement to dismissal."); see also Watson v. K2 Design Grp., Inc., 2016 WL 3943963, at *2 (S.D. Fla. May 3, 2016). As to Plaintiff's second allegation, the Letter advises Plaintiff that he "may settle these accounts by paying a lesser amount which will be considered settlement in full for the accounts listed in the SUMMARY." The Letter includes a Summary, listing one outstanding loan with a principal amount of $1,228.00. See Letter at 2. Plaintiff claims that the settlement statement in the Letter is false, as debts settled for less than the full amount are nonetheless reported to credit bureaus and are more harmful to the debtor's credit, and a debtor faces certain tax consequence if he agrees to settle a debt for an amount that is $600.00 less than debt's original amount. Complaint ¶ 37(b)(2). Plaintiff also takes issue with Defendant's use of the phrase "SAVINGS OPPORTUNITY." See id.
The crux of the parties' dispute, therefore, regards the meaning of the Letter's promise that payment "will be considered settlement in full." Plaintiff asserts that the Letter will lead the least sophisticated consumer to make false conclusions, and cognizant of the limited pleading requirements necessary to withstand dismissal, the Court finds Plaintiffs allegations sufficient under the circumstances presented. Importantly, "`[a] debt collection letter is deceptive where it can be reasonably read to have two or more different meanings, one of which is inaccurate.'" Melillo v. Shendell & Assocs., P.A., 2012 WL 253205, at *5 (S.D. Fla. Jan. 26, 2012) (quoting Gonzales v. Arrow Fin. Servs., LLC, 660 F.3d 1055, 1062 (9th Cir. 2011)); see LeBlanc, 601 F.3d at 1194 ("[T]he fact that a false statement may be obviously false to those who are trained and experienced does not change its character, nor take away its power to deceive others less experienced."). Plaintiff claims that the statements in the Letter are false within the meaning of § 1692e(10). Making all plausible inferences in the least sophisticated consumer's favor, the Court finds
Finally, Plaintiff claims that Defendant violated § 1692f(1) "by attempting to collect[] an amount from Plaintiff, to wit, a $5.00 convenience fee for payments made over the telephone or via Defendant's online payment portal, which Defendant was not expressly authorized by contract or statute to collect." Complaint ¶ 37(c). This alleged collection attempt also constitutes the basis for Plaintiff's FCCPA claim. See id. ¶ 40(a). Section 1692f(1) prohibits "[t]he collection of any amount (including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) unless such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law." 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1). Fla. Stat. Ann. § 559.72 states that no person shall "[c]laim, attempt, or threaten to enforce a debt when such person knows that the debt is not legitimate, or assert the existence of some other legal right when such person knows that the right does not exist." Fla. Stat. Ann. § 559.72(9).
Plaintiff does not state in Response how Defendant's actions violate the FDCPA or FCCPA, nor does Plaintiff plead that Defendant actually charged a $5.00 fee. As Defendant correctly asserts, the Letter does not state that Plaintiff owes a debt other than the principal listed in the Summary.
For the reasons stated herein, it is