STANLEY R. CHESLER, District Judge.
This matter comes before the Court on the joint motion by Defendants Pressler and Pressler, L.L.P. and New Century Financial Services, Inc. (collectively "Defendants") to dismiss the Complaint pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6) [docket entry 9]. Plaintiff Lorraine Z. Waitkus ("Plaintiff" or "Waitkus") has opposed the motion. The Court opts to rule on the instant motion without oral argument, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 78. It has considered the papers filed by the parties, and for the reasons discussed below, the motion will be granted in part and denied in part.
This action arises under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), 15 U.S.C. § 1692,
Plaintiff Waitkus, a resident of New Jersey, sells real estate for a living. All of her earnings are based on commissions from those sales. According to the Complaint, Defendant New Century Financial Services ("New Century") is a large purchaser of defaulted and/or delinquent consumer debts, and Defendant Pressler and Pressler is a New Jersey law firm concentrating in the field of consumer debt collection.
Waitkus allegedly incurred debts, which were later purchased by Defendant New Century. New Century, represented by Defendant Pressler and Pressler, initiated an action in New Jersey state court to collect on the debt allegedly owed by Waitkus (the "collection action"). A default judgment was entered against Waitkus in the collection action. Thereafter, New Century, through its counsel Pressler and Pressler, filed a motion in the collection action captioned "Motion To Turnover Funds." Despite the label given to the motion, Waitkus alleges that what Defendants actually sought to do was execute their collection action judgment upon her earnings. The Complaint avers that Defendants' Motion To Turnover Funds failed to adhere to various notice requirements imposed by New Jersey court rules in that it did not state (1) that it was an application for wage execution; (2) what limits federal and state law placed on wage execution; (3) that the non-moving party has a right to oppose the application and demand a hearing by notifying the Court within 10 days.
Defendants thereafter used the collection action order to obtain a writ of execution. Waitkus alleges that they attempted to execute upon 100% of her commissions. She alleges that to stop the execution and preserve her income, Waitkus was forced to hire an attorney to file for bankruptcy on her behalf. She further alleges that, with the assistance of another attorney, she filed a motion to vacate the order on which Defendants obtained the writ of execution. That motion, the Complaint states, was granted for failure by New Century to provide notice as required by New Jersey court rules.
Waitkus initiated this putative class action in federal court on November 7, 2011. The sole count in her Complaint pleads for relief under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692k, for Defendants' alleged violations of that statute.
The issue before the Court on a motion challenging the sufficiency of a complaint under Rule 12(b)(6), "is not whether plaintiff will ultimately prevail but whether the claimant is entitled to offer evidence in support of the claims."
Congress enacted the FDCPA "to eliminate abusive debt collection practices." 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e). Persons aggrieved by a debt collector's violation of any one or more of the statutory requirements may seek legal redress pursuant to the private cause of action created by the statute. 15 U.S.C. § 1692k. Defendant argues that Plaintiff's Complaint is deficient because it fails to cite what provisions of the FDCPA have allegedly been violated by their actions.
Defendants' argument completely misapplies the federal pleading requirement of Rule 8(a). The rule requires that "a pleading that states a claim for relief must contain . . . a short and plain statement of the claim showing that the pleader is entitled to relief." Fed.R.Civ.P. 8(a)(2).
To the extent Defendants protest that Plaintiff has, in her opposition brief, improperly relied on facts which are not pled in the Complaint to bolster her FDCPA claim, they are correct. It is well-established that the Court's review of the sufficiency of a claim will not take into account factual allegations that are not made in the Complaint.
The FDCPA prohibits a debt collector from using "unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt." 15 U.S.C. § 1692f. The statute identifies, without limitation, various practices which will be considered to run afoul of that prohibition.
Defendants have also argued that Plaintiff's plea to recover actual damages under the FDCPA must be stricken for failure to allege any facts that plausibly demonstrate that she incurred such damages. The FDCPA entitles a person aggrieved by a debt collector's failure to comply with the statute to "any actual damage sustained by such a person as a result of such failure." 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)(1). Plaintiff avers that as a result of Defendants' unlawful attempt to execute against her earnings, Plaintiff was forced to hire a lawyer to file a bankruptcy petition for protection against this execution. Clearly, this allegation states an actual monetary loss to Plaintiff as a result of the allegedly unlawful collection practice.
On the other hand, her plea for injunctive relief is not cognizable under the FDCPA. The statute does not permit a litigant asserting a private cause of action to obtain injunctive, declaratory or other equitable relief.
For the foregoing reasons, the Court will dismiss Plaintiff's plea for injunctive and/or equitable relief under the FDCPA. It will deny Defendants' motion to dismiss the Complaint in all other respects. An appropriate form of Order will be filed.