Melissa James v. Windham Professionals Inc ( 2020 )

NOT PRECEDENTIAL
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
FOR THE THIRD CIRCUIT
_____________
No. 19-1964
_____________
MELISSA JAMES,
On behalf of herself and all others similarly situated,
Appellant
v.
WINDHAM PROFESSIONALS, INC.; JOHN DOES 1-25
__________________
On Appeal from the United States District Court
for the District of New Jersey
District Court No. 2-18-cv-01865
District Judge: The Honorable Esther Salas
____________________
Submitted Pursuant to Third Circuit L.A.R. 34.1(a)
May 11, 2020
Before: SMITH, Chief Judge, HARDIMAN, and KRAUSE, Circuit Judges
(Filed: June 16, 2020)
_____________________
OPINION*
_____________________
HARDIMAN, Circuit Judge.
This appeal involves an alleged violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq. Melissa James alleges Windham Professionals, Inc., a debt
*
This disposition is not an opinion of the full court and pursuant to I.O.P. 5.7 does
not constitute binding precedent.
collection agency, violated the Act by including language in its debt collection letter that
would leave the least sophisticated consumer uncertain about her rights. The District
Court dismissed James’s suit and she timely appealed.1
James originally argued Windham’s debt collection letter would confuse the least
sophisticated consumer about whether she could dispute the debt in writing or by phone.
James concedes this argument (as she must) given our recent decision interpreting
§ 1692(g) as allowing for both written and oral disputes of debts. Riccio v. Sentry Credit,
Inc., 954 F.3d 582 (3d Cir. 2020) (en banc).
James now argues Windham’s use of the term “Validation Notification” in the
heading contained in the debt collection letter overshadowed the text of the letter such
that the least-sophisticated consumer would believe the debt was already deemed valid.
We disagree. The least sophisticated consumer standard “presum[es] a basic level of
understanding and willingness to read with care on the part of the recipient.” Campuzano-
Burgos v. Midland Credit Mgmt., Inc., 550 F.3d 294, 299 (3d Cir. 2008) (citations
omitted). The first sentence of the challenged notice tells the debtor that Windham would
assume the debt valid unless she disputed its validity within thirty days—effectively
mirroring the statutory language. The phrase “Validation Notification” cannot reasonably
be understood to mean that the debt was already deemed valid. So we will affirm.
1
The District Court had jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 and we have
jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review de novo the District Court’s order
dismissing the case for failure to state a claim. Trzaska v. L’Oreal USA, Inc., 865 F.3d
155, 159 (3rd Cir. 2017).
2