Kost v. Scott Lowery Law Office PC et al
Filing
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*ORDER denying 14 Defendants' Motion to Dismiss. Signed by Judge Diane J Humetewa on 7/10/2014.(VPB) *Modified document type on 7/10/2014 (SSU).
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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
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FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA
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Michael Kost,
No. CV14-00146-PHX-DJH
Plaintiff,
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v.
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ORDER
Scott Lowery Law Office PC, et al.,
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Defendants.
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Defendants Scott Lowery Law Office, P.C. (“SLLO”) and CACH, LLC (“Cach”)
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have filed a motion for judgment on the pleadings pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil
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Procedure 12(c). (Doc. 14.) The motion is fully briefed and no party has requested oral
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argument. The Court will deny the Defendants’ motion.
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I.
Background.
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SLLO contacted Plaintiff by phone on August 2, 2013 and August 14, 2013,
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claiming to have been retained by Cach to collect a $19,687.66 debt owed by Plaintiff.
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Doc. 1, ¶¶ 17-18. Plaintiff also received collection notices in the mail. Id., ¶ 21. Soon
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thereafter, Plaintiff sent SLLO a letter that included a written dispute, a validation of debt
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request, and a demand to cease all future telephone communications. Id., ¶ 19. The
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United States Postal Service confirmed that this correspondence was received on
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August 20, 2013. Id. Nevertheless, on August 21, 2013, SLLO contacted Plaintiff’s
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parents by phone and spoke to Plaintiff’s elderly father. Id., ¶ 20. SLLO’s agent
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informed Plaintiff’s father that Plaintiff was in trouble, that this trouble might affect
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Plaintiff’s father, and that Plaintiff needed to contact SLLO immediately. Id. Plaintiff’s
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father feared that Plaintiff’s personal information had been compromised. As a result, he
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panicked and drove fifty miles to see his son. Id.
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On August 28, 2013, Plaintiff received a letter from SLLO repeating claims that
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had already been asserted in a previous collection notice. Id., ¶ 21. On September 6,
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2013, SLLO again contacted Plaintiff by phone in an attempt to collect the debt.
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Id., ¶ 22. Plaintiff asked the agent why SLLO was refusing to honor Plaintiff’s request to
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cease all telephone communications contained in the August 20, 2013 letter. Id. The
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agent acknowledged receipt of the letter, but stated that no request to cease telephone
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communication had been documented. Id. As a result, Plaintiff sent a second letter to
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SLLO demanding a stop to all future telephone communication. Id., ¶ 23. The United
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States Postal Service confirmed receipt of the second letter on September 9, 2013. Id.
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Plaintiff received correspondence from SLLO on November 26, 2013 containing
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the following documents: duplicate copies of documents already provided on
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September 3, 2013; a bill of sale between Bank of America and Cach; and two un-
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itemized Bank of America credit card statements from October 2011 and February 2012.
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Plaintiff instituted this action on January 27, 2014, asserting 25 claims, including
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violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et.
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seq., the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (“TCPA”), 47 U.S.C. § 227, the
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Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“CFDCPA”), C.R.S. § 12-14-101, et. seq.,
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and the Arizona Collection Agency statute (“ACA”), A.R.S. § 32-1001, et. seq.
Plaintiff’s complaint alleges that Phillip Scott Lowery is a licensed attorney
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(Doc. 1, ¶ 13) and that SLLO is a valid Colorado corporation (Doc. 1, ¶ 7).
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II.
Legal Standard.
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In resolving a motion for judgment on the pleadings, the Court inquires whether
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the complaint at issue contains “sufficient factual matter, accepted as true, to state a claim
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to relief that is plausible on its face.” Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662, 678 (2009)
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(internal quotation marks and citation omitted); Cafasso v. General Dynamics C4 Sys.,
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637 F.3d 1047, 1054 n.4 (9th Cir. 2011) (finding Iqbal applies to Rule 12(c) motions
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because Rule 12(b)(6) and Rule 12(c) motions are functionally equivalent). The Court
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may find a claim plausible when a plaintiff pleads sufficient facts to allow the Court to
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draw a reasonable inference of misconduct, but the Court is not required “to accept as
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true a legal conclusion couched as a factual allegation.” Iqbal, 556 U.S. at 678 (internal
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quotation marks and citation omitted).
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III.
Analysis.
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A.
Federal Claims.
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Defendants argue that Plaintiff’s federal claims should be dismissed because
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“Defendants have offered the Plaintiff full relief in response to his allegations, thereby
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mooting his claims and extinguishing any interest he has in the litigation.” Doc. 14 at 1,
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6-7. Plaintiff argues that Defendants’ Rule 68 offer of judgment did not offer him all of
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the relief sought in his complaint. Doc. 15 at 10. Plaintiff disputes Defendants’ assertion
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that “it is undisputed that [Plaintiff] could not be awarded more than the amount offered
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to him by the Defendants.” Doc. 14 at 7. Because a Rule 68 offer of judgment cannot
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moot a case in the Ninth Circuit, the parties’ dispute about whether Defendants offered
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Plaintiff all of the relief he sought in the complaint is immaterial.
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Defendants cite no authority for their argument that an unaccepted Rule 68 offer
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renders Plaintiff’s claim moot. Many courts have addressed Defendants’ argument and a
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clear majority of circuits have accepted it. See Warren v. Sessoms & Rogers, P.A., 676
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F.3d 365, 371 (4th Cir. 2012); Lucero v. Bureau of Collection Recovery, Inc., 639 F.3d
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1239, 1243 (10th Cir. 2011); O’Brien v. Ed Donnelly Enters., Inc., 575 F.3d 567, 574
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(6th Cir. 2009); Sandoz v. Cingular Wireless LLC, 553 F.3d 913, 915 (5th Cir. 2008);
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Weiss v. Regal Collections, 385 F.3d 337, 342 (3d Cir. 2004); Rand v. Monsanto Co., 926
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F.2d 596, 598 (7th Cir. 1991). The Ninth Circuit, however, has unambiguously rejected
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Defendants’ argument and held that an unaccepted Rule 68 offer that would have fully
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satisfied a plaintiff’s claim does not render that claim moot. Diaz v. First Am. Home
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Buyers Prot. Corp., 732 F.3d 948, 953-55 (9th Cir. 2013). Thus, Plaintiff’s failure to
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accept Defendants’ Rule 68 offer of judgment – whether Defendant’s offer was for full or
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only part of the relief sought in the complaint – cannot moot this case. The Court will
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deny Defendants’ motion as to the federal claims.
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B.
Arizona Claims.
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Under the ACA, the Superintendent of the Arizona Department of Financial
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Institutions is authorized to issue licenses to, and generally regulate the conduct of,
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“collection agencies.” See A.R.S. § 32-1001, et seq. The statute provides for prosecution
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by “the prosecuting officer” of the county or city in which a violation occurs when a
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collection agency operates without a license or operates in a manner that violates the
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rules adopted by the Superintendent. A.R.S. § 32-1057. Defendants argue that Plaintiff
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may not bring a claim under the ACA because the statutory scheme provides no private
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cause of action. Doc. 14 at 5; see A.R.S. § 32-1057(A) (“The prosecuting officer of a
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county or city shall prosecute all violations of this chapter within his jurisdiction.”);
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Sparlin v. Select Portfolio Servicing, Inc., No. CV 11-00240-TUC-CKJ, 2012 WL
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527486, at * 11 (D. Ariz. Feb. 17, 2012) (citation omitted) (“Neither the applicable
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Arizona statutes nor regulations provide for an independent private right of action for
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violation of the [ACA].”). Plaintiff rejoins that although the ACA appears to authorize
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public enforcement only, the Court may imply a private right of action pursuant to Cort v.
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Ash, 422 U.S. 66 (1975). Doc. 15 at 5.
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In Cort, the Supreme Court held that a court may imply a private cause of action
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from a federal statute under limited circumstances. Cort, 422 U.S. at 78-85. Cort does
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not apply on these facts because the Arizona claims are not based on a federal statute.
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Therefore, the Court must determine whether Arizona courts would imply a private right
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of action.
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Arizona courts have implied private rights of action in other statutory schemes,
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see, e.g., Transamerica Financial Corporation v. Superior Court In and For Maricopa
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County, 761 P.2d 1019 (Ariz. 1988) (finding an implied private right of action to enforce
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the Arizona Consumer Loan Act), but they have not yet decided whether a private right
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of action should be implied in the context of the ACA. According to A.R.S. § 32-
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1057(A), the prosecuting officer of a county or city “shall prosecute all violations” of the
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ACA “occurring within his jurisdiction.”
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obligatory language in A.R.S. § 21-1057(A) does not clearly proscribe private
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enforcement of the ACA; instead, it appears to compel county and city prosecutors to
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enforce the statute.
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prohibited a private right of action,” the Court must determine whether the context of the
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ACA, the language used, the subject matter, the effects and consequences, and the spirit
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and purpose of the law implies a private right of action. Chavez v. Brewer, 214 P.3d 397,
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406 (Ariz. 2009) (citing Transamerica, 761 P.2d at 1020). This inquiry “more broadly
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implies” private rights of action than the federal standard, and focuses primarily on
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whether a plaintiff is part of “the class for whose especial benefit” the statute was
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adopted rather than an “incidental” beneficiary of the statute. Id. at 405-06; see also
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Sullivan v. Pulte Home Corp., 290 P.3d 446, 454 (Ariz. Ct. App. 2012).
Contrary to Defendants’ argument, the
Because the Arizona legislature “neither expressly granted nor
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The overall purpose of the ACA is to regulate collection agencies and ensure that
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they do not use coercive techniques to exploit indebted Arizonans. To achieve this goal,
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the legislature enacted statutory provisions requiring collection agencies to register in
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Arizona and constrain their debt collection practices. See A.R.S. §§ 32-1021 to 1055.
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Defendants contacted Plaintiff, who is an Arizonan, seeking to collect outstanding debts.
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Because Plaintiff is a member of “the class for whose especial benefit” the ACA was
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adopted, the Court holds that Plaintiff has an implied right to maintain his claims for
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relief under the ACA. Accordingly, the Court will deny Defendants’ motion as to the
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Arizona claims.
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C.
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In his complaint, Plaintiff asserts that SLLO violated the CFDCPA by conducting
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business as a collection agency without a license. Doc. 1, ¶¶ 87-93. Defendants argue
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that the CFDCPA claim must be dismissed because SLLO is not required to maintain a
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Colorado collection agency license.
Colorado Claims.
Doc. 14 at 5-6; see C.R.S. § 12-14-103(2)(e)
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(excepting attorneys from the licensing requirement). Plaintiff argues that while § 12-14-
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103(2)(e) may exempt an individual “attorney-at-law” from the licensing requirement, it
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does not authorize a lawyer to operate “a full-fledged collection agency, where
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autonomous collection agents work without attorney oversight.” Doc. 15 at 4.
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Colorado Rule of Civil Procedure 265 permits attorneys to form professional
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companies through which they may render legal services. Rule 5.3 of the Colorado Rules
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of Professional Conduct (C.R.P.C.) permits attorneys to employ or retain non-attorneys to
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support the attorneys’ practice of law, but those non-attorneys may not practice law (see
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C.R.P.C. 5.5). Defendants argue that SLLO’s non-attorney employees may engage in
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debt collection activities without a license because Lowery is an attorney. Defendants
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analogize the work that non-attorney employees perform for a law firm to the debt
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collection activities that SLLO’s non-attorney employees perform for SLLO. Doc. 16
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at 2. This analogy is not persuasive. While a law firm’s non-attorney employees may not
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engage in the practice of law, SLLO’s non-attorney employees do engage in debt
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collection activities, such as contacting debtors and demanding payment. In fact, SLLO’s
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non-attorney employees appear to function as “debt collectors” (C.R.S. § 12-14-103(7))
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or “solicitors” (C.R.S. § 12-14-103(10)) who are persons employed by collection
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agencies within the statutory scheme. The Court cannot find, and Defendants have failed
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to cite, a statute or case supporting Defendants’ suggestion that the attorney exception
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extends to non-attorney employees of SLLO. The Court will therefore deny Defendants’
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motion as to the Colorado claims.1
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Defendants argue for the first time in their reply that the CFDCPA does not
provide a private right of action for injunctive relief and that duplicate monetary recovery
cannot be obtained under the CFDCPA and the FDCPA. Doc. 16 at 2-3. The Court will
not consider arguments raised for the first time in a reply brief. Lentini v. Cal. Ctr. for
the Arts, Escondido, 370 F.3d 837, 843 n.6 (9th Cir. 2004).
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IT IS ORDERED that Defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings
(Doc. 14) is denied.
Dated this 10th day of July, 2014.
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Honorable Diane J. Humetewa
United States District Judge
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