Fontell v. Hassett

870 F.Supp.2d 395

Janice FONTELL, Plaintiff,

v.Todd HASSETT, et al., Defendants.

Civil Action No. AW–10–1472.

United States District Court,

D. Maryland,

Southern Division.

June 28, 2012.

Janice Fontell, Olney, MD, pro se.

Richard E. Schimel, Thomas Edgar Dunlap, Budow and Noble PC, Bethesda, MD, for Defendants.

Memorandum Opinion

ALEXANDER WILLIAMS, JR., District Judge.

Presently ripe and ready for resolution in this matter are: (1) Plaintiff's Motion to Alter or Amend the Court's April 20, 2012, 2012 WL 1409390, Judgment granting Defendants' Motion for Summary Judgment, denying Plaintiff's motions for partial summary judgment, and dismissing this case, Doc. No. 97; (2) Defendant Todd Hassett's Motion to Strike Plaintiff's letter to the Court accusing him of committing perjury, Doc. No. 100; (3) Defendants' Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs, Doc. No. 108; and (4) Plaintiff's Motion to Strike Defendants' Motion, Doc. No. 110. The Court has reviewed the motion papers and finds that no hearing is necessary. See Loc. R. 105.6 (D.Md.2010). For the reasons articulated more fully below, the Court GRANTS Defendant Hassett's Motion to Strike, DENIES without prejudice Defendants' Motion for Attorneys' Fees, DENIES Plaintiff's Motion to Strike, and GRANTS-in-part and DENIES-in-part Plaintiff's Motion to Alter or Amend. The Court will REOPEN this case for further proceedings with respect to damages.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

This multi-year, multi-litigation action arises from actions taken by Defendants to collect a $236.71 condominium fee assessed against Plaintiff. Based on a belief that the fee was improper, Plaintiff steadfastly refused to pay it, and the homeowner association ultimately took action through its attorneys and management agent to collect the fee. Plaintiff owns property located at 18502 Stakeburg Place, Olney, Maryland, and is a member of Defendant Norbeck Grove Community Association, Inc. (“Norbeck Grove” or “the homeowner association”). Doc. No. 83 Ex. 8 at 2. Norbeck Grove and The Management Group Associates, Inc. (“TMG” or “the management agent”) have a management agreement whereby TMG manages various aspects of the homeowner association, including enforcing debts and collection policies. Doc. No. 83 Ex. 10 at 2–4. Defendant Jeff Gatling (“Gatling”) is the president of TMG, and Defendant Todd Hassett (“Hassett”) is an employee. See Doc. No 83 Ex. 9 at 2; Doc. No. 82 Ex. 11 at 13–14.

During the period in question, the homeowner association and its management agent were responsible for collecting dues directly from Plaintiff's condominium association, Norbeck Grove 1 Condominium, Inc. (“condominium association”). On December 15, 2003, the homeowner association and management agent discovered that they had failed to invoice the correct amounts on monthly bills to Plaintiff's condominium association. See Doc No. 2 Ex. 1 at 1. As a result of this billing error, there was a shortfall totaling $8,521.50 in homeowner association dues owed by the condominium association. See Doc No. 2 Ex. 1 at 1. On January 23, 2006, the homeowner association and management agent divided the total shortfall by 36, the total number of condominium members, and the management agent began to collect a one-time charge totaling $236.71 from each condominium member. See Doc. No. 85 Ex. 15 at 1. Plaintiff had paid her monthly and quarterly homeowner association dues in a timely manner until this collection action, Doc. No. 83 Ex. 8 at 9, but Plaintiff contested this assessment and refused to pay it.¹

On January 23, 2006, Defendants billed Plaintiff for $236.71 pursuant to the 2003 shortfall. Plaintiff steadfastly refused to pay the assessment, and Defendants charged her a $10 late fee on April 6, 2006. See Doc. No. 84 Ex. 5 at 1. Over the next two and a half years, Defendants charged Plaintiff additional late fees, placed a lien of $751.91 on her home, and notified her of impending foreclosure. Doc. No. 86 Ex. 1 at 1–4; Doc. No. 84 Ex. 8; Doc. No. 84 Ex. 9.

When Defendants' continued efforts proved unsuccessful, the homeowner association referred the collection action to its attorneys, the Andrews Law Group, who is not a party to this action. On September 19, 2008, the homeowner association sued Plaintiff in Montgomery County, Maryland District Court through its attorneys to collect the assessment as well as late fees, costs of collection, attorneys' fees, and court costs. See Doc. No. 2 Ex. 21. The district court granted judgment to the homeowner association, and Plaintiff appealed to the Montgomery County Circuit Court. Doc. No. 94 Ex. 2 at 5.

In the meantime, on February 23, 2010, Andrews Law Group recorded a lien of $3,963.19 on Plaintiff's residence. Doc. No. 88 Ex. 4 at 7. On June 23, 2010, Andrews Law Group recorded a lien against Plaintiff individually for $1,330.71. See Doc. No. 83 Ex. 8 at 23. Around this time, Defendant Hassett left a voicemail on Plaintiff's home phone about the liens on her property that Plaintiff's friend later overheard. Doc. No. 92 Ex. 15 at 2.

On October 20, 2010, the Circuit Court for Montgomery County, Maryland reversed the district court and dismissed the homeowner association's complaint, finding the collection action barred by Maryland's three-year statute of limitations. See Doc. No 94 Ex. 2 at 5.

On June 7, 2010, Plaintiff filed the present action against Defendants in this Court. Plaintiff's Second Amended Complaint alleges 28 counts against Defendants for violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act (“MCDCA”), the Maryland Contract Lien Act (“MCLA”), the Maryland Collection Agency Licensing Act (“MCALA”), and the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (“MCPA”) for their conduct in attempting to collect her homeowner's assessment. Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 44–104. Plaintiff also alleges that the homeowner association is vicariously liable for the actions of its attorneys, its management agent, and the employees of the management agent. Second Am. Compl. ¶¶ 107–110.

After nearly two years of litigation, on April 20, 2012, the Court granted Defendants' motion for summary judgment, denied Plaintiff's motions for summary judgment, and dismissed all of Plaintiff's 28 claims against Defendants. Subsequently, Plaintiff filed a Motion to Alter or Amend the Court's Judgment and has apparently initiated a lawsuit in state court against Defendant Hassett for perjury. Additionally, Plaintiff submitted a letter to the Court accusing Defendant Hassett of committing perjury during the course of this litigation. Hassett moved to strike Plaintiff's letter, denying the perjury and contending that Plaintiff's letter is immaterial to the issues in this case. Defendants then filed a Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs, which Plaintiff has moved to strike.

II. Standard of Review

Plaintiff seeks reconsideration under Rule 59(e) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. “While the Rule itself provides no standard for when a district court may grant such a motion, courts interpreting Rule 59(e) have recognized three grounds for amending an earlier judgment: (1) to accommodate an intervening change in controlling law; (2) to account for new evidence not available at trial; or (3) to correct a clear error of law or prevent manifest injustice.” Hutchinson v. Staton, 994 F.2d 1076, 1081 (4th Cir.1993). Plaintiff's motion is based on the third rationale for reconsideration: manifest error. To justify reconsideration on the basis of manifest error, the prior decision cannot be “ ‘just maybe or probably wrong; it must ... strike us as wrong with the force of a five-week-old, unrefrigerated dead fish.’ ” TFWS, Inc. v. Franchot, 572 F.3d 186, 194 (4th Cir.2009) (quoting Bellsouth Telesensor v. Info. Sys. & Networks Corp., Nos. 92–2355, 92–2437, 1995 WL 520978 at *5 n. 6 (4th Cir. Sept. 5, 1995)).

III. Analysis

On April 20, 2012, this Court granted summary judgment in favor of Defendants, dismissing Plaintiff's claims in toto. See Doc. No. 96. Plaintiff asks the Court to reconsider its determinations that: (1) Defendants do not qualify as debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”); (2) Plaintiff's FDCPA claims are time-barred; (3) Plaintiff failed to show that Defendants disclosed information about her reputation to third parties that had no legitimate business need for such information in violation of the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act (“MCDCA”); (3) Plaintiff failed to show that Defendants had sufficient knowledge that their claims against her were time-barred to support liability under the MCDCA; (4) the Maryland Collection Agency Licensing Act (“MCALA”) does not apply to the management agent or its employees because the management agent's principal business is not that of debt collection; (5) Plaintiff is not entitled to relief under the Maryland Consumer Protection Act (“MCPA”); and (6) the homeowner association is not vicariously liable for the actions of its attorneys. The Court agrees with Plaintiff that it should reconsider its analysis of Plaintiff's MCALA claim but maintains the correctness of its prior holdings on all other issues. The Court will more thoroughly discuss and explain its prior holdings on those other matters only as needed.

A. FDCPA Claims

In order for Defendants to be liable for FDCPA violations, they must qualify as “debt collectors” under the FDCPA. Plaintiff has not contested the Court's determination that the homeowner association, in collecting debts owed to itself rather than debts owed to another, cannot be considered a debt collector under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). See Betskoff v. Enterprise Rent A Car Co. of Baltimore, LLC, Civ. No. ELH–11–2333, 2012 WL 32575, at *5 (D.N.J. Jan. 4, 2012). Rather, Plaintiff contests the Court's determination that the management agent and its employees are not debt collectors under the FDCPA.

1. Whether Defendant TMG and its Employees...