Professional Negligence Law Reporter

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals held that a consumer who hired an attorney and suffered emotional harm after the purchaser of his alleged credit card debt sued him was precluded from recovering under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. §1692 et seq.

Calvin Choice allegedly defaulted on a consumer credit account. Unifund CCR, LLC, purchased the alleged debt and hired the Kohn Law Firm to collect it. The Kohn firm sued Choice in state court on Unifund’s behalf, seeking the amount of the debt plus statutory attorney fees. Choice sued the Kohn Law Firm and Unifund CCR in federal district court, alleging liability under the FDCPA. Choice asserted that he had received false and misleading statements from the defendants, which led to him becoming concerned, confused, and sleep deprived, which, in turn, led to the need to hire an attorney to help him ascertain the amount of debt he allegedly owed. The defendants each moved to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. The district court granted the motions on the basis that the plaintiff had not established Article III standing. The court concluded that confusion, lost sleep, and the need to hire a lawyer were not concrete harms.

Affirming, the Fourth Circuit noted that to establish standing under Article III of the Constitution, a plaintiff must show an injury in fact that is concrete, particularized, and actual or imminent. A plaintiff also must show that the defendant caused this injury and that the injury would be redressed by the requested judicial relief.

Citing case law, the court found that standing is not established by the decisions to hire a lawyer and pay an appearance, experiencing confusion leading one to hire a lawyer, and suffering lost sleep and emotional harm. Thus, the court concluded that the plaintiff had not established Article III standing, and his complaint was properly dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Citation: Choice v. Kohn Law Firm, S.C., 77 F.4th 636 (7th Cir. 2023).