Federal Judge Says Suit Against Debt-Collecting Attorney Over Barcodes May Proceed
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2016 holding in that a technical violation of a statute is insufficient to establish Article III standing does not preclude a suit over a potential disclosure of information by barcodes on debt collection letters, a federal judge in Newark has ruled.
July 06, 2017 at 04:10 PM
9 minute read
The U.S. Supreme Court's 2016 holding in Spokeo v. Robins that a technical violation of a statute is insufficient to establish Article III standing does not preclude a suit over a potential disclosure of information by barcodes on debt collection letters, a federal judge in Newark has ruled.
In Stever v. Harrison, a collection lawyer's mail to debtors was sent in envelopes with transparent windows that revealed a barcode. The plaintiffs assert that popular and free smartphone applications allow the barcodes to be read by anyone, which would reveal the account number assigned by defendants to the recipient. But the plaintiffs presented no evidence suggesting anyone ever read the bar codes.
The violation of a procedural right under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was sufficient to constitute injury in fact, and the plaintiff need not allege any harm other than the one Congress identified when it passed the act, U.S. District Chief Judge Jose Linares of the District of New Jersey ruled, denying the defendants' motion to dismiss.
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