Debt Collection Class Ended When Plaintiff Accepted Deal

Debt collector Portfolio Assets Recover LLC successfully defeated a consumer class action by settling the named plaintiff’s individual claims, a federal court ruled Oct. 23.

An accepted offer of judgment moots class claims when the plaintiff hasn’t yet moved for class certification, Judge Avern Cohn wrote for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

The court distinguished the case from Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, where the U.S. Supreme Court held that an unaccepted offer doesn’t cut off class claims. The ruling curtailed the defense tactic of playing “whack-a-mole” with lead plaintiffs to wipe out class suits. ...