Martin v. Asset Acceptance Capital Corp.

MOTION

N.D. Ill.February 22, 2012

1 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS EASTERN DIVISION NICHOLAS MARTIN on behalf of himself and others similarly situated, Plaintiff, v. ASSET ACCEPTANCE CAPITAL CORP. Defendant. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) 1:11‐cv‐6256 Judge Zagel Magistrate Judge Schenkier JURY DEMANDED PLAINTIFF’S MOTION TO REMOVE CONFIDENTIAL DESIGNATION Plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court remove defendant’s confidential designation of its contract and certification with Trans Union, LLC, documents bates numbered AALLC 39‐40 and 48‐60. In support of this motion, plaintiff states: 1. This is a The Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq. (“FCRA”), class action, alleging that the defendant debt collection agency improperly accessed plaintiff and ostensibly thousands of other consumers’ consumer reports, when it did not have the right to do so in March 2011. Plaintiff also alleges that such access was in direct violation of defendant’s section 1681b(f)(2) certification to Trans Union about its permissible purpose to obtain such consumer reports. In other words, Asset obtained plaintiff and the class members’ credit data under false pretenses. 2. This Court entered a protective order on December 14, 2011, Exhibit A, which permits parties to designate discovery materials as confidential, if the party has a good faith to do so. The order also requires the designating party to explain why it has designated the materials as confidential. Exhibit A at ¶8. Case: 1:11-cv-06256 Document #: 28 Filed: 02/22/12 Page 1 of 9 PageID #:228 2 3. Asset Acceptance has designated its contract and certification regarding its access to the data that is the subject of this lawsuit to credit bureau Trans Union bates numbered AALLC 39‐40 and 48‐60 as confidential. 4. Plaintiff disputed the confidentiality of these pages, and the parties had a telephonic meet and confer regarding the designation on February 21, 2012. Defense counsel explained that she was not sure whether the challenged documents were form documents, or whether they were specific to Asset Acceptance, but took the position that these documents seemed to be the sort that should be kept confidential, and refused to remove the confidential designation. 5. These are the same documents that Asset Acceptance complains are not specified in the complaint in its motion to dismiss. See MTD the Amended Complaint at 3. In other words, Asset wants its cake and to eat it, too – it claims the complaint is unclear as to how it violated its 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(f)(2), but also seeks to keep that document out of the public record. 6. In sum, there is no valid justification for the confidentiality protection claimed by Asset as to AALLC 39‐40 and 48‐60, and the designation should be removed. WHEREFORE, plaintiff respectfully requests that this Court remove defendant’s confidential designation of its contract and certification with Trans Union, LLC, documents bates numbered AALLC 39‐40 and 48‐60. Respectfully submitted, /s/ Alexander H. Burke Alexander H. Burke Case: 1:11-cv-06256 Document #: 28 Filed: 02/22/12 Page 2 of 9 PageID #:229 3 BURKE LAW OFFICES, LLC 155 N. Michigan Ave., Suite 9020 Chicago, IL 60601 (312) 729‐5288 (312) 729‐5289 (fax) ABurke@BurkeLawLLC.com Case: 1:11-cv-06256 Document #: 28 Filed: 02/22/12 Page 3 of 9 PageID #:230 Case: 1:11-cv-06256 Document #: 13 Filed: 12/08/11 Page 1 of 6 PageID #:77: : - - t : 28 Filed: 02/22/12 Page 4 of 9 PageID #:231 Case: 1:11-cv-06256 Document #: 13 Filed: 12/08/11 Page 2 of 6 PageID #:78: : - - t : 28 Filed: 02/22/12 Page 5 of 9 PageID #:232 Case: 1:11-cv-06256 Document #: 13 Filed: 12/08/11 Page 3 of 6 PageID #:79: : - - t : 28 Filed: 02/22/12 Page 6 of 9 PageID #:233 Case: 1:11-cv-06256 Document #: 13 Filed: 12/08/11 Page 4 of 6 PageID #:80: : - - t : 28 Filed: 02/22/12 Page 7 of 9 PageID #:234 Case: 1:11-cv-06256 Document #: 13 Filed: 12/08/11 Page 5 of 6 PageID #:81: : - - t : 28 Filed: 02/22/12 Page 8 of 9 PageID #:235 Case: 1:11-cv-06256 Document #: 13 Filed: 12/08/11 Page 6 of 6 PageID #:82: : - - t : 28 Filed: 02/22/12 Page 9 of 9 PageID #:236