On October 15, a New York appellate court affirmed the dismissal of a putative class action alleging violations of the FDCPA and New York General Business Law § 349. The plaintiff claimed that notices sent after a bankruptcy discharge, informing the plaintiff of the mortgage debt and including disclaimers that they were not demands for payment if the plaintiff had received a bankruptcy discharge, constituted deceptive or unfair practices. The court found that the complaint “failed to allege that the plaintiff relied upon the defendants’ alleged deceptive conduct to his detriment or suffered an actual harm or injury as a result of the defendants’ alleged deceptive conduct.”

The decision explained that standing required an “injury in fact” that was “concrete and particularized,” and that a plaintiff could not rely solely on statutory standing without alleging a real injury. Because the plaintiff failed to show any actual harm or a detrimental reliance on the defendant’s “alleged deceptive conduct,” the court affirmed the dismissal of the complaint.