Sufficiency of Evidence

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: John H. Burton v. Kohn Law Firm, S.C., et al.

Case No.: 18-2059

Officials: FLAUM, RIPPLE, and MANION, Circuit Judges.

Focus: Sufficiency of Evidence

The history of this litigation began in the circuit court for Brown County, Wisconsin. Kohn Law Firm, S.C. (“Kohn”), acting on behalf of Unifund CCR, LLC (“Unifund”), a debt collection agency, brought an action against John H. Burton. Unifund sought to collect from Mr. Burton a debt incurred on a Citibank, N.A. (“Citibank”), credit card account. Mr. Burton denied knowledge of, or any association with, that account. While that action was pending in state court, Mr. Burton filed the present lawsuit against Kohn in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He alleged that, with respect to the same debt, Kohn had violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692–1692p, and the Wisconsin Consumer Act (“WCA”), Wis. Stat. §§ 421–427, by filing the Wisconsin action against Mr. Burton without first providing him notice of his right to cure the default.

The Wisconsin state court later dismissed Kohn’s action against Mr. Burton on the basis of Mr. Burton’s denial that he was the individual who had incurred the underlying debt. Mr. Burton then amended his complaint in this federal action to add Unifund as a defendant. Following crossmotions for summary judgment by the parties, the magistrate judge, sitting as the district court, entered judgment in favor of Kohn and Unifund. The district court held that Mr. Burton could not proceed on his FDCPA or WCA claims because he had failed to present sufficient evidence that the debt incurred on the Citibank account was for personal, family, or household purposes and therefore a “consumer debt.” Mr. Burton now challenges that determination.

We agree with the district court. On the record before us, Mr. Burton has not come forth with sufficient evidence that the debt in question is a consumer debt. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the district court.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.