ECHEVARRIA, MCCALLA, RAYMER, BARRETT & FRAPPIER vs. COLE
Supreme Court of Florida
____________
No. SC05-564
____________
ECHEVARRIA, MCCALLA, RAYMER, BARRETT & FRAPPIER, etc.,
et al.,
Petitioners,
vs.
BRADLEY COLE, etc.,
Respondent.
[February 1, 2007]
ANSTEAD, J.
Echevarria, McCalla, Raymer, Barrett & Frappier, et al., seek review of the decision of the First District Court of Appeal in Echevarria, McCalla, Raymer, Barrett & Frappier v. Cole, 896 So. 2d 773 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004), on the ground that it expressly and directly conflicts with a decision of the Third District Court of Appeal, Boca Investors Group, Inc. v. Potash, 835 So. 2d 273 (Fla. 3d DCA 2002), on a question of law. We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. We limit our review to the question of law upon which jurisdiction was granted, and hold that the litigation privilege applies in all causes of action, statutory as well as common law. Accordingly, we quash the contrary decision of the First District and remand for further proceedings consistent with our holding.
Facts and Procedural History
This case was presented to the district court under the limited circumstances of an interlocutory review of a trial court's order certifying the case for class action status. The First District explained the underlying facts giving rise to this action in its decision below:
The plaintiffs are property owners who defaulted on their mortgages with their respective lenders. The Echevarria firm, one of the defendants below, was the primary firm retained by the lenders to handle the foreclosure proceedings against the plaintiffs. Echevarria sent reinstatement letters to the plaintiffs at the outset of the foreclosure proceedings, stating that the plaintiffs were in default on their respective mortgages and faced foreclosure unless they reinstated the mortgages by bringing their payments up to date. The letters further claimed that the plaintiffs owed certain costs incurred by the lenders in the course of the proceedings. Kim Nabors and Otis Pye, the original plaintiffs in this action, both had defaulted on their respective mortgages and received reinstatement letters from Echevarria. Neither reinstated their mortgage, and their properties were ultimately foreclosed.
Nabors and Pye filed suit against Echevarria and the other named defendants, alleging that the firm had violated the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act and the Florida Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Act. The essence of the complaint was that the defendants acted unlawfully by asserting a claim for a debt that was in excess of the actual costs their clients incurred during the foreclosure proceedings. Specifically, the plaintiffs argued that the reinstatement letter claimed costs of $325 for title search and examination and various other charges for service of process, when the only cost incurred by the firm was $55 for the title search.
In response, the defendants asserted that the $325 charge was legitimate, as it included $150 for a title search and $175 for a title examination performed by their in-house staff. They further argued that they had not violated either of the statutes referred to in the complaint because their contracts with their lender clients authorized them to charge these amounts.
. . . .
Cole had previously received a reinstatement letter from Echevarria regarding the potential foreclosure of his mortgage, and as a result, paid the disputed amounts to reinstate his mortgage. On November 13, 2000, Cole, Nabors and Pye moved for leave to file a third amended complaint to assert Cole's statutory claims.
. . . .
Later, Cole, as the putative class representative, filed a motion to certify a class that consisted of â€
