Source: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-3_05-cv-04944/USCOURTS-cand-3_05-cv-04944-10/pdf.json

Nature of Suit Code: 440
Nature of Suit: Other Civil Rights
Cause of Action: 15:1692 Fair Debt Collection Act

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United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CHRISTOPHER CIVITELLO,

Plaintiff,

 v.

FIRST CREDIT OF AMERICA, INC.,

Defendant. /

No. C 05-04944 WHA

COURT’S PROPOSED CHARGE TO THE JURY

AND SPECIAL VERDICT FORM

Appended hereto are copies of the draft charge to the jury and special verdict form given

to both sides on FEBRUARY 12, 2007, for discussion with the Court at the charging conference

on FEBRUARY 13, 2007, at 7:30 A.M. Counsel are reminded that all objections, additions, or

modifications must be made at the charging conference or else they shall be deemed waived.

 

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United States District Court

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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

CHRISTOPHER CIVITELLO,

Plaintiff,

 v.

FIRST CREDIT OF AMERICA, INC.,

Defendant. /

No. C 05-04944 WHA

[DRAFT]

FINAL CHARGE TO THE JURY

AND SPECIAL VERDICT FORM

Case 3:05-cv-04944-WHA Document 70 Filed 02/12/07 Page 2 of 15
United States District Court

For the Northern District of California

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1.

Members of the jury, now that you have heard all the evidence and arguments by counsel,

it is my duty to instruct you on the law. A copy of these instructions will be available in the jury

room.

It is your duty to find the facts from all the evidence in the case. To those facts, you must

apply the law as I give it to you. You must follow the law as I give it to you whether you agree

with it or not. You must not be influenced by any personal likes or dislikes, opinions, prejudices

or sympathy. That means that you must decide the case solely on the evidence and law, as you

swore to do at the beginning of the case. You must not read into these instructions or into

anything the Court may have said or done as suggesting what verdict you should return — that is

a matter entirely up to you. 

2.

The evidence from which you are to decide what the facts are consists of:

1. The sworn testimony of witnesses, on both direct and cross-examination,

regardless of who called the witness;

2. The exhibits which have been received into evidence; 

3. The sworn testimony of witnesses in depositions, read into evidence and

4. Any facts to which the lawyers have stipulated. You must treat any

stipulated facts as having been conclusively proved.

3.

Evidence may be direct or circumstantial. Direct evidence is direct proof of a fact, such

as testimony by a witness about what that witness personally saw or heard or did. Circumstantial

evidence is proof of one or more facts from which you could find another fact. By way of

example, if you wake up in the morning and see that the sidewalk is wet, you may find from that

fact that it rained during the night. However, other evidence, such as a turned-on garden hose,

may explain the presence of water on the sidewalk. You should consider both kinds of evidence. 

 It is for you to decide how much weight to give to any evidence. 

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4.

In reaching your verdict, you may consider only the types of evidence I have described. 

Certain things are not evidence, and you may not consider them in deciding what the facts are. I

will list them for you:

1. Arguments, statements, and objections by lawyers are not evidence. The

lawyers are not witnesses. What they have said in their opening statements,

closing arguments and at other times is intended to help you interpret the

evidence, but it is not evidence. If the facts as you remember them differ from the

way the lawyers have stated them, your memory of them controls.

2. A suggestion in a question by counsel or the Court is not evidence unless

it is adopted by the answer. A question by itself is not evidence. Consider it only

to the extent it is adopted by the answer. 

3. Testimony or exhibits that have been excluded or stricken, or that you

have been instructed to disregard, are not evidence and must not be considered. 

In addition, some testimony and exhibits have been received only for a limited

purpose; where I have given a limiting instruction, you must follow it.

4. Anything you may have seen or heard when the Court was not in session

is not evidence. You are to decide the case solely on the evidence received at the

trial.

5.

In deciding the facts in this case, you may have to decide which testimony to believe and

which testimony not to believe. You may believe everything a witness says, or part of it or

none of it. In considering the testimony of any witness, you may take into account:

1. The opportunity and ability of the witness to see or hear or know the things

testified to;

2. The witness’ memory;

3. The witness’ manner while testifying;

4. The witness’ interest in the outcome of the case and any bias or prejudice;

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5. Whether other evidence contradicted the witness’ testimony;

6. The reasonableness of the witness’ testimony in light of all the evidence; and

7. Any other factors that bear on believability.

The weight of the evidence as to a fact does not necessarily depend on the number of

witnesses who testify. Nor does it depend on which side called witnesses or produced evidence. 

6.

You are not required to decide any issue according to the testimony of a number of

witnesses, which does not convince you, as against the testimony of a smaller number or other

evidence, which is more convincing to you. The testimony of one witness worthy of belief is

sufficient to prove any fact. 

7.

A witness may be discredited or impeached by contradictory evidence or by evidence

that, at some other time, the witness has said or done something or has failed to say or do

something that is inconsistent with the witness’ present testimony. If you believe any witness

has been impeached and thus discredited, you may give the testimony of that witness such

credibility, if any, you think it deserves. 

8.

Discrepancies in a witness’ testimony or between a witness’ testimony and that of other

witnesses do not necessarily mean that such witness should be discredited. Inability to recall

and innocent misrecollection are common. Two persons witnessing an incident or a transaction

sometimes will see or hear it differently. Whether a discrepancy pertains to an important matter

or only to something trivial should be considered by you. 

However, a witness willfully false in one part of his or her testimony is to be distrusted

in others. You may reject the entire testimony of a witness who willfully has testified falsely on

a material point, unless, from all the evidence, you believe that the probability of truth favors

his or her testimony in other particulars. 

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United States District Court

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9.

All parties are equal before the law and a corporation is entitled to the same fair and

conscientious consideration by you as any party.

Under the law, a corporation is considered to be a person. It can only act through its

employees, agents, directors, or officers. Therefore, a corporation is responsible for the acts of

its employees, agents, directors, or officers performed within the scope of authority. 

10.

In these instructions, I will often refer to a party’s “burden of proof.” Let me explain

what that means. When a party has the burden of proof on any claim by a preponderance of the

evidence, it means you must be persuaded by the evidence that the claim is more probably true

than not true. To put it differently, if you were to put the evidence favoring a plaintiff and the

evidence favoring a defendant on opposite sides of a scale, the party with the burden of proof on

the issue would have to make the scale tip somewhat toward its side. If the party fails to meet

this burden, then the party with the burden of proof loses on that issue. Preponderance of the

evidence basically means “more likely than not.” 

11.

On any claim, if you find that Mr. Civitello carried his burden of proof as to each element

of a particular claim, your verdict should be for him on that claim. If you find that Mr. Civitello

did not carry his burden of proof as to each element, you must find against him on that claim. 

12.

I will now turn to the law that applies to this case. First, I will give you a brief summary

of the claims and defenses at issue in this case. Civitello seeks a declaration that 1st Credit

violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the California Rosenthal Act. Civitello also

seeks to recover damages based on five different claims. Civitello’s first four claims are for

violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Civitello’s fifth claim is for violation of the

California Rosenthal Act. 

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13. 

 In determining whether 1st Credit violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you

are to evaluate the claims under the least-sophisticated-consumer standard. The leastsophisticated-consumer standard reflects the important balance between the need to protect

consumers from deceptive and abusive collection practices and the need to protect the debt

collectors from liability based upon unreasonable interpretations of collection communications. 

This is an objective standard. In evaluating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claims, you

are to view the conduct and communications from the perspective of the least sophisticated

consumer. For any claim of harassment, you are to use the perspective of a consumer whose

circumstances make him relatively more susceptible to harassment, oppression, or abuse. 

14.

Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, debt collectors must send consumers

written notice of the following information within five days of the initial communication with

the consumer:

(1). The amount of the debt;

(2). The name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed;

(3). A statement that the debt will be considered valid by the debt collector

unless the consumer disputes, orally or in writing, all or any portion of the

debt within thirty days of receiving the letter; 

(4). A statement that if the consumer disputes all or any portion of the debt in

writing within thirty days of receiving the letter, the debt collector will

obtain verification of the debt and mail a copy to the consumer; and

(5). A statement that the debt collector will provide the consumer with the

name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current

creditor, if the consumer sends a written request within thirty days of

receiving the letter. 

If the consumer notifies the debt collector within thirty days of receipt of notice that the debt is

disputed, or that the consumer requests the address of the original creditor, the debt collector

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shall cease collection of the debt until the debt collector sends the consumer verification of the

debt. 

Also, if consumer notifies a debt collector in writing that the consumer refuses to pay a

debt or that the consumer wished the debt collector to cease further communication with the

consumer, the debt collector shall not communicate further with the consumer with respect to the

debt. 

15.

In Mr. Civitello’s second claim, he seeks to recover damages from 1st Credit for

violating Section 1692c(a)(1) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Mr. Civitello must

prove by a preponderance of the evidence that:

1. 1st Credit communicated with Mr. Civitello in connection with the collection of a

debt;

2. This communication took place at an unusual time or a time that 1st Credit knew

or should have known to be inconvenient to Mr. Civitello; and

3. Mr. Civitello did not give prior consent to the communication.

A “communication” means the conveying of information regarding a debt directly or indirectly

to any person through any medium. Examples of communication include but are not limited to

letters, telephone calls, automated messages, messages left on answering machines, and voice

mail messages. 

16.

Mr. Civitello’s third claim is that 1st Credit violated Section 1692e(8) of the Fair Debt

Collection Practices Act. The elements of this claim, which Mr. Civitello must prove by a

preponderance of the evidence, are:

1. 1st Credit communicated or threatened to communicate to any person credit

information; and

2. 1st Credit knew or should have known that this credit information was false.

As to the second element, a failure to communicate that Mr. Civitello disputed the debt satisfies

the element. 

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17.

Mr. Civitello’s fifth claim is that 1st Credit violated Section 1692f(1) of the Fair Debt

Collection Practices Act. The elements of such a claim, which Mr. Civitello must prove by a

preponderance of the evidence, are:

1. 1st Credit attempted to collect a debt from Mr. Civitello;

2. 1st Credit attempted to collect an amount greater than the principal; and

3. The additional amount was not expressly authorized by the agreement that created

the debt or the amount was not permitted by law.

As to the first element, the parties have stipulated that 1st Credit attempted to collect a debt from

Civitello. “Amount” includes any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal

obligation. As to the third element, “permitted by law” means that there is a law that

affirmatively authorizes the collection of the additional amount. 

18.

Mr. Civitello’s sixth claim is that 1st Credit violated Section 1692d of the Fair Debt

Collection Practices Act. Mr. Civitello must prove by a preponderance of the evidence that in

connection with the collection of a debt, 1st Credit engaged in a course of conduct toward Mr.

Civitello, the natural consequence of which was to harass, oppress, or abuse Mr. Civitello. 

The parties have stipulated that 1st Credit attempted to collect a debt from Mr. Civitello. 

Examples of such a course of conduct include but are not limited to: (1) the use or threat of use

of violence or other criminal means to harm the physical person, reputation, or property of any

person; (2) the use of obscene or profane language or language the natural consequence of which

is to abuse the hearer or reader; (4) the advertisement for sale of any debt to coerce payment of

the debt; or (5) causing a telephone to ring or engaging any person in telephone conversation

repeatedly or continuously with intent to annoy, abuse, or harass any person at the called

number.

19.

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Mr. Civitello’s eighth claim is that 1st Credit violated Section 1788.17 of the California

Rosenthal Act. For this claim, which Mr. Civitello must prove by a preponderance of the

evidence that 1st Credit violated any section of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

20.

For any of the above claims, if you find that each element on which Mr. Civitello has the

burden of proof has been proved, your verdict should be for Mr. Civitello on that claim, unless

you find that 1st Credit has proved an affirmative defense, in which event your verdict should be

for 1st Credit. 

21.

1st Credit asserts the defense of bona-fide error. The bona-fide error defense is a

statutory defense included in the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. If you have found that Mr.

Civitello has proven all elements of any claim by a preponderance of evidence, you must then

decide if 1st Credit has proven the affirmative defense of bona-fide error for each of those

claims. 1st Credit must prove by a preponderance of the evidence all of the following:

1. The violation was not intentional; 

2. 1st Credit maintained procedures designed to prevent violations such as the ones

that you have found to have occurred; and

3. The violation occurred despite those procedures.

A “bona-fide error” does not include mistakes of law or reliance on advice of counsel. If you

find that 1st Credit has proven the elements of the bona-fide error defense by a preponderance of

the evidence you must find in favor of 1st Credit and against Mr. Civitello as to the alleged

violation.

22.

That concludes the instruction on the issue of liability. Now I will discuss the issue of

damages. It is the duty of the Court to instruct you about the measure of damages. By

instructing you on damages, the Court does not mean to suggest for which party your verdict

should be rendered. The party seeking damages has the burden of proving damages by a

preponderance of the evidence. 

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23.

You are not permitted to include speculative damages, which means compensation for

future loss or harm which, although possible, is conjectural or not reasonably certain. Your

award must be based upon evidence and not upon speculation, guesswork, or conjecture.

However, if you determine that a party is entitled to recover, you should compensate a party for

the loss or harm caused by the injury in question which the evidence shows is reasonably certain

to be suffered in the future.

24.

If you find that Mr. Civitello proved that 1st Credit violated the Fair Debt Collection

Practices Act, you must determine his damages. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

specifically permits damages to be awarded against the debt collector who violates the Fair Debt

Collection Practices Act. 

First, actual damages may be awarded to Mr. Civitello as a result of the failure of 1st

Credit to comply with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Actual damages may include

damages for adverse health effects, embarrassment, or emotional distress. In order for Mr.

Civitello to recover actual damages, Mr. Civitello has the burden of demonstrating by a

preponderance of the evidence that he suffered actual damages as a result of 1st Credit’s failure

to comply with a requirement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In determining the

amount of actual damages, you shall consider among other relevant factors, the frequency and

persistence of noncompliance by the debt collector, the nature of such noncompliance, and the

extent to which noncompliance was intentional. 

To recover damages for emotional distress, Civitello must prove, and you must

unanimously find, that the emotional distress suffered by Civitello was more than temporary

distress or discomfort of the type that would be expected during the normal attempt to collect a

debt. The law recognizes that a certain amount of inconvenience, embarrassment, and

annoyance are the natural consequences of debt collection. 

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act is not intended to shield the recipients of debt

collection efforts from the inconvenience and embarrassment that are the natural consequences

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of receiving a call from a debt collector. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not

prohibit debt collectors from making non-abusive statements designed to encourage voluntary

payment. 

There is no fixed standard or measure in the case of intangible items such as adverse

health effects, stress, or emotional distress. If you determine that Mr. Civitello has suffered such

damage, you must determine a fair and adequate award of these items through the exercise of

your judgment and experience in the affairs of the world after considering all the facts and

circumstances presented during the trial of this case.

25.

In determining the measure of damages, you should consider:

1. The loss of enjoyment of life experienced;

2. The mental, physical, or emotional pain and suffering experienced;

3. The reasonable value of necessary medical care, treatment, and services received

to the present time;

4. The reasonable value of wages or earnings lost to the present time. 

26.

If you award damages on multiple claims, you must also indicate a total to eliminate any

overlapping damages and to prevent double counting, as set forth in the special verdict form. 

27.

In addition to actual damages, and regardless of whether actual damages are awarded,

you may award statutory damages for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in a

total amount not exceeding $1,000. In determining the amount of statutory damages to be

awarded you shall consider, among other relevant factors, the frequency and persistence of

noncompliance by the debt collector, the nature of such noncompliance, and the extent to which

noncompliance was intentional. 

28.

If you find that 1st Credit willfully and knowingly violated the Fair Debt Collection

Practices Act, 1st Credit will also have violated the California Rosenthal Act. The Rosenthal

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Act specifically permits damages to be awarded against the debt collector who willfully and

knowingly violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. 

In addition to actual damages, and regardless of whether you award actual damages, and

regardless of whether you award statutory damages under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act,

you may award statutory damages under the California Rosenthal Act in an amount not to exceed

$1,000. In determining the amount of statutory damages to be awarded, you shall consider,

among other relevant factors, the frequency and persistence of noncompliance by the debt

collector, the nature of such noncompliance, and the extent to which noncompliance was

intentional. 

29.

When you begin your deliberations, you should elect one member of the jury as your

foreperson. That person will preside over the deliberations and speak for you here in court.

You will then discuss the case with your fellow jurors to reach agreement if you can do

so. Your verdict as to each claim and as to damages, if any, must be unanimous. Each of you

must decide the case for yourself, but you should do so only after you have considered all of the

evidence, discussed it fully with the other jurors, and listened to the views of your fellow jurors. 

Do not be afraid to change your opinion if the discussion persuades you that you should. 

Do not come to a decision simply because other jurors think it is right. It is important that you

attempt to reach a unanimous verdict but, of course, only if each of you can do so after having

made your own conscientious decision. Do not change an honest belief about the weight and

effect of the evidence simply to reach a verdict.

I will give you a special verdict form to guide your deliberations. However, you do not

need to address the questions in the precise order listed. 

30.

Some of you have taken notes during the trial. Whether or not you took notes, you

should rely on your own memory of what was said. Notes are only to assist your memory. You

should not be overly influenced by the notes. When you go into the jury room, the Clerk will

bring in to you the trial exhibits received into evidence to be available for your deliberations. 

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31.

As I noted before the trial began, when you retire to the jury room to deliberate, you will

have with you the following things: 

1. All of the exhibits received into evidence;

2. A work copy of these jury instructions for each of you; 

3. A work copy of the verdict form for each of you; and

4. An official verdict form. 

When you recess at the end of a day, please place your work materials in the brown

envelope provided and cover up any easels with your work notes so that if my staff needs to go

into the jury room, they will not even inadvertently see any of your work in progress. 

32.

A United States Marshal will be outside the jury-room door during your deliberations. 

If it becomes necessary during your deliberations to communicate with me, you may send a note

through the marshal, signed by your foreperson or by one or more members of the jury. No

member of the jury should ever attempt to communicate with me except by a signed writing, and

I will respond to the jury concerning the case only in writing or here in open court. If you send

out a question, I will consult with the lawyers before answering it, which may take some time. 

You may continue your deliberations while waiting for the answer to any question. Remember

that you are not to tell anyone — including me — how the jury stands, numerically or otherwise,

until after you have reached a unanimous verdict or have been discharged. Do not disclose any

vote count in any note to the Court. 

33.

You have been required to be here each day from 7:45 A.M. to 1:00 P.M. Now that you

are going to begin your deliberations, however, you are free to modify this schedule within

reason. For example, if you wish to continue deliberating in the afternoons after a reasonable

lunch break, that is fine. The Court does, however, recommend that you continue to start your

deliberations by 8:00 A.M. If you do not reach a verdict by the end of today, then you will

resume your deliberations tomorrow and thereafter.

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It is very important that you let the Clerk know in advance what hours you will be

deliberating so that the lawyers may be present in the courthouse at any time the jury is

deliberating.

34.

You may only deliberate when all of you are together. This means, for instance, that in

the mornings before everyone has arrived or when someone steps out of the jury room to go to

the restroom, you may not discuss the case. As well, the admonition that you are not to speak to

anyone outside the jury room about this case still applies during your deliberation.

35.

After you have reached a unanimous agreement on a verdict, your foreperson will fill in,

date and sign the verdict form and advise the Court that you have reached a verdict. The

foreperson should hold onto the filled-in verdict form and bring it into the courtroom when the

jury returns the verdict. Thank you for your careful attention. The case is now in your hands. 

You may now retire to the jury room and begin your deliberations.

Dated: [ONLY SIGN AND DATE AFTER

INSTRUCTION READ TO THE JURY] 

WILLIAM ALSUP

UNITED STATES DISTRICT JUDGE

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