Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-ca6-14-05419/USCOURTS-ca6-14-05419-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Bank of America, N.A.
Appellee
Inge Goodson
Appellant

Document Text:

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR PUBLICATION

File Name: 15a0091n.06

No. 14-5419

UNITED STATES COURTS OF APPEALS

FOR THE SIXTH CIRCUIT

INGE GOODSON,

Plaintiff-Appellant,

v.

BANK OF AMERICA, N.A.,

Defendant-Appellee.

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ON APPEAL FROM THE 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT 

COURT FOR THE MIDDLE 

DISTRICT OF TENNESSEE

BEFORE: BATCHELDER and ROGERS, Circuit Judges; and BECKWITH, Senior District 

Judge.*

ROGERS, Circuit Judge. Plaintiff Inge Goodson appeals the district court’s grant of 

defendant Bank of America, N.A.’s (BANA’s) motion for summary judgment on her Fair Debt 

Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim. After a confusing foreclosure process, Goodson filed 

suit in district court alleging that four letters sent by or on behalf of BANA included “false, 

deceptive or misleading” representations in violation of the FDCPA. After the close of 

discovery, the district court granted BANA’s motion for summary judgment, finding that (1) two 

of Goodson’s letters were time-barred; and (2) because the remaining two letters did not 

constitute communications made in connection with the collection of a debt, they did not violate 

the FDCPA. Plaintiff appeals. Because neither the discovery rule nor equitable tolling applies to 

 

* The Honorable Sandra S. Beckwith, Senior United States District Judge for the Southern District of Ohio, sitting 

by designation.

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the first two letters, and the remaining two communications had not been made to induce 

Goodson to pay her defaulted mortgage, the district court correctly granted BANA’s motion for 

summary judgment.

In 2008, Goodson refinanced her home in Lyles, Tennessee with a residential mortgage 

loan in the amount of $235,226.00 from Taylor, Bean & Whitaker (“TBW”). TBW included 

Goodson’s loan in a mortgage-backed security issued by the Government National Mortgage 

Association (“Ginnie Mae”) in April 2008. According to Goodson, the Federal Reserve Bank of 

New York held the mortgage-backed security, and was the entity to whom Goodson owed her 

debt through July 2010.

In March 2009, on the advice of TBW, Goodson defaulted on her mortgage in the hopes 

of qualifying for a loan modification. While Goodson’s loan was still in default, however, 

Ginnie Mae defaulted TBW and terminated any rights TBW had to Goodson’s note. 

Consequently, on August 23, 2009, BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP (which has since merged 

with BANA), sent Goodson a letter to inform her that BAC was now the servicer of her loan. 

The letter further indicated that Goodson owed $240,985.49 to Ginnie Mae, the creditor, and 

included an FDCPA standard disclaimer.1 Goodson claims that this notice violated the FDCPA 

by incorrectly identifying Ginnie Mae as the creditor when, in actuality, the Federal Bank of 

New York (the owner of the mortgage-backed security pool), owned her loan.

 

1 The disclaimer stated:

Under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, as well as various state-specific acts, BAC Home 

Loans is considered a debt collector. BAC Home Loans must provide certain information to you 

in order to make sure you are informed when a communication is related to a debt. The “warning 

language”, such as the required information provided at the bottom of this letter, provides the 

specific verbiage we must include when discussing the collection of a debt. Although your loan 

payment may not yet be due, we have provided this information in order to comply under the 

appropriate laws governing debt collection.

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On May 6, 2010, the law firm of Shapiro & Kirsch, LLP (“Shapiro”) sent Goodson a 

letter to inform her that it had been “retained [by BANA] to initiate foreclosure proceedings” on 

her property. The letter identified BAC as the creditor, and advised Goodson that she currently 

owed $253,880.31 on her mortgage. Shapiro sent a follow-up notice in July 2010 to inform 

Goodson that a non-judicial foreclosure of her home would take place on August 3, 2010. 

Goodson later learned during discovery that at the time of Shapiro’s correspondence, BAC (or 

later BANA) did not own her loan or note. Thus, Goodson contends that the May 6, 2010 letter 

was false and misleading in violation of the FDCPA because it misidentified the creditor.

BAC/BANA then allegedly bought Goodson’s home at the foreclosure sale for 

$260,643.41 cash, and Shapiro recorded deeds to that effect. During discovery, Goodson later 

learned that BANA had obtained the property through a “dead credit bid” (i.e., a credit bid 

instead of cash because the cash would be returned to BANA anyway).2 In state court 

proceedings initiated by Shapiro to eject Goodson from the property, Shapiro had filed an 

affidavit and substitute trustee deed that indicated that BANA had bought the property for cash. 

However, in later testimony, Shapiro explained that the property had been sold through a “dead 

credit bid.” BANA similarly maintained that it had purchased Goodson’s property at 

foreclosure, though it did not know if it had, in fact, paid anything of value for Goodson’s 

property.3 For the first time in her “Opposition to Defendant’s Motion for Summary Judgment,” 

 

2

“The credit bid rule provides that when a lender bids at a foreclosure sale, it is not required to pay cash, but rather 

is permitted to make a credit bid because any cash tendered [] would be returned to it.” Grayer v. JPMorgan Chase 

Bank, N.A., No. 12-11125, 2013 WL 4414867, at *4 n.4 (E.D. Mich. Aug. 15, 2013) (Michigan law) (internal 

quotation marks omitted). Tennessee law recognizes that if, at the foreclosure sale, the lender or mortgagee bids the 

full amount of the outstanding debt and accepts the property as full payment of the debt, the mortgage will be 

extinguished. First Inv. Co. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 917 S.W.2d 229, 231 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1994); accord Penn Mut. Life 

Ins. Co. v. Cleveland Mall Assocs., 916 F. Supp. 715, 717 (E.D. Tenn. 1996).

3 During oral argument, the attorney for BANA explained that BANA’s representative during the deposition had 

simply not known the specifics of the foreclosure transaction. BANA’s representative had, however, repeatedly 

stated that Shapiro, the foreclosure firm that had handled the foreclosure of Goodson’s home, would be able to 

answer such questions.

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Goodson alleged that BANA violated the FDCPA when it falsely represented that it had 

purchased her property for cash, as opposed to through a dead credit bid.

Despite Shapiro’s testimony that, following the foreclosure sale, Goodson’s loan should 

have been reflected as paid in full, Goodson continued to receive notices that indicated a 

remaining balance. On July 8, 2011, BANA sent Goodson a letter to inform her that, “[e]ffective 

July 1, 2011, the servicing of home loans by our subsidiary—BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP, 

transfers to its parent company—Bank of America, N.A.” The letter included a standard FDCPA 

disclaimer, notifying Goodson that “Bank of America, N.A. is required by law to inform you that 

this communication is from a debt collector attempting to collect a debt.” On the second page, in 

a section tracking the notice requirements of 15 U.S.C. § 1692g, BANA informed Goodson that 

as of June 30, 2011, she owed $278,681.40 to the creditor, GNMA-MSS-TBW 9262 AA. 

BANA sent Goodson a follow-up letter on July 13, 2011, which stated: “Between late June and 

early July we mailed you a ‘Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and State Law Notice’ in 

connection with your prior home loan account noted above. We are writing to let you know that 

this Notice was sent to you in error and ask that you disregard it.” Goodson alleges that the July 

8, 2011 letter violated the FDCPA because it (1) misidentified the creditor as a different entity 

than Ginnie Mae; and (2) indicated that she owed in excess of her loan. 

Upon receipt of the July 8, 2011 letter, Goodson sent an inquiry to BANA disputing the 

debt and requesting verification. On October 7, 2011, Blank Rome LLP responded to Goodson’s 

inquiry on behalf of BANA. In the letter’s first paragraph, Blank Rome LLP explained, “This 

firm represents Bank of America, N.A., as successor by merger to BAC Home Loans Servicing, 

LP (“Bank of America”) for the sole purpose of responding to your correspondence dated July 8, 

2011.” Blank Rome LLP also provided her with a payment history. The letter indicated that 

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Ginnie Mae held Goodson’s note, and stated that the payoff statement would “show all amounts 

necessary to pay off” her previous loan. The payment history, however, did not reflect any credit 

made to Goodson’s account following BANA’s purchase of her property at foreclosure. 

Goodson contends that this letter was false and misleading because it indicated that she owed in 

excess of her loan.

Finally, in January 2013, BANA sent another letter notifying Goodson that she owed 

$310,784.22.4 The letter also advised Goodson of the requirements she had to follow to pay off 

the loan, and informed her of prepayment considerations. Despite the fact that her property had 

been foreclosed in 2010, Goodson remained, and as of December 1, 2014, was still living on the 

property.

Goodson filed suit in district court on July 6, 2012, alleging that BANA violated 15 

U.S.C. §§ 1692e and 1692g of the FDCPA, by sending her “an FDCPA communication in 

connection with the collection of a debt which contained at least one false, deceptive or 

misleading representation or means when, among other things, it stated that she owed in excess 

of the amount of the loan and that, according to Bank of America’s agent, misidentified the 

creditor to whom the debt was owed.” BANA filed a Motion to Dismiss on August 9, 2012,

which was subsequently denied by the district court on September 26, 2013.

After the close of discovery in April 2013, BANA filed a Motion for Summary Judgment, 

arguing that (1) the claims arising from the August 23, 2009 and May 6, 2010 letters were timebarred; and (2) because the remaining two letters were “merely informational communications, 

[and] not debt collection activities,” they were not subject to the FDCPA. Goodson filed a 

motion in opposition, asserting that the discovery rule, equitable tolling and the continuing-

 

4 Goodson mentions this letter in her brief. However, she does not appear to argue that it should serve as the basis 

for a separate FDCPA claim, nor did she mention it in her complaint.

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violation doctrine permitted inclusion of the claims against BANA that would otherwise be timebarred, and that a reasonable jury could conclude that the communications were made in 

connection with debt collection activities.

The district court granted BANA’s Motion for Summary Judgment on March 11, 2014. 

After finding that Goodson’s claims based on the August 23, 2009 and May 6, 2010 letters were 

time-barred, the court rejected Goodson’s arguments regarding the limitations period based upon 

the discovery rule, equitable tolling, and the continuing-violation doctrine. The court reasoned 

that the discovery rule was inapplicable because Goodson alleged only violations of the FDCPA, 

without asserting that she had been injured by fraud. Equitable tolling was similarly inapplicable 

because “[t]he basis of her FDCPA claim [wa]s that the August 23, 2009 and May 6, 2010 letters 

were misleading, not that BANA [may] have made misrepresentations to the state court in the 

foreclosure proceedings,” and the alleged conduct did not prevent her from discovering her 

FDCPA cause of action. The court rejected the continuing-violation doctrine because the court 

determined that the sending of each letter was a discrete act that, for statute of limitations 

purposes, “should be analyzed on an individual basis.” Lastly, the court held that the remaining 

letters were not communications made in connection with debt collection activity, as required by 

the FDCPA, because they were intended to merely inform, rather than “induce payment.”

This appeal followed. Each of the three issues raised by Goodson on appeal is without 

merit. First, the district court was not required to consider the false and misleading 

representations made by BANA during the foreclosure proceedings, and correctly limited 

Goodson’s FDCPA claim to the four letters described above. Second, the district court was not 

required by the discovery rule or the equitable tolling doctrine to extend the statute of limitations 

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periods for the August 23, 2009 and May 6, 2010 letters. Third, the district court properly

determined that the communications at issue did not constitute debt collection activity.

I.

First, the district court correctly limited review of Goodson’s FDCPA claim to the four 

letters because her complaint did not allege an FDCPA violation based on deceptive and 

misleading representations made by BANA during either the foreclosure process or subsequent 

state court proceedings. A plaintiff may not raise a new theory for the first time in opposition to 

summary judgment because “[t]o permit a plaintiff to do otherwise would subject defendants to 

unfair surprise.” Tucker v. Union of Needletrades, Indus. and Textile Emps., 407 F.3d 784, 788 

(6th Cir. 2005); see also Guiffre v. Local Lodge No. 1124, No. 90-3540, 1991 WL 135576, at *5 

(6th Cir. July 24, 1991) (unpublished).

In her opposition to BANA’s motion for summary judgment, Goodson alleged, for the 

first time, that BANA violated the FDCPA when it (1) falsely informed her that it had purchased 

her property in cash, when in fact it had purchased it through a dead credit bid, and (2) stated that 

her property had sold at foreclosure.5 Goodson’s complaint, however, alleged no such 

violations. The complaint stated only the following claim for relief under the FDCPA: 

 

5 On appeal, Goodson clarified the false statements, alleging:

In the detainer summons, [BANA] falsely stated that the home sold at foreclosure and then had its 

agent [Shapiro] file an affidavit in the state court attesting that BANA paid cash for the property at 

foreclosure. 

At the time of those filings, Goodson had no reason to believe those statements were false. 

Indeed, she had received an earlier letter from [Shapiro] stating that the home had been sold at 

foreclosure, and the detainer summons was posted at her home, stating it was sold at foreclosure. 

There were supposed substitute trustee deeds filed showing conveyance of the property to BANA, 

because it purchased the property at foreclosure. . . . 

The falsity of these statements only began to come to light in July 2011 when she received a letter 

from BANA stating she owed more money on the loan that it supposedly sold for.

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This action seeks redress for collection practices utilized by Defendant Bank of 

America, N.A., formerly known as BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP (together, 

“Bank of America”), that violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 

(hereinafter “FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692 et seq., by sending to Plaintiff Inge 

Goodson an FDCPA communication in connection with the collection of a debt 

which contained at least one false, deceptive or misleading representation or 

means when, among other things, it stated that she owed in excess of the amount 

of the loan and that, according to Bank of America’s agent, misidentified the 

creditor to whom that debt was owed.

BANA’s alleged mischaracterizations of the manner in which it had purchased Goodson’s 

property, or whether her home had been foreclosed on at all, clearly did not (1) represent that 

Goodson “owed in excess of the amount of the loan” or (2) misidentify the creditor to whom that 

debt was owed, the specific false representations discussed in her FDCPA claim. 

It is true that Goodson mentioned the foreclosure in her complaint, in her response to 

BANA’s motion to dismiss, and in her response to a discovery interrogatory. However, she 

appears to have mentioned the foreclosure solely to provide a factual basis for her later claim that

BANA, in its July 8, 2011 and October 7, 2011 letters, falsely represented that she “owed in 

excess of the amount of the loan.” She did not assert a stand-alone FDCPA violation based on 

representations made during the foreclosure.

For instance, in her complaint, Goodson states:

17. Bank of America, via Shapiro & Kirsch, subsequently foreclosed on Ms. 

Goodson’s property in August 2010.

18. Bank of America and Shapiro & Kirsch have represented that BAC Home 

Loans Servicing, LP F/K/A Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, LP purchased 

the property at foreclosure for $260,643.41.

19. Bank of America and Shapiro & Kirsch have represented that this amount of 

$260,643.41 was provided as consideration for the purchase of the property.

20. On or about July 8, 2011, Ms. Goodson received a communication from 

Defendant Bank of America stating that she owed $278,681.40 on the debt as of 

June 30, 2011. . . .

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21. Ms. Goodson disputed the debt via letter dated July 8, 2011. . . .

22. Bank of America responded via letter from its agent dated October 7, 2011. 

That letter included a payment history on the loan, which shows that no payment 

was made on the loan associated with the supposed purchase of the property by 

Bank of America at foreclosure.

23. The communications from Defendant violates the FDCPA because they 

contain false, deceptive or misleading representations.6

In order to explain why the July 8, 2011 and October 7, 2011 letters falsely represented the 

amount owed, Goodson needed to show that, following foreclosure, her loan should have been 

credited the purchase price. Nowhere did she allege that BANA made false statements during 

the foreclosure process when it indicated that her property had been foreclosed on, or that it had 

purchased the property with cash, as opposed to through a dead credit bid.

Likewise, in response to a discovery interrogatory asking Goodson to “[s]tate each and 

every fact which supports or forms the basis of your claim that BANA violated the FDCPA,” 

Goodson answered:

Ms. Goodson is a consumer under the FDCPA who had a loan associated with her 

property that was used for [personal and] household purposes. BANA is a debt 

collector under the FDCPA, as it admitted and stated in some of its letters to 

Goodson. BANA has represented that it bought the property at auction in August 

2010, which is in an amount that would have paid off the loan. Yet, the letters 

 

6

Similarly, in her motion in opposition to BANA’s motion to dismiss, Goodson discussed the foreclosure 

proceedings only to inform the court as to why the July 8, 2011 and October 7, 2011 letters misrepresented the 

amount owed. Goodson’s motion stated:

BANA, via Shapiro & Kirsch, LLP, then foreclosed upon Goodson’s property in August 2010. 

BANA and Shapiro & Kirsch have represented that BANA (specifically via its prior entity, 

BACHLS) purchased the property at foreclosure for $260,643.41, and that this amount of 

$260,643.41 was provided as consideration for the purchase of the property.

Around July 8, 2011, Ms. Goodson received a communication from BANA stating that she owed 

$278,681.40 on the debt as of June 30, 2011, which Goodson disputed. Bank of America 

responded via letter from its agent dated October 7, 2011. That letter included a payment history 

on the loan, which shows that no payment was made on the loan associated with the supposed 

purchase of the property by Bank of America at foreclosure. . . . 

Goodson contends these communications from BANA violate the FDCPA because they contain 

false, deceptive or misleading representations. 

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from BANA since August 2010 falsely state, or provide deceptive or misleading 

representations, that Goodson still owes on the loan and/or that she owes more 

than any amount due. For example, the October 2011 letter does not show that 

BANA paid for the property at auction on August 3, 2010, as BANA previously 

represented under oath to a Tennessee court.

Here, Goodson clearly indicated that the “letters from BANA since August 2010” are the 

communications that “falsely state, or provide deceptive or misleading representations,” in 

violation of the FDCPA. Goodson discussed the foreclosure only to show that the subsequent 

communications deceptively stated that she owed more money than should have been due 

following the sale. Ultimately, Goodson contends that the letters were false for failing to 

account for the foreclosure purchase payment that should have been credited to her loan. She 

does not allege that BANA made any misrepresentations—either about whether BANA had, in 

fact, foreclosed on the property at all, or whether it had paid cash in consideration—during the 

foreclosure proceeding itself.

It is not surprising that Goodson failed to raise an FDCPA claim based on BANA’s 

alleged misrepresentations during the foreclosure proceeding in her initial complaint because, by 

her own admission, she did not uncover the deceptive representations until discovery.7 However, 

had Goodson wished to place the claim properly before the court, she should have submitted an 

amended complaint, rather than raise it for the first time at the summary judgment stage. “At the 

summary judgment stage, the proper procedure for plaintiffs to assert a new claim is to amend 

 

7 Goodson explained,

It was not until BANA’s counsel confirmed in October 2011, by enclosing the payment history, 

that no payment or credit associated with the foreclosure was made on Goodson’s loan that 

Goodson could even begin to realize the potential fraud that BANA, with the complicity of its 

agent [Shapiro], was committing. It was not until the March 12, 2013 deposition of BANA, when 

BANA admitted that it does not know if it purchased the property at foreclosure or paid anything 

of value, that the fraud was confirmed. That, of course, directly belies the materials BANA, via its 

agent [Shapiro], filed in the state court proceeding and upon which the state court relied in 

awarding the property to BANA.

Though Goodson discusses BANA’s “fraud” in her brief, her complaint fails to assert such an allegation.

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the complaint in accordance with Rule 15(a),” which provides for “liberal amendment of the 

complaint.” Tucker, 407 F.3d at 788 (citing 10A Charles Alan Wright, Arthur R. Miller & Mary 

Kay Kane, Federal Practice & Procedure § 2723 (3d ed. Supp. 2005)). Absent an amended 

complaint, the district court correctly limited its review to the four letters.

II.

Second, the district court correctly determined that the August 23, 2009 and May 10, 

2010 letters—which Goodson alleged violated the FDCPA by misidentifying the creditor—were 

time-barred because they were sent more than one year before Goodson filed her FDCPA claim 

in district court on July 6, 2012. “An action to enforce any liability created by this [FDCPA] 

subchapter may be brought in any appropriate United States district court without regard to the 

amount in controversy, or in any other court of competent jurisdiction, within one year from the 

date on which the violation occurs.” 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d) (emphasis added). Though Goodson 

contends that the discovery rule and/or the equitable tolling doctrine should extend the one-year 

limitations period in light of BANA’s fraudulent conduct during the 2010 foreclosure 

proceedings, neither is applicable.

Assuming arguendo that Goodson properly raised the discovery rule and equitable tolling 

doctrines, neither applies to the August 23, 2009 and May 10, 2010 letters because she could 

have discovered, in the exercise of reasonable diligence, that BANA had misidentified the 

creditor. A reasonable person, after receiving two letters that identified different creditors, 

would have been put “on notice of the possibility that one of the letters may have misidentified 

the creditor.” Under the discovery rule, “accrual is delayed until the plaintiff has ‘discovered’ 

his cause of action.” Gabelli v. SEC, 133 S.Ct. 1216, 1221 (2013) (internal quotations and 

citations omitted). A cause of action “is deemed to be discovered when, in the exercise of 

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reasonable diligence, it could have been discovered.” Id. Similarly, under the equitable tolling 

doctrine, the limitations “period will begin to run when the borrower discovers or had reasonable 

opportunity to discover the fraud involving the complained” of violation. Foster v. D.B.S. 

Collection Agy., 463 F.Supp.2d 783, 799 (S.D. Ohio 2006).

The only alleged FDCPA violation that was related to the August 2009 and May 2010 

letters could have been discovered in the exercise of reasonable diligence at the time that 

Goodson received the second letter. Goodson contends that BANA’s alleged fraudulent conduct 

during the foreclosure proceedings—proceedings that occurred after Goodson received the 

second letter—prevented her from uncovering the extent of BANA’s misrepresentations within 

the limitations period. However, Goodson does not show how such conduct impeded her ability 

to discover the particular FDCPA violation complained of, namely that BANA had misidentified 

the creditor. Consequently, neither the discovery rule nor the equitable tolling doctrine is 

applicable.8

III.

Third, the district court correctly found that the July 8, 2011 and October 7, 2011 

letters—which Goodson alleged falsely represented that she owed in excess of her loan balance 

and misidentified the creditor—did not violate the FDCPA because they were not

communications made “in connection” with debt collection activities. Under the FDCPA, “[a] 

debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in 

connection with the collection of any debt.” 15 U.S.C. § 1692e (emphasis added). “The text of § 

1692e makes clear that, to be actionable, a communication need not itself be a collection attempt; 

it need only be ‘connect[ed]’ with one.” Grden v. Leikin Ingber & Winters PC, 643 F.3d 169, 

 

8 Because the August 23, 2009 and May 6, 2010 letters are time-barred, we do not address whether they were 

communications made in connection with debt collection activity.

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173 (6th Cir. 2011). However, it is equally clear that “‘the statute does not apply to every

communication between a debt collector and a debtor.’” Id. (quoting Gburek v. Litton Loan 

Serv. LP, 614 F.3d 380, 385 (7th Cir. 2010)) (emphasis in original).

The July 8, 2011 and October 7, 2011 letters were not made “in connection” with debt 

collection activities because their “animating purpose” was not to induce Goodson to make 

payments on her defaulted mortgage. “[F]or a communication to be in connection with the 

collection of a debt, an animating purpose of the communication must be to induce payment by 

the debtor.” Grden, 643 F.3d at 173. Though “[t]he ‘animating purposes’ of the communication 

is a question of fact that generally is committed to the discretion of the jurors, not the court,” 

Estep v. Manley Deas Kochalski, LLC, 552 Fed.App’x 502, 505 (6th Cir. 2014), where “a 

reasonable jury could not find that an animating purpose of the statements was to induce 

payment,” summary judgment is appropriate. Grden, 643 F.3d at 173.

A review of the language and structure of the two letters shows that they were sent to 

inform Goodson, rather than to induce payment. This review takes into account the following 

factors: (1) the nature of the relationship of the parties; (2) whether the communication expressly 

demanded payment or stated a balance due; (3) whether it was sent in response to an inquiry or 

request by the debtor; (4) whether the statements were part of a strategy to make payment more 

likely; (5) whether the communication was from a debt collector; (6) whether it stated that it was 

an attempt to collect a debt; and (7) whether it threatened consequences should the debtor fail to 

pay. Id.; McDermott v. Randall S. Miller & Assocs., P.C., 835 F. Supp. 2d 362, 370−71 (E.D. 

Mich. 2011).

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First, the “animating purpose” of the July 8, 2011 letter was to inform Goodson about a 

change in her loan servicer, not to induce her to resume payments on her defaulted mortgage. In 

pertinent part, the letter provided:

IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT YOUR LOAN

Effective July 1, 2011, the servicing of home loans by our subsidiary-BAC Home 

Loans Servicing, LP, transfers to its parent company-Bank of America, N.A. 

Based upon our records as of June 30, 2011, the home loan account noted above 

is affected by this servicing transfer. The information contained in this 

communication does not change or affect any other communications you may 

have received or will receive regarding this servicing transfer.

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Under the federal Fair Debt Collections Practices Act and certain state laws, Bank 

of America, N.A. is considered a debt collector. As a result, we are sending you 

the enclosed Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Notice containing important 

information about your loan and your rights under applicable federal and state 

law. . . .

THANK YOU

We appreciate the opportunity to serve your home loan needs. [ . . . ]

At the bottom of the first page, in bold, BANA included the following boilerplate 

disclaimer:

Bank of America, N.A. is required by law to inform you that this communication 

is from a debt collector attempting to collect a debt, and any information obtained 

will be used for that purpose. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if you are currently 

in a bankruptcy proceeding or have received a discharge of the debt referenced 

above, this notice is for informational purposes only and is not an attempt to 

collect a debt.

It was not until the second page, in a section tracking the FDCPA notice requirements of 

15 U.S.C. § 1692g, that BANA falsely represented the amount of money Goodson owed:

(a) The amount of the debt: As of June 30, 2011, you owe $278,681.40. Because 

of interest, late charges, and other charges that may vary from day to day, the 

amount due on the day you pay may be greater. Therefore, if you pay the amount 

shown above, an adjustment may be necessary after we receive your payment, in 

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which event we will inform you or your agent before accepting the payment for 

collection.

Though the letter was sent by a debt collector who had had no relationship with Goodson 

prior to her default, and stated the balance owed as of June 30, 2011, the factors in favor of 

finding that it had been sent in connection with a debt collection activity end there. The letter 

did not make an express demand for payment, list a payment due date or threaten consequences 

should Goodson fail to pay. Further, the standard disclaimer language—which stated that 

BANA was “a debt collector attempting to collect a debt”—did not, by itself, transform the 

informational letter into debt collection activity. Courts have found that a disclaimer identifying 

the communication as an “attempt to collect a debt[] . . . does not automatically trigger the 

protections of the FDCPA.” Gburek, 614 F.3d at 386 n.3. Like the Seventh Circuit in Gburek, 

the Tenth Circuit in Maynard v. Cannon, 401 F.App’x 389 (10th Cir. 2010), has found the 

inclusion of an FDCPA notice “legally irrelevant.” Id. at 395.

Finally, the structure of the letter supports finding that its “animating purpose” was to 

inform Goodson of a change in her loan servicer, not to induce payment. The first page of the 

letter opened with the header “IMPORTANT MESSAGE ABOUT YOUR LOAN,” followed by 

a discussion of the service provider change, without any mention of payment or Goodson’s 

outstanding balance. It next offered a standard FDCPA disclaimer, before concluding with a 

“THANK YOU” section. The allegedly false representation of the amount owed did not appear 

until the second page when BANA included language that tracks the notice requirements of 15 

U.S.C. § 1692g, for communications made in connection with the collection of a debt. Though 

Goodson suggests that inclusion of this language proves that BANA believed it was sending a 

communication in connection with debt collection activities, and therefore the letter was in 

connection with debt collection activities, BANA was likely simply trying to conform to FDCPA 

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requirements. Thus, for the same reason that inclusion of a standard FDCPA disclaimer, on its 

own, should not always trigger the protections of the FDCPA, additional disclosures tracking the 

notice requirements of 15 U.S.C. § 1692g—a provision intended to ensure that the consumer is 

informed—should not automatically transform an otherwise informational letter into a debt 

collection activity. In light of the language and structure of the July 8, 2011 letter, a reasonable 

jury could not find that its animating purpose was to induce payment.

The October 7, 2011 letter, similarly, was sent not to induce payment, but rather to 

respond to Goodson’s inquiry. From the outset, Blank Rome LLP informed Goodson that it 

represented “Bank of America, N.A., as successor by merger to BAC Home Loans Servicing, LP 

(“Bank of America”) for the sole purpose of responding to your correspondence dated July 8, 

2011,” in which “you dispute the validity of the debt.” When communications are “merely a 

ministerial response to a debtor inquiry, rather than part of a strategy to make payment more 

likely,” this court has found that inducing payment is not their animating purpose. See, e.g., 

Grden, 643 F.3d at 173. Further, the letter did not make a demand for payment, state a balance 

due, indicate that it was an attempt to collect a debt, or threaten negative consequences should 

Goodson fail to pay. Under the circumstances presented, no reasonable jury could find that 

BANA sent the letter to induce payment.

To the extent Goodson argues that the “July 2011 letter and the October 2011 letter are 

part of BANA’s strategy to make payment more likely,” and thus should be viewed together, her 

claim is equally meritless. Since the October 2011 was sent only in response to Goodson’s 

inquiry, to find that the July 2011 and October 2011 letters combined show a “strategy” on the 

part of BANA to induce payment would permit a debtor to “manufacture” collection activity 

simply by submitting an inquiry in response to an informational communication.

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The judgment of the district court is AFFIRMED.

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