Stephens v. Premiere Credit of North America, LLC, 3:16-cv-00007

In 2014 Stephens discovered the Department of Education had reported a federal undergraduate loan as in default—loan he claims he never applied for or received; DOE had retained Premiere Credit to collect.
Stephens’s mother contacted Premiere; a Premiere representative advised that making certain payments would rehabilitate the loan; she made payments but the loan remained in default and Premiere sent collection letters.
Stephens sued Premiere alleging multiple FDCPA violations (including §1692e(8) for communicating false credit information), defamation, invasion of privacy (intrusion upon seclusion), intentional/negligent infliction of emotional distress, and sought punitive and injunctive relief; other FDCPA claims remain and were not before the court.
Premiere moved for partial judgment on the pleadings under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c), arguing insufficient factual allegations to support the §1692e(8) claim, invasion of privacy, tort claims, punitive damages, and injunctive relief.
Stephens conceded he lacked adequate factual support for defamation, emotional distress, and injunctive relief and agreed to dismiss those claims; he opposed dismissal of §1692e(8), invasion of privacy, and punitive damages.
The court applied the Rule 12(c)/12(b)(6) plausibility standard and granted Premiere’s motion, dismissing §1692e(8), invasion of privacy, punitive damages, and the conceded claims; several other FDCPA claims survived.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether defendant violated 15 U.S.C. §1692e(8) by communicating false credit info to a third party	Stephens alleged Premiere told his mother he defaulted on a federal loan, so §1692e(8) violation	Premiere argued Stephens failed to plead that Premiere knew or should have known the communicated information was false	Dismissed: complaint lacks factual allegations that Premiere knew or should have known the information was false
Whether intrusion upon seclusion (invasion of privacy) was plausibly alleged	Stephens alleged Premiere unreasonably intruded on his privacy by disclosing loan info to third parties	Premiere maintained allegations are conclusory and merely recite the elements	Dismissed: pleadings are a formulaic recitation without supporting factual detail
Whether plaintiff may pursue punitive damages	Stephens sought punitive damages tied to his tort claims	Premiere argued no facts alleged show oppression, fraud, or malice required under Kentucky law	Dismissed: no factual allegations supporting requisite state-law malice/fraud/oppression
Whether conceded claims should be retained	Stephens voluntarily agreed to dismiss defamation, intentional/negligent emotional distress, and injunctive relief	Premiere sought dismissal of those claims on pleading grounds	Dismissed: plaintiff agreed to dismiss; court did not reach merits

Horen v. Bd. of Educ. of Toledo City Sch. Dist., 594 F. Supp. 2d 833 (N.D. Ohio 2009) (Rule 12(c) reviewed under same standard as Rule 12(b)(6))
Traverse Bay Area Intermediate Sch. Dist. v. Mich. Dep’t of Educ., 615 F.3d 622 (6th Cir. 2010) (complaint must plead facts making claim plausible)
Total Benefits Planning Agency, Inc. v. Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield, 552 F.3d 430 (6th Cir. 2008) (court assumes factual allegations true but need not accept legal conclusions)
16630 Southfield Ltd. P’ship v. Flagstar Bank, F.S.B., 727 F.3d 502 (6th Cir. 2013) (allegations pleaded "on information and belief" may be insufficient to survive dismissal)
Commercial Money Ctr., Inc. v. Ill. Union Ins. Co., 508 F.3d 327 (6th Cir. 2007) (plausibility requires allegations respecting all material elements)
Bell Atl. Corp. v. Twombly, 550 U.S. 544 (2007) (formulaic recitations of elements insufficient)
McCall v. Courier-Journal & Louisville Times Co., 623 S.W.2d 882 (Ky. 1981) (recognizing types of invasion of privacy claims)
Smith v. Bob Smith Chevrolet, Inc., 275 F. Supp. 2d 808 (W.D. Ky. 2003) (elements of intrusion upon seclusion under Kentucky law)
Thomas v. Greenview Hosp., Inc., 127 S.W.3d 663 (Ky. 2004) (punitive damages in Kentucky require evidence of oppression, fraud, or malice)