Litchfield Cavo Prevails for Client and Defeats Potential Class Action in Pennsylvania

Fort Lauderdale Partner Geralyn M. Passaro, Philadelphia Partner Dawn M. Sigyarto and Chicago Attorney Natasha Singh were recently granted a Motion for Summary Judgment in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas on behalf of our credit union client against two individuals/Claimants among others similarly situated, who entered into finance agreements with our client.

Claimants previously entered into finance contracts with our client to purchase used vehicles. In the agreements, Claimants acknowledge that our client may repossess and sell their vehicles to recoup losses if they fail to make payments. After Claimants failed to make payments on their vehicles, our credit union client repossessed the vehicles. Our client sent Claimants a “Notice Of Our Plan To Sell Property,” and Claimants state that the Notice “did not provide an accurate description of the debtor’s liability for a deficiency.” Subsequently, Claimants allege that our client violated Pennsylvania’s Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) by failing to provide proper notice of repossession.

Our client moved for summary judgment and claimed it was not barred from recovering reasonable attorney’s fees under the Pennsylvania UCC. In response, Claimants argue that our client’s Notice is misleading under the UCC. Our attorneys explained that the pre-sale Notice accurately described Claimants’ liability following repossession, including any “reasonable attorney’s fees permitted by law.”

Claimants failed to cite any law that prohibits the collection of attorney’s fees in the notices our client provided. Additionally, Claimants failed to prove that our client’s notices were commercially unreasonable or insufficient as a matter of law, or explain how they were misled in any way.

In September 2024, the Court granted our Motion for Summary Judgment in favor of our client and Claimants’ request for class action certification motion was denied.

Geralyn Passaro handles commercial and complex business litigation with an emphasis on representation of agents and brokers, directors and officers, lawyers and other professionals in liability and community association matters.

Dawn concentrates her practice in complex commercial litigation defense including matters involving contractual disputes, construction defects, premises liability and catastrophic personal injury. She defends clients against individual and class action claims and represents clients in civil litigation matters.

Natasha Singh focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation, specifically in the areas of class actions and appeals. She represents banks, credit unions and other financial institutions in a range of litigation matters.