Russell v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc.

Steven Russell (plaintiff) purchased a vehicle under a retail installment contract held by Santander Consumer USA, Inc. (Santander) (defendant). After Russell failed to make the required payments, Santander obtained a judgment of replevin allowing Santander to repossess the vehicle. Santander hired Patrick Willis to repossess the vehicle. Willis in turn hired AssetsBiz (defendant). When Michael Sancinati (defendant), an AssetsBiz employee, attempted to repossess the vehicle, Russell confronted Sancinati and demanded that Sancinati leave. Sancinati complied. Sancinati then contacted the police for assistance. Approximately 30 minutes later, the police arrived at Russell’s house and temporarily detained Russell for questioning. While Russell was detained, Sancinati repossessed the vehicle. Russell sued Sancinati and AssetsBiz, arguing that Sancinati and AssetsBiz had violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and the Wisconsin Consumer Act (WCA) by continuing efforts to repossess the vehicle after Russell objected. Sancinati and AssetsBiz countered, arguing that Russell had never objected to Sancinati’s second, ultimately successful, repossession attempt. Russell also sued Santander for WCA violations, arguing that Santander was liable for AssetsBiz’s and Sancinati’s conduct. Santander objected, arguing that it was not liable, because Santander did not have a contractual relationship with either AssetsBiz or Sancinati, but only with Willis. Russell moved for summary judgment.