On the same day that Judge Kelley issued the Velasquz decision, Judge Doty held the opposite in Carpenter v. RJM Acquisitions, LLC — F.Supp.2d –, 2011 WL 2148382 (D. Minn. 2011):
Carpenter failed to follow the appropriate statutory procedure to dispute the debt. See 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b) (outlining steps for consumer to dispute debt). If the consumer does not dispute the debt, it “will be assumed to be valid by the debt collector.” Id. § 1692g(a)(3). A consumer cannot circumvent the statute’s procedural device to dispute the validity of a debt by filing an action pursuant to § 1692e on the sole basis that the debt is invalid. See Richmond v. Higgins, 435 F.3d 825, 829 (8th Cir.2006); Bleich v. Revenue Maximization Grp., Inc. 233 F.Supp.2d 496, 501 (E.D.N.Y.2002). Carpenter failed to plead any facts to demonstrate that RJM used false representations or deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect any debt. Therefore, the court grants RJM’s motion on this claim.