In Seeley v. Nevada Ass’n Services, Inc., 2011 WL 4470840 (D.Nev. 2011), Judge Navarro held that the threat of a homeowners association lien being placed before the expiration of the 30-day validation expired overshadowed the consumer’s rights, constituting an FDCPA violation. Judge Navarro explained:
Nevertheless, here, both the form and the substance of the letter overshadowed the required notice. Although the text was uniform in font style and size, the threat to file a lien on the property and to impose additional costs preceded the notice of the rights to dispute the debt. Also, the information that upon written dispute, “NAS will, as required by law, cease collection of the debt or any disputed portion thereof” is buried at the end of the notice, preceded by the sentence: “Federal Law does not require NAS to wait until the end of the 30 Day Period to record the Notice of Delinquent Assessment Lien.” (“Letter” Ex. E.) By first emphasizing the threat of a lien and additional costs in the letter, as well as NAS’s rights under “Federal Law,” the arrangement of these sentences and paragraphs is likely to mislead a “least sophisticated debtor” as to his rights under the FDCPA.