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CEB Prac. Guide § 2A.63 -- Defenses -- Debtor's Conduct

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In Francisco v. Midland Funding, LLC, No. 17 C 6872, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42349 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 15, 2019), Judge Lefkow held that unclean hands are not an affirmative defense to an FDCPA section 1692e(8) claim even where the debtor’s attorney allegedly timed the dispute letter to coincide with the debt collector’s bi-monthly credit reporting. Because the unclean hands defense… Read More

In Jacobson v. Persolve, LLC, 2014 WL 4090809 (N.D.Cal. 2014), Judge Koh found an FDCPA class-action defendant’s Rule 68 offer to the class representative did not moot either the Action or the represenative’s ability to bring class claims. The Court agrees with Persolve that Plaintiff's Motion to Strike Persolve's Offer of Judgment is procedurally improper. Persolve's Offer of Judgment was… Read More

In Perez v. Gordon & Wong Law Group, P.C., 2012 WL 1029425 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Koh applied Iqbal/Twombly to a debt collector’s affirmative defenses, and addressed what affirmative defenses are available to an FDCPA/Rosenthal Act claim. Next, the parties dispute the scope of defenses available to Defendants under the FDCPA. Plaintiff argues that all of Defendants' affirmative defenses, except for… Read More

In Aho v. AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc., 2012 WL 273780 (S.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Sabraw granted summary judgment to the Plaintiffs on their claims regarding post-repossession letters under Juarez.  As to the claim under the ASFA, Judge Sabraw held:   Accordingly, that the information may be available to the consumer does not relieve Defendant of its obligation to include that information… Read More

In Kuschner v. Nationwide Credit, Inc. 2009 WL 1531574 (E.D.Cal. 2009), Judge Karlton ruled on whether a debt collector could assert a counter-claim against an FDCPA plaintiff due to the Plaintiff’s surreptitious recording of telephone calls between the Plaintiff and the debt collector.  The Court had ruled that the debt collector should be allowed leave to file the counter-claim, and… Read More

In Van v. Grant & Weber, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in an unpublished decision that including in collection letters certain location obligations permitted under the Rosenthal Act does not violate the FDCPA.  The Court of Appeals explained: Van argues that this statement is misleading because California Civil Code § 1788.21(b) requires such notification only in… Read More

In Mendoza v. Ruesga (2008) __ Cal.App.4th __, the Fourth District Court of Appeal declined to allow a defendant to assert an unclean hands defense to its purported violation of a consumer protection statute (in this case, California's Immigration Consultant's Act).  The Court of Appeal, relying on analogy under California's UCL, used sweeping language as to why an unclean hands… Read More