FDCPA (Fed & State)

In Walker v. Westlake Fin. Servs., No. 19 C 6921, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 105794 (N.D. Ill. June 17, 2020), Judge Kendall permitted an FDCPA/TCPA defendant to file a counter-claim on the debt back against the Plaintiff. Walker, however, takes too narrow a view and disregards several relevant facts. Here, Westlake's claim involves "the same parties, contracts, and course of… Read More

In Frank v. Autovest, No. 19-7119, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 18082, at *6 (D.C. Cir. June 9, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit dismissed for lack of Art. III standing an FDCPA claim purported based on the debt collector's filing of false affidavits in a collection action. Frank hasn't carried that burden. She fails to identify a… Read More

In Zuniga v. Trueaccord, No. 18-683 KG/KRS, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 95445 (D.N.M. June 1, 2020), the District Court granted summary judgment for the defendant debt collector in an FDCPA class action. Plaintiff admits that she owes $1,585.00 on the Golden Valley Lending loan. (Doc. 26-3) at 4, depo. at 72. On March 2, 2018, Defendant sent an email to… Read More

In Alcivar v. Enhanced Recovery Co., No. 17-CV-2275 (ILG), 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88998, at *3-6 (E.D.N.Y. May 20, 2020), Judge Glasser awarded $33,916.84 in attorneys' fees and $2,769.14 in costs to defense counsel based on the following facts. Discovery proved contentious, in two ways. First, Tawanda Frazier refused to comply with Defendant's subpoena. (ECF No. 16 at 2). Second,… Read More

In Norton v. Lvnv Funding, No. 18-cv-05051-DMR, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 88809, at *1-2 (N.D. Cal. May 19, 2020), Magistrate Judge Ryu permitted amendment to allow assertion of an affirmative defense of "set-off". Plaintiff Sonya Norton filed this putative class action against Defendants LVNV Funding, LLC ("LVNV") and Law Office of Harris & Zide ("H&Z") alleging violations of the federal… Read More

In Greene v. TrueAccord, Case 3:19-cv-06651-EMC (N.D. Cal. 2020), here, Judge Chen dismissed an FDCPA case premised on the Plaintiff's claim that the defendant could not e-mail the FDCPA's validation notice. Ms. Greene contends that TA violated the FDCPA by sending her the validation notice by email – as part of the initial communication – without complying first with the… Read More

In Plumb v. Prof'l Account Servs., No. 3:19-cv-00085-SLG, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 84064, at *7 (D. Alaska May 13, 2020), Judge Gleason dismissed an FDCPA action based on communications between counsel. Counts I and II of the FAC arise from Ms. Sanders's fax to Plaintiff's counsel ("the Fax"). In Count I, Plaintiff alleges that the Fax falsely represents that Ms.… Read More

In Bennett v. Cielo Homeowners Ass'n, No. 19-cv-2131-WQH-BLM, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78850, at *17-20 (S.D. Cal. May 4, 2020), Judge Hayes addressed principal/agent liability under the FDCPA. "Seeking somewhat to level the playing field between debtors and debt collectors, the FDCPA prohibits debt collectors 'from making false or misleading representations and from engaging in various abusive and unfair practices.'"… Read More

Judge Richard G. Stearns granted ACA International's request for a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey's emergency rules that prohibit debt collectors from making outbound telephone calls and bringing legal enforcement actions against consumers. A copy of the order can be found here. Read More

In Manuel v. Merchs. & Prof'l Bureau, Inc., No. 19-50814, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 13779, at *8 (5th Cir. Apr. 29, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that a dunning letter on a time-barred debt was deceptive, and outlined the standards for letters seeking to collect on time-barred debts. Our decision in Daugherty is central to… Read More