FDCPA (Fed & State)

On September 25, 2020, Governor Newsom signed a number of bills, including AB 1864, which established the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation (“DFPI”) in place of the Department of Business Oversight (“DBO”), and SB 908, the Debt Collection Licensing Act. Both bills were passed by the California legislature in late August 2020, and are touted by Governor Newsome as… Read More

In Nagan v. Solutions, No. 19-C-170, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 155492 (E.D. Wis. Aug. 27, 2020), Judge Griesbach held that Wisconsin residents are not protected by California’s Rosenthal Act. The Rosenthal Act Plaintiff also asserts a claim under the Rosenthal Act, California's counterpart to the FDCPA that protects residents of California. Because Plaintiff was never a resident of California, the… Read More

In Calogero v. Shows, Cali & Walsh, L.L.P., No. 19-30558, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 26109 (5th Cir. Aug. 17, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit said that the US Government’s retention of private debt collectors to collect overpayment of compensation to victims of Hurricane Katrina arose out of a “transaction” under the FDCPA. When Congress passed the… Read More

In Elbert v. Roundpoint Mortg. Servicing Corp., No. 20-cv-00250-MMC, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 150341 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 19, 2020), Judge Chesney dismissed a Rosenthal Act claim because the account was not in delinquent. In Count II, Elbert asserts RoundPoint has violated the Rosenthal Act, which Act provides that "[n]o debt collector shall collect or attempt to collect a consumer debt… Read More

In Lawrence v. First Fin. Inv. Fund V, No. 2:19-cv-00174-RJS-CMR, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 149122 (D. Utah Aug. 17, 2020), Judge Shelby certified an FDCPA class after the class representative abandoned any claim for emotional distress because such damage claim could not be pursued on a representative basis. Next, First Financial argues Lawrence's claims are atypical of the proposed classes… Read More

In Mercedes v. Nat'l Bus. Factors, No. 19-16055, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 25996 (9th Cir. Aug. 17, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit rejected application of the bona fide error defense where the debt collector outsourced its compliance obligations through a boilerplate agreement with the creditor. The parties do not dispute that NBF unintentionally violated the FDCPA… Read More

  In Zablocki v. Merchs. Credit Guide Co., No. 19-2045, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 23737 (7th Cir. July 28, 2020), the Court of Appeals dismissed an FDCPA claim premised on a debt collectors failure to aggregate debts into a single account when reporting to the CRAs. Viewing Merchants's separate reporting of debts from the perspective of an unsophisticated but reasonable… Read More

In Molinari v. Fin. Asset Mgmt. Sys., No. 18 C 1526, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 134045 (N.D. Ill. July 29, 2020), Judge Ellis denied class certification in a TCPA/FDCPA class action Under Rule 23(a)(2), a party seeking class certification must show commonality by identifying "questions of law or fact common to the class." Fed. R. Civ. P. 23(a)(2). "The key… Read More

In Ruiz v. Hunt & Henriques, No. D075286, 2020 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 4847 (July 29, 2020), in the context of an anti-SLAPP motion brought by the debt collection law firm, the Court of Appeal found that a debtor need not dispute the debt to challenge the amount of the debt stated. Hunt alternatively argues that Ruiz cannot recover under… Read More

In Cooper v. Atl. Credit & Fin., No. 19-12177, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 23719 (11th Cir. July 28, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit found no Article III standing for an overshadowing claim under the FDCPA. Here, Cooper's alleged injuries are just  as inchoate, if not more so. She does not allege that, without the purportedly confusing… Read More