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9th Cir. Says Debt Buyers Subject to FDCPA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In McAdory v. DNF Associates, LLC (9th Cir. 2020), the Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit followed the Third Circuit’s decision in Barbato v. Greystone All., LLC (3d Cir. 2019) 916 F.3d 260, to find that a company whose principal business activity is buying defaulted debts from creditors is a "debt collector" for purposes of the FDCPA even if… Read More

6th Cir. Follows 3rd Cir.’s Douglass’ Glassine Windows Decision, Expands it to Text that Bleeds Through an Envelope

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Cagayat v. United Collection Bureau, Inc, No. 19-3431, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 7234 (6th Cir. Mar. 9, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit adopted and expanded the Third Circuit’s  Douglass decision to apply to an enclosed letter’s text that bleeds through an envelope. The Letters attached as exhibits do not utterly discredit Cagayat's assertion that the… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Says SofL Discovery Rule Does Not Apply to Either FDCPA or Rosenthal Act Claims

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Faircloth v. AR Res., Inc., No. 19-cv-05830-JCS, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28335 (N.D. Cal. Feb. 19, 2020), Judge Spero found that the discovery rule did not apply to either the FDCPA or Rosenthal Act. 1. The Discovery Rule Does Not Apply to the FDCPA.  Defendant claims that the FAC should be dismissed because claims brought under the FDCPA and… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Says Calls Did Not Constitute Harassment under the FDCPA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Allen v. Credit Collection Servs., No. 2:18-cv-00929-MCE-KJN, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 27363 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 18, 2020), Judge Englund dismissed an FDCPA claim on the basis that the call number and pattern did not constitute harassment under the FDCPA. Plaintiff maintains that, despite CCS' call logs and telephone recordings of the two actual conversations its representatives had with Plaintiff… Read More

District Court (Az.) Says Attorney Fee Award against Consumer Following Consumer-initiated Litigation Is Not a Transaction under the FDCPA

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Lynaugh v. Vincent, No. CV-19-04643-PHX-DJH, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 23246 (D. Ariz. Feb. 10, 2020), Judge Humetewa found that attorneys’ fees awarded in an underlying consumer litigation was not a debt incurred on a consensual basis and, accordingly, did not arise from a “transaction” under the FDCPA. The Court will first examine Defendants' contention that the attorneys' fees judgment… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Says Reminder of Minimum Amount Due to Keep Credit Card Current in Validation Letter Did Not Create FDCPA “Overshadowing” Claim

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Robertson v. AllianceOne Receivables Mgmt., No. 1:19-cv-00749-DAD-SKO, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15768 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 29, 2020), Judge Drozd dismissed an FDCPA overshadowing claim. AllianceOne contends the validation statement in its notice is not overshadowed or contradicted by other messages appearing in the notice. AllianceOne also argues that the least sophisticated debtor would not construe the notice to have demanded… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Says CLRA Might Apply to Debt Collection Claims

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Poghosyan v. First Fin. Asset Mgmt., No. 1:19-cv-01205-DAD-SAB, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 14137 (E.D. Cal. Jan. 27, 2020), Judge Drozd found that a plaintiff might be able to state a claim for improper debt collection under the CLRA. Although the California Supreme Court has not yet addressed whether the CLRA applies to certain types of financial transactions such as… Read More

7th Cir. Rejects “Benign Language” Exception to Prohibition Against Language on Dunning Letters’ Envelopes

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Preston v. Midland Credit Mgmt., No. 18-3119, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 1775 (7th Cir. Jan. 21, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected a ‘benign language’ exception to section 1692f(8), finding that an envelope’s label “TIME SENSITIVE DOCUMENT” potentially violated the FDCPA. Following his receipt of the letter, Mr. Preston filed this action in which he… Read More

5th Cir. Reverses Class Cert. in FDCPA “Threat to Sue” Case Due to Absence of Commonality on Intent

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Flecha v. Medicredit, Inc., No. 18-50551, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 481 (5th Cir. Jan. 8, 2020, the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed class certification in an FDCPA case. This class fails for similar reasons. Every member of the putative class received the same allegedly threatening letter from Medicredit. But the FDCPA penalizes empty threats, not all… Read More

SCOTUS Rejects Discovery Rule for SofL in FDCPA Cases

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Rotkiske v. Klemm, 28 Fla. L. Weekly Fed. S. 8 (U.S. 2019), the Supreme Court rejected the application of a discovery rule in FDCPA cases. Rotkiske does not contest the plain meaning of §1692k(d)’s text or claim that he brought suit within one year of the alleged FDCPA violation. Instead, he suggests that we should interpret §1692k(d) to include… Read More

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