FDCPA (Fed & State)

  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

In Ward v. Npas, Inc., No. 3:19-cv-00484, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 132461 (M.D. Tenn. July 27, 2020), Judge Trauger ruled in favor of a medical debt servicer, who relied on the FDCPA’s exemption for debts not in default at the time of the assignment in order to prevent application of the FDCPA.  The District Court adopted the Second Circuit’s approach… Read More

In Webster v. Receivables Performance Mgmt., No. 1:18-cv-03940-TWP-DML, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 128233 (S.D. Ind. July 21, 2020), Judge Walton Pratt found that a debt collector violated the FDCPA by failing to report an account as ‘disputed’ despite the fact that the consumer did not dispute the debt within the 30-day validation period and despite the consumer’s faxing a dispute… Read More

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

In Wagoner v. Npas, Inc., No. 3:18-CV-520 DRL-MGG, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 73381 (N.D. Ind. Apr. 27, 2020), Judge Leichty granted summary judgment under the FDCPA to an ‘early out’ debt servicer. NPAS serves as an "early-out" collector and extended business office for healthcare systems. A company hired to service the debt of another—i.e., send bills and collect routine payments—falls… Read More

In Krier v. United Revenue Corp., No. 3:19-CV-2954-G, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 74844 (N.D. Tex. Apr. 28, 2020), Judge Fish allowed an FDCPA claim premised on 15 USC 1692e(8) because the debt collector did not report the account a disputed. Krier claims that United violated Section 1692e(8) of the FDCPA by failing to include notice of Krier's dispute in the… Read More

In Matthias v. Tate & Kirlin Assocs., No. 19-cv-182-slc, 2020 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 63894, at *8-9 (W.D. Wis. Apr. 13, 2020), Judge Crocker was unpersuaded that individual questions of commercial versus consumer debt could defeat class certification in an FDCPA dunning letter class action. Similarly, there is no authority supporting defendants' contention that Matthias must show that each putative class… Read More

In Gilliam v. Psg Ks, No. 18-56373, 2020 U.S. App. LEXIS 11706, at *2-3 (9th Cir. Apr. 14, 2020), the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that a loan obtained by a trustee for the benefit of a beneficiary remained a 'consumer credit transaction'. This case presents an issue of first impression under federal and state regulation of… Read More