A Colorado woman is suing a collection agency in federal court under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act for mistakenly emailing a receipt intended for her to a third party.

Plaintiff Stephanie Dehart incurred medical debt following the birth and delivery of her daughter. Her debt later was placed with defendant CollectionCenter, Inc., “the premier collection agency in the Rocky Mountain region,” which reported the debt on Dehart’s credit report. Dehart made a partial payment on the debt and provided her email address for a receipt. CollectionCenter sent a receipt reflecting Dehart’s partial payment, but sent it to the wrong email address. The email receipt also contained disclosures regarding Dehart’s debt, which Dehart claims caused her harm, “including but not limited to, aggravation, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress.”

On January 17, Dehart filed suit in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado against CollectionCenter for various claims under the FDCPA, including violations of Section 1692(b) (disclosure of her debt information to a third party), Section 1692(e) (implicitly representing that it did not have to keep the existence of her debt confidential), and Section 1692(f) (employing unfair means to collect the debt by disclosing to an unfamiliar person that she owed a debt). Dehart seeks a declaration that the actions alleged are unlawful, statutory damages, actual damages, costs and attorneys’ fees, and an order enjoining CollectionCenter from further contacting her.

A response from defendant CollectionCenter is forthcoming.