On January 9, twenty-one Democrats from the House of Representatives sent a letter to President-elect Trump in defense of controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray, urging Trump not to remove Cordray from his post. The letter began by noting that no President has ever removed an independent agency head for cause and threatened
More Than One Call Per Day is Not Enough to Violate FDCPA; Consent Provided to Creditor Extends to Debt Collector Under TCPA
The United States District Court for the District of New Jersey recently held in Samuel Chisholm v. AFNI, Inc. that a debt collector “could not reasonably be found to violate” the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by calling a consumer 18 times on his cell phone over the course of 13 days. All calls were
Attorney Collecting Debt For a Debt Collector May Not Rely on Client’s Validation Notice
A district court in the Seventh Circuit has denied a motion to dismiss filed by a collection attorney acting on behalf of a debt collector client, holding that the plaintiff in the case could pursue her claim based on the attorney’s failure to provide his own § 1692g validation notice in an initial communication, even
What’s In a Barcode?: District Court in Eleventh Circuit Adopts Benign Language Exception for Debtor’s Account Number
A district court in the Eleventh Circuit has joined the Fifth and Eighth circuits, along with a host of district courts throughout the country, in adopting the “benign language” exception to Section 1692f(8) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and has dismissed a claim based on a collection letter with a visible barcode containing
Troutman Sanders Attorney Selected to Serve in Attorney State Chair Program for ACA International
Ethan Ostroff has been selected by ACA International (Association of Credit and Collection Professionals) to serve in the Attorney State Chair Program for the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Attorney State Chair Program provides ACA International units and their members with access to an attorney licensed to practice law in their state. These attorneys have volunteered
Eastern District of New York Rules That Fee May Be Collected with Principal Balance, Requesting Prompt Contact is Permissible
In Igor Vayngurt v. Southwest Credit Systems, L.P., the Eastern District of New York ruled that a debt collector did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by attempting to obtain payment of a collection fee at the same time as the principal balance of the debt and requesting prompt contact in the
Extra Assurances Not Required: Collector Not Liable for Letter with No Statement Assuring that Non-Interest Charges and Fees Would Not Accrue
The United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York has dismissed a debtor’s claim that a collection letter stating “Non-interest Charges & Fees: $0.00” was misleading under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because an unsophisticated consumer could mistakenly believe that non-interest charges and fees might be added in the future. The
Fourth Circuit Rejects FDCPA Liability For Filing Proofs of Claim On Time-Barred Debt
On August 25, 2016, the Fourth Circuit held in In re Eric Dubois, Case No. 15-1945, that filing a proof of claim based on a time-bared debt in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act (FDCPA) when the applicable state statute of limitations does not extinguish the debt.
CFPB Introduces New Protections for Borrowers
On August 4, 2016, the CFPB issued its final mortgage servicing rule pursuant to Regulation X of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) and Regulation Z of the Truth in Lending Act (TILA). The final rule provides greater foreclosure protections to borrowers and requires further transparency between borrowers and mortgage servicers. The final rule
Ninth Circuit Rules Every Debt Collector Must Send Verification Notice
In a case of first impression, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in July that all debt collectors must send debtors a verification notice. “In other words, if there are multiple debt collectors that try to collect a debt, each one must send the required notice after its first communication with