On February 2, Judge Robert T. Dawson, in the Western District of Arkansas, granted a defendant debt collector’s motion for summary judgment. The court determined Monterey Financial Service LLC’s responses to plaintiff Kyle Steven Johnston’s debt validation request did not constitute harassment and satisfied Monterey’s obligations under the FDCPA.

At issue in the case was

In Frank Gilbert v. I.C. System, Inc., the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois denied the defendant’s motion to compel arbitration in a FDCPA class action, holding that the corporate declaration offered by the defendant was insufficient to prove that the plaintiff actually saw and agreed to the account terms

In Giannini v. Fin. Recovery Servs., Judge Ellis of the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed a case alleging the defendant violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by “fail[ing] to include safe harbor language” in its collection letter. In its ruling, the court emphasized that to establish standing under the

In Rock v. Greenspoon Marder LLP, Judge Vazquez of the District Court for the District of New Jersey granted the defendant’s motion to dismiss the plaintiff’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) claim in part and dismissed it in part. In its ruling, the court suggested that when sending a debt collection letter to

On January 21, the CFPB issued a Small Entity Compliance Guide summarizing the October 2020 Debt Collection Rule. The Debt Collection Rule amends Regulation F, 12 CFR Part 1006 and becomes effective on November 30, 2021. The Debt Collection Rule governs the activities of debt collectors under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).

The

In Smith v. GC Servs. Ltd. P’ship, No. 19-3494 (7th Cir. Jan. 21, 2021), the Seventh Circuit affirmed a decision by the Southern District of Indiana finding that the plaintiff had not suffered any concrete injury and therefore, lacked standing to assert a claim under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act.

The plaintiff, Franny Smith,

In Ewing v. Med-1 Solutions, Judge Sweeney II of the District Court for the Southern District of Indiana granted summary judgment for the defendant, regarding the plaintiff’s allegation that the defendant violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by reporting her debt to TransUnion after the plaintiff disputed the debt. In its ruling, the

On January 20, 2021, the Southern District of New York granted Emmanuel Torres’ (“Torres”) motion to remand to state court, holding that Wakefield & Associates’ (“Wakefield”) and Rural Metro Ambulance Corporation’s (“Rural Metro”) argument for removal did not constitute “complete preemption.”

In Torres v. Wakefield & Assocs., Torres filed a complaint in the New

In Martinez v. Integrated Capital Recovery, LLC, Judge Ishii of the District Court for the Eastern District of California granted the Defendants’ motion to dismiss two Fair Debt Collection Protection Act (“FDCPA”) claims brought by Brandon Martinez, Plaintiff, on behalf of a class of similarly situated individuals. In its ruling, the Court reiterated that a

In Russell v. Law, Judge Van Bokkelen, of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana, granted summary judgment, in part, to Russell Friend (“Plaintiff”)– alleging Taylor Law, PLLC (“Defendant”) contacted Plaintiff continually in attempts to collect debt after Plaintiff’s request that Defendant cease contact, in violation of the Fair Debt