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

In Golden v. Benjamin, Judge Schroeder, of the United States District Court for the Middle District of North Carolina, denied Higgins Benjamin, PLCC’s (“Higgins”) motion to dismiss a class action claim brought by Mark and Geneva Golden under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  In the Complaint, Plaintiffs alleged an FDCPA claim for failure

On December 15, 2020, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals decided four cases which all dealt with the issue of standing within the context of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). With these holdings, the Seventh Circuit stated that simply alleging a procedural violation, confusion, or annoyance under the FDCPA does not constitute an

In a new decision slated for publication, the Sixth Circuit weighed in on an issue under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA): whether a “benign language” exception exists to a flat prohibition of substantive information appearing on an envelope containing a letter from a debt collector. The Sixth Circuit took a strict reading of

The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the actions of a debt collector are not necessarily imputed to a debt buyer. This holding reversed the Western District of Arkansas District Court, which held that the actions of the debt collector are necessarily imputed to the debt buyer. The full opinion of Reygadas v. DNF