A pro se plaintiff’s lawsuit brought pursuant to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act was dismissed by the District of New Jersey for lack of standing in Kraft v. Phelan Hallinan Diamond & Jones, P.C., U.S. Dist. LEXIS 126323 (D. N.J. July 30, 2019). Plaintiff Warren R. Kraft inherited real estate from his deceased
A new court decision raises important compliance issues for creditors who use an internal debt collection unit: whether separately naming the unit in a document also naming the creditor in its main business name can cause confusion, giving rise to a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
On September 4, a U.S. d
On August 28, a district court judge in the Southern District of Indiana denied a defendant debt collector’s motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. Plaintiff David F. Driver sued LJ Ross Associates, Inc. (“LJRA”), claiming that a collection letter violated the
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit recently affirmed judgment in favor of two debt collectors and against a debtor for claims arising under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Wisconsin Consumer Act (“WCA”). In its ruling, the Court held that the debtor did not create a triable issue of material
Some good news for debt collectors recently came out of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. In Sparks v. EquityExperts.org, LLC, the Sixth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for EquityExperts.org, LLC (“Equity Experts”), rejecting the consumers’ allegations that Equity Experts violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by collecting its
The Southern District of Indiana recently issued a positive decision for debt buyers and collectors defending Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits premised on a directly communicating with a consumer who had previously notified the creditor she was represented by an attorney.
In Pennell v. Global Trust Management, LLC, No. 1:18-cv-01698-JRS-DLP, 2019 U.S. Dist.
Debt collectors beware: On August 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held that a debt collector violates section 1692f(8) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by displaying an unencrypted “quick response” (or “QR”) code on the face of an envelope containing a debt collection letter that, when scanned,
On August 8, 2019, in Lavallee v. Med-1 Solutions, LLC, No. 17-3244 (7th Cir. 2019), the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a debt collector’s argument that its email, which contained only a “secure message” hyperlink, was a “communication” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because the email did not convey any
On July 30, a district court judge in the Southern District of California granted a defendant debt collector’s motion to dismiss under Rule 12(b)(6) for failure to state a claim. The Court held that the collection letters sent by Capital Management Services, LP (“CMS”) did not constitute violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
The Second Circuit remains a hotbed for consumer claims under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act related to disclosures of interest and fees in collection letters. Plaintiffs bombard New York courts with these claims, forcing courts to meticulously review every possible disclosure of amounts due. While most of these claims ultimately fail on summary judgment,