On January 2, 2014, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits collection agencies from charging consumers a percentage fee of the balance of their debt unless the consumer has explicitly agreed to such a fee arrangement. In Bradley v. Franklin Collection Services, Inc., a unanimous
Four Second Scan of a Collection Lawsuit Is Not Meaningful Attorney Review and Violates FDCPA
In Bock v. Pressler & Pressler, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey held that it is false and misleading, within the meaning of FDCPA, for an attorney to file an FDCPA lawsuit without having meaningfully reviewed the complaint. In granting summary judgment in favor of the consumer, the court
Plaintiff has Standing to Sue Under FDCPA for Misrepresentation He Never Knew About
Consistent with its expansive view of constitutional standing, the Ninth Circuit recently held that a plaintiff has constitutional standing under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to sue for a misrepresentation that was never actually communicated to him.
In Tourgeman v. Collins Financial Services, Inc., the plaintiff brought a class action lawsuit against multiple
Texas Federal Court: No Summary Judgment for Plaintiff in FDCPA Settlement Letter Dispute over Time-Barred Debt
On June 27, 2014, Magistrate Judge Orlando L. Garcia of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas recommended denial of a plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment in an FDCPA action implicating settlement letter language for time-barred debt. The case, Schreve v. First National Collection Bureau, Inc., involved time-barred debt that
ACA Files Amicus Brief in Settlement Offer Dispute before the Sixth Circuit
On May 7, 2014, ACA International, the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals, submitted an amicus curiae brief in an important Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) dispute over settlement-letter language for time-barred debts. The plaintiff received a collection letter from the debt collector offering an opportunity to settle a debt after Michigan’s six-year limitations
Legislation Introduced To Amend The FDCPA To Limit A Prevailing Defendant’s Ability To Recover Costs
On May 9, 2014, U.S. Representative Matt Cartwright introduced H.R. 4624 to amend the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act to prohibit a court from awarding costs to a prevailing defendant in the absence of a finding that an action was brought in bad faith.
This legislation is in response to the United States Supreme Court’s
Settlement in FDCPA Class-Action Over Collection Letters Approved
On April 15, 2014, a federal judge in New Jersey approved the settlement of a class-action suit against a law firm that allegedly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Plaintiffs claimed that Mattleman, Weinroth & Miller, whose principal office is in Cherry Hill, NJ, and Executive Credit Management, located in Stanhope, NJ, had
Industry Groups Urge CFPB to Establish Debt Collection Rulemaking Priorities
A recent comment letter from the American Bankers Association, Consumer Bankers Association and the Financial Services Roundtable to the CFPB urged the Bureau to prioritize third-party agencies in its FDCPA rulemakings.
Chief among the group’s concerns is maintaining “the distinction between first and third-party collections recognized by the FDCPA.” The signatories “strongly oppose placing FDCPA-like
FTC Highlights 2013 Enforcement Actions, Pledges Vigorous Enforcement Going Forward
As part of the CFPB’s annual report to Congress on the federal government’s efforts to implement the FDCPA, the FTC submitted highlights from its 2013 enforcement actions signaling that the Commission will continue to play an active role in enforcing the FDCPA in collaboration with the CFPB and state attorneys general.
The FTC noted that
CFPB and FTC File Amicus Brief Targeting Time-Barred Debt Collection Activities
On March 5, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a joint amicus brief in Buchanan v. Northland Group Inc., No. 13–2523 (6th Cir. Mar. 5, 2014), a putative consumer FDCPA class action challenging collection practices related to debts that were time barred (i.e., for which the