Companies whose primary business purpose is to collect debts—whether or not they actually participate in the debt collection activities—suffered a setback recently. Despite a debt purchaser’s not having any direct contact...more
On October 17, 2018, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (BCFP), formerly known as the CFPB, announced that it plans to issue a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)...more
One overarching certainty of federal debt collection law seems to be prolonged uncertainty over its appropriate scope. Is this scope about to change yet again? One recent bill called the Practice of Law Technical...more
In Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson, No. 16-348, 2017 BL 161314 (U.S. May 15, 2017), the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a credit collection agency does not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") when it files...more
In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court narrowly interpreted “debt collector” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude debt purchasers engaging in collection efforts for their own accounts....more
The Supreme Court recently issued two rulings interpreting various sections of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) in favor of creditors and certain debt buyers. The FDCPA protects debtors from unfair collection...more
The United States Supreme Court unanimously held that an entity’s efforts to recover payment of a debt purchased from a third party for its own account is not subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “Act”). ...more
Debt buyers generally are considered “debt collectors” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). However, on June 12, 2017, the Supreme Court decided Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc., which resolved an...more
On June 12, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States (the “Court”) issued a decision clarifying who qualifies as a “debt collector” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq. In the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court, in its June 12, 2017, decision, Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., resolves and clarifies key questions with respect to the applicability of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") in a...more
In Justice Gorsuch’s first written opinion, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld a ruling by the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals that declined to expand the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’s (“FDCPA”) definition of “debt...more
On behalf of a unanimous Supreme Court, Justice Neil Gorsuch delivered his first opinion on June 12 to determine whether debt purchasers fall within the statutory language under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)...more
On June 12, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court held in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act does not apply to debt buyers, as opposed to debt collectors working on behalf of loan originators....more
On June 12, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Fourth Circuit’s decision in favor of Santander Consumer USA, Inc. (“Santander”) under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”). In his first written opinion, the...more
The United States Supreme Court issued a significant decision in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc. drastically restricting the universe of companies subject to potential liability under the Fair Debt Collection Practices...more
Debt purchasers attempting to collect on those debts across multiple jurisdictions now have uniform law that they are not debt collectors subject to the FDCPA. On June 12, in a unanimous decision, the United States Supreme...more
Here we are nearing the end of another U.S. Supreme Court term, and it has been a busy one in the creditors’ rights arena – and a particularly good one for debt buyers. On June 12, 2017, the Supreme Court issued its second...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that a purchaser of defaulted debt did not qualify as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) because it did not collect debts "due another", but...more
On June 12, 2017, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion resolving a circuit court split as to whether a company that collects debts that it purchased for its own account would fall within the statutory definition...more
Just two months after hearing argument in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA, Inc., the Supreme Court declined the opportunity to expand the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA") to debt buyers. In an earlier blog post,...more
On June 12, 2017, the Supreme Court in Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc. unanimously held that a debt buyer is not a “debt collector” as defined by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) if it is regularly...more
When the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act became law in 1977, it promised to regulate the conduct of anyone who “regularly collects or attempts to collect … debts owed or due … another.” But the courts have divided over...more
The U.S. Supreme Court resolved a federal circuit split in favor of banks and finance companies by holding that firms collecting debts purchased for their own account are not subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act...more
Action Item: Banks and other consumer finance firms that purchase delinquent debt and then collect on their own behalf are not “debt collectors” under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. However, this limitation still...more
In today’s political environment, having unanimous support on an issue is exceedingly difficult particularly on issues emanating from our Executive and Legislative branches of government. Hope springs eternal however, and...more