In its top consumer credit law decisions of 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit determined that settlement of an FDCPA claim does not trigger an attorney fee award, examined third-party contact as a "communication" under the FDCPA, and ruled there was no "partial surrender" of collateral in a Chapter 13 plan.
Posts published by “Keith Wier”
Keith Wier focuses his practice on the defense of individual and class action suits under state and federal consumer statutes, professional liability defense, and compliance issues for members of the collection industry. He has substantial experience defending collection agencies, law firms, debt buyers, and creditors in consumer litigation in Texas and is certified as a specialist in Consumer and Commercial Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization. His professional liability defense work includes defense of realtors, insurance agents and brokers, lawyers, and other professionals. Keith is a frequent lecturer and author on defense and compliance issues facing the legal malpractice, collection, credit, and debt buying industries and has taught at the University of Houston Law Center. For more information, see https://mauricewutscher.com/attorneys/keith-wier/
With a tip of the cap to Popeye the Sailor Man, the Third Circuit has decided that a purchaser of defaulted debt is a “debt collector” under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. A copy of the opinion in Tepper v. Amos Fin., LLC is available here: Link to Opinion. The borrowers, a husband and wife, had a home equity line of credit with a bank secured by a mortgage on their home. They made timely payments until receiving notice that the bank was closing. The bank was taken over by the FDIC and the loan was eventually sold to a…
A decision out of a district court in California continues the trend of holding appropriate interest rate disclosures to be within the bounds of the FDCPA and other consumer protection acts. In Pavlovich vs. Account Discovery Systems, LLC, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California found no violation of the FDCPA, the California Rosenthal Act or the California FDBPA for an interest charge disclosure attached within the agency’s initial correspondence. A copy of the opinion is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiff brought a putative class action suit alleging violations of the FDCPA and the Rosenthal Act against both…
In a split decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently decided that attorneys representing a condominium association did not violate the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by threatening non-judicial foreclosure on debt that was partially but not fully time barred. A copy of the opinion in Mahmoud v. De Moss Owners Ass’n Inc. is available at: Link to Opinion. The plaintiffs owned a condominium in Houston, Texas. They sued the condominium ownership, its management company and its collection lawyers concerning their efforts to collect assessments and other charges under the association’s declaration and related documents.…