Colorado House Bill 19-1089, introduced on Jan. 14, would amend the Colorado Revised Statutes dealing with property and earnings exemptions by adding a new definition for “medical debt,” which would mean “any obligation or alleged obligation of a person to pay money arising out of the provision of health care services as defined in section 10-16-102(33).” Under the legislation, “the earnings of an individual whose family income does not exceed four hundred percent of the current federal poverty guidelines, adjusted for family size, are not subject to garnishment or levy under execution of attachment if the writ is the result of…
Posts published by “Eric Rosenkoetter”
Eric Rosenkoetter is a principal at Maurice Wutscher LLP, and is focused on advising clients with respect to federal and state consumer financial protection laws and data privacy and security, and he is a Certified Information Privacy Professional though the International Association of Privacy Professionals. He also brings to the table experience as a litigator, chief compliance and ethics officer, director of legislative affairs, federal lobbyist, and administrative hearings officer. Eric earned his Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law, and his Bachelor of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University. He is a member of the International Association of Privacy Professionals, the Receivables Management Association International (RMAI), and ACA International. He is admitted to practice law in Texas and Missouri and in the U.S. District Courts for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of Texas. For more information, see https://mauricewutscher.com/attorneys/eric-rosenkoetter/
On Dec. 28, 2018, New York Senate Bill 3491 was signed into law and will become effective March 29, 2019. The legislation, in its final form, simply prohibits “principal creditors” and debt collection agencies from: (a) making any representation that a person is required to pay the debt of a family member in a way that contravenes the FDCPA; and (b) making any misrepresentation about the family member’s obligation to pay such debts. A “principal creditor” is defined under current law as “any person, firm, corporation or organization to whom a consumer claim is owed, due or asserted to be…
A debt collector sent a letter to a consumer stating: “We can’t change the past, but we can help with your future.” The letter contained three payment options that were described as “discounts,” though one was merely a payment plan for the full balance. The letter advised “[i]f you pay your full balance, we will report your account as Paid in Full. If you pay less than your full balance, we will report your account as Paid in Full for less than the full balance.” The consumer filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of…
On Aug. 22, the California legislature passed Assembly Bill 1526, relating to the collection of debt that is beyond the statute of limitations for bringing legal action. Since 2014, debt buyers collecting from California residents have been required by Cal Civ Code § 1788.52(d)(2) to provide one of two notices, as applicable, when a debt is “time-barred.” The new legislation creates the same requirement for debt collectors, making it a violation for a debt collector to send a collection letter to a consumer on a time-barred debt without providing the debtor with one of the following written notices, depending on…
On Aug. 14, Gov. Bruce Rauner signed into law the Illinois Career Preservation and Student Loan Repayment Act. The act moved through the legislature as Senate Bill 2439 and passed unanimously in the Senate and by a vote of 104-3 in the House. The act provides that Illinois government agencies and boards can no longer deny, refuse to renew, suspend, revoke or take any other disciplinary action related to a person’s professional or occupational license because of a delinquency or default on a student loan guaranteed by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission or any other Illinois state agency. The legislation…
In a recent decision, the Ohio Court of Appeals considered the question whether, for the purpose of determining the applicable statute of limitations, an unsigned credit card agreement constituted a written or oral contract. In Ohio, the statute of limitations is eight years for a written contract and six years for an oral contract. Ohio Rev. Code Ann. §§ 2305.06, 2305.07. A copy of the opinion in Unifund CCR Partners v. Piaser is available at: Link to Opinion. The Court noted that existing Ohio law was unclear on the written versus oral contract issue, and that previous decisions had determined…
In a case of first impression, the Arizona Supreme Court recently addressed the question of when the statute of limitations commences on credit card debt that is subject to an optional acceleration clause. A copy of the opinion in Mertola, LLC v. Santos is available at: Link to Opinion. The consumer obtained a credit card subject to an agreement that provided if he missed any payment the issuer could declare the balance “immediately due and payable.” The consumer missed a payment in February 2008, but subsequently made a $50 payment, which was less than the minimum payment due, in August 2008. No notice…
On July 27, Gov. Bruce Rauner approved an amendment to Illinois’ Student Loan Servicing Rights Act. The legislation, HB 4397, passed unanimously in both chambers and becomes effective Dec. 31, 2018. The legislation amends the definition of “student loan servicer” in the Student Loan Servicing Rights Act by excluding “a law firm or licensed attorney that is collecting post-default debt.” The Act already excluded licensed collection agencies collecting on post-default debt. The Student Loan Servicing Rights Act, which becomes effective on the same date, requires licensing of student loan servicers and includes a “Student Loan Bill of Rights” that imposes…
On June 28, the U.S. Supreme Court granted a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP that presents the question “whether the FDCPA applies to non-judicial foreclosure proceedings.” The borrower in the underlying case defaulted on his home loan and the mortgage servicer hired a law firm to pursue a non-judicial foreclosure. The borrower informed the law firm he was disputing the debt and the law firm, without responding to the dispute, proceeded with the non-judicial foreclosure. The borrower then filed a lawsuit against the mortgage servicer and law firm alleging, among other things,…
On June 28, California passed into law the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, which becomes operative on Jan. 1, 2020. As with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation, the Privacy Act gives consumers greater control over the use and sharing of their personal information. The Privacy Act allows a consumer to request that a business disclose: the categories and specific pieces of personal information that it collects about the consumer; the categories of sources from which that information is collected; the business purposes for collecting or selling the information; the categories of third parties with which the information is…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently affirmed a trial court’s denial of a mortgagor’s motion for remand because the non-diverse substitute foreclosure trustee was improperly joined in order to defeat diversity jurisdiction. The Fifth Circuit also affirmed the trial court’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the trustee and loan servicer because the foreclosure sale never took place, and therefore the mortgagor could not state a cause of action for wrongful foreclosure under Texas law. A copy of the opinion in Foster v. Deutsche Bank National Trust Co. is available at: Link to Opinion. The mortgagor…
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit recently confirmed that a claim of lack of receipt of a notice of default and intent to foreclose does not establish any defect in foreclosure proceedings, and that borrowers can be liable for attorney’s fees for bringing an action against a mortgage servicer under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. A copy of the opinion in LSR Consulting, LLC v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. is available at: Link to Opinion. The borrowers defaulted on loans on two properties. The mortgagee foreclosed on both, following which the borrowers assigned any alleged claims they had against…