9th Cir. Says FDCPA Plaintiff Need Not Have Received Collection Letter in Order to Sue

In Tourgeman v. Collins Fin. Serv., Inc. (9th Cir. 2014) 2014 DAR 8247, here, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held, following Robins v. Spokeo, Inc. (9th Cir. 2014) 742 F.3d 409 and other similar cases, that, in general, a plaintiff may establish Article III standing by showing only that the defendant has violated some right or protection granted the plaintiff by federal statute, and without proof that the plaintiff thereby suffered any pecuniary or emotional harm.  In this case, plaintiff alleged an FDCPA claim based on misstatements in collection letters that he never received because he did not reside at the addresses to which the letters were sent.  He had both Article III and statutory standing under the FDCPA to sue based on the misstatements he never received since the FDCPA is intended to curb collection abuses whether or not they cause harm.  Here, the collection letters violated the FDCPA because they misidentified the original creditor–a piece of information which the opinion concludes is material to a debtor in deciding how to respond to a collection attempt.