Skip to Content (Press Enter)

Skip to Nav (Press Enter)

Effective, Experienced, Exceptional.

Firm Profile

CEB Prac. Guide § 2A.63 -- Defenses -- Debtor's Conduct

Subscribe to Consumer Finance

Thank you for your desire to subscribe to Severson & Werson’s Consumer Finance Weblog. In order to subscribe, you must provide a valid name and e-mail address. This too will be retained on our server. When you push the “subscribe button”, we will send an electronic mail to the address that you provided asking you to confirm your subscription to our Weblog. By pushing the “subscribe button”, you represent and warrant that you are over the age of 18 years old, are the owner/authorized user of that e-mail address, and are entitled to receive e-mails at that address. Our weblog will retain your name and e-mail address on its server, or the server of its web host. However, we won’t share any of this information with anyone except the Firm’s employees and contractors, except under certain extraordinary circumstances described on our Privacy Policy and (About The Consumer Finance Blog/About the Appellate Tracker Weblog) Page. NOTICE AND AGREEMENT REGARDING E-MAILS AND CALLS/TEXT MESSAGES TO LAND-LINE AND WIRELESS TELEPHONES: By providing your contact information and confirming your subscription in response to the initial e-mail that we send you, you agree to receive e-mail messages from Severson & Werson from time-to-time and understand and agree that such messages are or may be sent by means of automated dialing technology. If you have your email forwarded to other electronic media, including text messages and cellular telephone by way of VoIP, internet, social media, or otherwise, you agree to receive my messages in that way. This may result in charges to you. Your agreement and consent also extend to any other agents, affiliates, or entities to whom our communications are forwarded. You agree that you will notify Severson & Werson in writing if you revoke this agreement and that your revocation will not be effective until you notify Severson & Werson in writing. You understand and agree that you will afford Severson & Werson a reasonable time to unsubscribe you from the website, that the ability to do so depends on Severson & Werson’s press of business and access to the weblog, and that you may still receive one or more emails or communications from weblog until we are able to unsubscribe you.

District Court (Ill.) Says Unclean Hands Not an Affirmative Defense to FDCPA 1692e(8) Claim Where the Debtor’s Attorney Allegedly Timed the Dispute Letter with the Collector’s Bi-Monthly Credit Reporting

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Francisco v. Midland Funding, LLC, No. 17 C 6872, 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 42349 (N.D. Ill. Mar. 15, 2019), Judge Lefkow held that unclean hands are not an affirmative defense to an FDCPA section 1692e(8) claim even where the debtor’s attorney allegedly timed the dispute letter to coincide with the debt collector’s bi-monthly credit reporting. Because the unclean hands defense… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Finds that Rule 68 Offer Did Not Moot FDCPA Class Claims; Denies Plaintiff’s Motion to Strike “Offset” and “Good Faith” Affirmative Defenses

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Jacobson v. Persolve, LLC, 2014 WL 4090809 (N.D.Cal. 2014), Judge Koh found an FDCPA class-action defendant’s Rule 68 offer to the class representative did not moot either the Action or the represenative’s ability to bring class claims. The Court agrees with Persolve that Plaintiff's Motion to Strike Persolve's Offer of Judgment is procedurally improper. Persolve's Offer of Judgment was… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Applies Iqbal/Twombly to FDCPA Affirmative Defenses; Says What Defenses Are Available

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Perez v. Gordon & Wong Law Group, P.C., 2012 WL 1029425 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Koh applied Iqbal/Twombly to a debt collector’s affirmative defenses, and addressed what affirmative defenses are available to an FDCPA/Rosenthal Act claim. Next, the parties dispute the scope of defenses available to Defendants under the FDCPA. Plaintiff argues that all of Defendants' affirmative defenses, except for… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Addresses ASFA, UCL Standing, and Rosenthal Act in NOI Post-Repossession Letter Cases

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Aho v. AmeriCredit Financial Services, Inc., 2012 WL 273780 (S.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Sabraw granted summary judgment to the Plaintiffs on their claims regarding post-repossession letters under Juarez.  As to the claim under the ASFA, Judge Sabraw held:   Accordingly, that the information may be available to the consumer does not relieve Defendant of its obligation to include that information… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Allows Debt Collector’s Counter-Claim for Debtor’s Surreptitious Recording of Telephone Calls

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Kuschner v. Nationwide Credit, Inc. 2009 WL 1531574 (E.D.Cal. 2009), Judge Karlton ruled on whether a debt collector could assert a counter-claim against an FDCPA plaintiff due to the Plaintiff’s surreptitious recording of telephone calls between the Plaintiff and the debt collector.  The Court had ruled that the debt collector should be allowed leave to file the counter-claim, and… Read More

9th Circuit Says Debt Collectors Can Tell Debtors to Notify Them of Debtor’s Location Changes

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Van v. Grant & Weber, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in an unpublished decision that including in collection letters certain location obligations permitted under the Rosenthal Act does not violate the FDCPA.  The Court of Appeals explained: Van argues that this statement is misleading because California Civil Code § 1788.21(b) requires such notification only in… Read More

Cal. Appellate Court Narrowly Construes Unclean Hands Defense Where Statute Violated Was Intended to Protect Consumers

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Mendoza v. Ruesga (2008) __ Cal.App.4th __, the Fourth District Court of Appeal declined to allow a defendant to assert an unclean hands defense to its purported violation of a consumer protection statute (in this case, California's Immigration Consultant's Act).  The Court of Appeal, relying on analogy under California's UCL, used sweeping language as to why an unclean hands… Read More