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District Court (Mo.) Denies Motion to Compel FDCPA/FCRA Plaintiff’s Settlement with Other Defendants Because Offset is Not An Affirmative Defense to Those Statutes

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Ringenbach v. DirecTV, LLC, No. 4:21 CV 1400 CDP, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 214026, at *2-4 (E.D. Mo. Nov. 29, 2022), Judge Perry denied a debt collector's motion to compel discovery of settlements with other co-defendants because she held that offset is not an affirmative defense under the FCRA/FDCPA. I.C. System's motions will be denied as it cites no… Read More

Court of Appeal (Cal.) Finds that Law Enforcement Need Not Prove that Target is a “Debt Collector” under the Rosenthal Act to Issue Subpoena to Determine Whether Target is Subject to the Rosenthal Act

by Scott J. Hyman |

In People v. Alorica Inc., 77 Cal. App. 5th 60, 62-63 (2022), the Court of Appeal affirmed the authority of a District Attorney to issue a subpoena to determine whether an entity was subject to the Rosenthal Act.  The basis of the dispute was as follows. According to the Riverside County District Attorney's Office, in January 2019, the district attorneys'… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Denies FDCPA Defendant’s Request for Plaintiff’s Tax Returns to Test Plaintiff’s Contention that Debt was a “Consumer” Debt

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Mrvich v. Midland Funding, LLC, 2017 WL 5999058, at *2–4 (S.D.Cal., 2017), Magistrate Judge Porter denied production of an FDCPA Plaintiff's tax returns to test whether the debt was consumer or commercial in nature. Defendant moves to compel production of Plaintiff's federal and state income tax returns for the years 2010 to 2012, and her federal and state income… Read More

District Court (Ind.) Allows Net Worth Discovery as Relevant towards $500,000 Cap and Class Certification

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Nall v. Allied Interstate, LLC, 2015 WL 6529233, at *1-2 (S.D.Ind. 2015), Judge Baker allowed net worth discovery in an FDCPA class action as relevant towards the propriety of class certification. The cases cited by Plaintiff support the requested discovery. See Green, 997 F.Supp.2d at 935–36 (finding net worth helpful in deciding class certification). Net worth is helpful in… Read More

District Court (N.Y.) Says, in Calculating FDCPA’s “Net Worth” Class Action Penalty, Defendant Need Not Create Audited Financial Statements Where There Are None; But, Plaintiff Need Not Accept Defendant’s Own Valuation of its Business

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Hallmark v. Cohen & Slamowitz, Midland Funding LLC, --- F.R.D. ----, 2014 WL 5017859 (W.D.N.Y. 2014), Judge Froschio did not require an FDCPA class action defendant to prepare audited financial statements where there were none, but, mere production of financial statements did not preclude plaintiff's inquiry into defendants raw data to allow Plaintiff to challenge defendant's valuation of its own business.… Read More

Magistrate Judge (Cal.) Orders Class Discovery from Debt Collector that was in Possession of its Collection Counsel in Rosenthal Act Case; Denies Discovery of Defendant’s Net Worth Due to Defendant’s Stipulation that Net Worth Exceeded 1% of Rosenthal Act $500,000 Penalty Cap

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Hill v. Asset Acceptance, LLC, 2014 WL 3014945 (S.D.Cal. 2014), Magistrate Judge Major granted in part and denied in part Rosenthal Act discovery in a class action, some rulings for which are highlighted below. The facts were as follows: Plaintiff seeks actual damages, statutory damages, attorneys fees, and costs for the alleged violations. Id. at 9. The alleged violations… Read More

District Court (Ind.) Denies FDCPA Plaintiff’s Pre-Certification Request for Putative Classmembers’ Identity

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Swelnis v. Universal Fidelity L.P., 2014 WL 1571323 (N.D.Ind. 2014), Judge Cherry addressed discovery in an FDCPA class action.  First, Judge Cherry required disclosure of “Training Materials”: Plaintiff's Interrogatory No. 9 and Document Request Nos. 4–6, 8, and 11 each seek infor-mation—specifically: training manuals and other relevant documents—that relate to Defendants' Af-firmative Defense of bona fide error. Defendants objected… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Orders Limited Production of Phone Bills by Defendant in TCPA/FDCPA Case

by Scott J. Hyman |

In De La Torre v. Legal Recovery Law Office, 2014 WL 1279738 (S.D.Cal. 2014), Magistrate Judge Bartick ordered defendant to produce phone bills, but only for the time relevant in the Complaint and redacted to exclude calls made to parties other than the Plaintiff. Here, the Court concludes Defendant's phone bills are only relevant to the extent they contain evidence… Read More

District Court (Colo.) Orders Discovery of FDCPA Defendant’s Communications with Consumer Reporting Agencies Even Though No FCRA Claims Pleaded

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Miranda v. Integrity Solution Services, Inc., 2014 WL 519239 (D.Colo. 2014), Magistrate Judge Mix ordered discovery of communications between the debt collector and consumer reporting agencies about the debtor’s debt even though no credit reporting allegations were pleaded.  Judge Mix framed the issue as follows: The discovery requests at issue seek information and documents that Defendant provided to the… Read More

District Court (Mass.) Orders Production of FDCPA Manuals

by Scott J. Hyman |

In Devlin v. Law Offices of Howard Lee Schiff, P.C., 2013 WL 1459195 (D.Mass. 2013), Judge Dein ordered production of FDCPA manuals. The defendant shall produce any manuals concerning debt collection that it uses for general training purposes, as well any specific handouts or materials that it uses for purposes of compliance with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”)… Read More

District Court (Cal.) Allows FDCPA Discovery Against US Government Attempting to Collect Student Loans; Rejects Government’s Claim of Undue Burden

by Scott J. Hyman |

In U.S. v. Warner, 2012 WL 6087193 (N.D.Cal. 2012), Judge Beeler ordered the Government to produce FDCPA compliance information with regard to its efforts to collect on student loans from an in-pro-per attorney. So, are his discovery requests relevant to them? Yes. As noted above, Mr. Warner essentially seeks all communications between him and the Department (and its agents) and… Read More