Daily Digest – February 19. Judge Grants Summary Judgment in Favor of Plaintiff in FDCPA Letter Case; Emojis Showing Up More in Court Cases

The Daily Digest is sponsored by Microbilt. Designed to help debt collection professionals, MicroBilt’s platform of recovery and skip tracing tools provide quick, convenient, and current data that help you prioritize and successfully track people down and collect. Keep your skip tracing and debt recovery efficient and effective! Contact us to find out about our 90 Day Try Us Program. Call 800-884-4397 or visit www.microbilt.com.

JUDGE GRANTS SUMMARY JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF PLAINTIFF IN FDCPA LETTER CASE

• A federal judge in Pennsylvania has granted summary judgment in favor of a plaintiff who sued a collection agency, alleging that a letter sent by the defendant violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because it misleadingly indicated a dispute could be made by calling the defendant, even though the defendant used the statutory text related to disputes in the letter.

EMOJIS SHOWING UP MORE IN COURT CASES, FORCING JUDGES TO RULE ON WHAT THEY MEAN

• A good friend of mine who runs a collection agency sent me a link to a very interesting story last night, one which might not be impacting the credit and collection industry now, but likely soon will. There has been an exponential increase in the number of court cases involving emojis and emoticons and judges are being asked to rule about the intent and meaning of emojis in cases ranging from sexual predation to murder and robbery.

MASSACHUSETTS CONSIDERING PRIVACY LAW SIMILAR TO CALIFORNIA, NEW YORK

• A bill has been introduced in the Massachusetts Senate that would give consumers more control over their personal information, similar to legislation that was passed in California and has been proposed in New York.

COUNTY CANCELS CONTRACT WITH COLLECTION AGENCY

• A county in Mississippi is looking for a new collection agency partner, after complaints from staff about the current agency led to a parting of the ways.

WORTH NOTING: Bernie Sanders announced this morning that he is running for president again … Visitors to the Grand Canyon may have been exposed to uranium “for years” … A college lacrosse player hasn’t been allowed to play because he can’t find a helmet that fits him … Office theft is on the rise … How to compete for great employees … A snowstorm is on the way for most of the United States … The meaning behind the product names at IKEA … Sixteen states have filed suit against President Trump over his declaration of a national emergency … People want to give Lake Erie the same rights as people have … Some people are surprised they owe money to the IRS instead of getting a refund this year.

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The Daily Digest is sponsored by Microbilt. Designed to help debt collection professionals, MicroBilt’s platform of recovery and skip tracing tools provide quick, convenient, and current data that help you prioritize and successfully track people down and collect. Keep your skip tracing and debt recovery efficient and effective! Contact us to find out about our 90 Day Try Us Program. Call 800-884-4397 or visit www.microbilt.com.