Daily Digest

JUDGE PARTIALLY GRANTS MTD IN FDCPA CASE OVER INTEREST & FEES DISCLOSURE IN LETTER In what may be the most closely parsed sentence in any collection letter ever, a District Court judge in New York has partially granted and partially denied a defendant’s motion to dismiss after it was sued …

CFPB EXTENDS PROPOSED COLLECTION RULE COMMENT PERIOD Admitting it has received requests from representatives in both the financial services industry and consumer advocacies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced yesterday via a publication in the Federal Register that it will extend the comment period by 30 days for the Notice …

GETTING TO KNOW DANIEL DESATNICK OF THE ALLEN DANIEL ASSOCIATES Is collecting thicker than blood? It might be for Dan Desatnick. It took only two years after starting a collection agency with his then brother-in-law for Dan to buy out his partner, and he’s been running the show ever since. …

NEW PRO-INDUSTRY COMMENTS FILED ABOUT PROPOSED RULE; INDUSTRY GIANT IS LIKELY SOURCE A new type of form comment on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed debt collection rule popped up yesterday from representatives in the credit and collection industry, and this one is taking a much more aggressive approach. It …

ILLINOIS GOV. SIGNS BILL LOWERING POST-JUDGMENT INTEREST, COLLECTION PERIOD, INTO LAW J.B. Pritzker, the governor of Illinois, yesterday signed a bill into law that will reduce the amount of time and the amount of interest that can be collected on judgments, in an attempt to “give real relief” to individuals …

JUDGE DENIES MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION IN FDCPA CASE BECAUSE DEFENSE TOOK TOO LONG If there are certain defenses, such as compelling mandatory arbitration, that are available to defendants, they would be wise not to wait to use them, according to a ruling from a judge the District of New …

‘KINGPINS’ BARRED FROM INDUSTRY, TO PAY $60M IN FINES The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Attorney General of New York have reached a settlement with two individuals referred to as collection “kingpins” and a network of companies, with fines totaling $60 million and permanent bans from ever operating in …

GETTING TO KNOW JOSEPH MESSER OF MESSER STRICKLER Like many, Joseph Messer’s start in the credit and collection industry happened almost by accident. But it’s no accident that he’s been able to build a great legal career from that small favor he did for a friend nearly three decades ago. …

INDUSTRY GROUP JOINS ADVOCACIES IN SEEKING COMMENT PERIOD EXTENSION An industry trade association, in conjunction with two consumer advocacy groups, have filed a request for a 90-day extension to file comments related to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s proposed debt collection rule. This marks the first time that an organization …

SEVENTH CIRCUIT BREAKS FROM TWO OTHER COURTS, RULES PERCENTAGE-BASED FEES COVERED AS ‘COSTS’ UNDER FDCPA The Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit has upheld a lower court’s ruling that said a collection agency did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by charging a fee to an individual …