The House Financial Services Committee yesterday passed H.R. 5082, the Practice of Law Technical Clarification Act of 2018, which would exclude lawyers and law firms from being defined as a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The bill was passed by a vote of 35-25 and now advances to the full House of Representatives for consideration.
Along with excluding lawyers and law firms engaged in legal proceedings from being defined as debt collectors, the bill would also prohibit the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau from enforcing or supervising attorneys when “undertaking certain actions related to legal proceedings.”
The bill, if passed, would amend the FDCPA to add the following language into the section of the bill that details the types of individuals and institutions that are not part of how the law defines a “debt collector.”
- Any law firm or licensed attorney, to the extent that
- (i) such firm or attorney is engaged in litigation activities in connection with a legal action in a court of law to collect a debt on behalf of a client, including
- serving, filing, or conveying formal legal pleadings, discovery re- quests, or other documents pursuant to the applicable statute or rules of civil procedure;
- communicating in, or at the direction of, a court of law (including in depositions or settlement conferences) or in the enforcement of a judgment; or
- any other activities en- gaged in as part of the practice of law, under the laws of a State in which the attorney is licensed, that re- late to the legal action; and
- (ii) such legal action is served on the defendant debtor, or service is attempted, in accordance with the applicable statute or rules of civil procedure; and
- (i) such firm or attorney is engaged in litigation activities in connection with a legal action in a court of law to collect a debt on behalf of a client, including
The bill was originally scheduled to be voted on by the House Financial Services Committee back in January, but some technical and administrative issues caused the delay. The bill was actually re-introduced in February. It is sponsored by Rep. Alex Mooney [R-W.V.] and Rep. Vincente Gonzalez [R-Texas], who are both members of the House Financial Services Committee.
“The National Creditors Bar Association is pleased that this important piece of legislation has been reported out of the House Financial Services Committee,” said Yale Levy, president of the National Creditors Bar Association. “The National Creditors Bar Association looks forward to working with both Democrats and Republicans to ensure that H.R. 5082 is passed by the full House.”
