Manny Newburger and Kevin Crocker from the firm of Barron & Newburger published an article yesterday detailing an interesting ruling that could help debt collectors and debt buyers in instances where the individual being sued does not acknowledge the debt.
An individual filed suit against a debt buyer and its law firm for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. However, in an underlying lawsuit filed in state court in Wisconsin against the individual, he indicated he had no “knowledge of the credit agreement, and he denied that he had applied for the account on which he was sued.”
The court ruled it was the individual’s responsibility as the plaintiff to prove that the incurred debt was related to personal, family, or household purposes.
From the authors:
Burton’s failure to show that the debt at issue was incurred for personal, family, or household purposes resulted in summary judgment for the defendants, as he could not meet his burden of proof. While this decision will not affect cases in which plaintiffs acknowledge incurring the debts at issue, it certainly may impair the viability of suits brought by plaintiffs who refuse to remember or acknowledge incurring the debts at issue.
