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DISCLAIMER: This article is based on a complaint. The defendant has not responded to the complaint to present its side of the case. The claims mentioned are accusations and should be considered as such until and unless proven otherwise.
A collection law firm is facing claims it violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Regulation F because it threatened litigation it never intended to act on and for sending emails to the plaintiff that did not include opt out disclosures.
A copy of the complaint, filed in the District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, can be accessed by using case number 23-cv-14398 or by clicking here.
The Background: Back in 2021, the defendant, on behalf of its client, filed a collection lawsuit against the plaintiff. Four months later, the defendant filed a motion to dismiss the suit, which was granted. Then, in 2022, the defendant filed another lawsuit against the plaintiff. The plaintiff answered the suit and then nothing happened for four months until the defendant sent the plaintiff an email with an offer to settle the lawsuit. The email did not include an opt out disclosure, according to the complaint. The two sides engaged in negotiations via email, and none of the emails from the defendant included opt out disclosures. After negotiations broke down, the defendant informed the plaintiff that it was going to proceed with the lawsuit. Instead, four months later, it filed a motion to dismiss the second suit.
The Claims: The plaintiff is accusing the defendant of violating Sections 1692d, 1692e, and 1692f of the FDCPA by engaging in unfair or unconscionable means to collect on a debt, using false, deceptive, or misleading representations, and by filing “vexatious” lawsuits and threatening legal action when it did not intend to pursue that action in court.
