A plaintiff is going to have to work hard to demonstrate that she was involved in filing a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case against a collection operation and that she had a valid basis for the claims, according to the ruling from a New Jersey judge. The judge declined to sanction the plaintiff’s counsel, ruling the section of the FDCPA that allows for a court to award a defendant attorney’s fees only applies to the parties of a lawsuit and not against their counsel or former counsel.
The Background: The plaintiff filed this lawsuit through a law firm that was acting as local counsel for Credit Repair Lawyers of America back in 2021. The complaint alleged the defendant violated Section 1692e(2)(A) of the FDCPA by reporting credit information known to be false when it reported the information was disputed even after the plaintiff no longer disputed the debt.
- It’s at this point in the proceedings where the plaintiff becomes basically unreachable. The defendant attempted to depose the plaintiff, but were largely rebuffed. The law firm that was representing her attempted to withdraw as counsel, saying there was a breakdown in communication with the plaintiff.
- The judge then got involved and scheduled an in-person hearing at which the plaintiff failed to appear.
- The complaint was subsequently dismissed and the defendant moved for an order granting attorney’s fees.
The Ruling: Section 1692k(a)(3) of the FDCPA says that attorney’s fees can be awarded if a suit was brought in bad faith or for the purpose of harassment. But looking at how other courts have ruled, Judge Joseph H. Rodriguez of the District Court for the District of New Jersey declined to hold the attorney’s liable.
- “The Court is unable to identify any decision from this District imposing such sanctions for counsel’s behavior as opposed to a plaintiff’s,” the judge wrote.
- But for the plaintiff, that is a different story. The defendant should be allowed to discover how involved the plaintiff was in the action, Judge Rodriguez ruled, and granted the defendant’s motion in part.
