Filing a collection lawsuit without including all the proper documentation and then voluntarily dismissing the suit is not a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a District Court judge in Illinois has ruled, granting the defendant’s motion to dismiss.
The Background: The plaintiff was issued a debt consolidation loan and failed to make a single payment on it. Four years later, one of the defendants filed a collection lawsuit on behalf of the other defendant, which had purchased the debt from the original creditor. After the plaintiff responded to the collection lawsuit, the defendants then voluntarily dismissed the matter.
- The plaintiff then filed her suit against the defendants in Illinois state court, alleging they violated the FDCPA because they knew they could not win their collection suit since they failed to attach admissible evidence to their initial filing. This strategy, the plaintiff claimed, is part of a broader scheme by the defendants, who file collection lawsuits and then dismiss them if they are unable to obtain a default judgment.
- The defendants removed the case to federal court and filed the motion to dismiss, on the grounds the plaintiff failed to state a claim.
The Ruling: Having failed to identify which subsections of 1682e and 1692f that the defendants violated, it was up to Judge Harrry D. Leinenweber of the District Court for the Northern District for Illinois to figure out.
- Ultimately, Judge Leinenweber noted that multiple courts have ruled that it is not a violation of the FDCPA to file a collection lawsuit without the immediate means of proving the debt because a defendant is entitled to request more information or details about a claim.
- Regarding the claim that this strategy was part of a broader scheme, the judge pointed out that “it is undisputed that Illinois law permits a plaintiff an absolute right to dismissal without prejudice, for any reason or no reason, any time before trial.”
