A District Court judge in Mississippi has granted a defendant’s motion to dismiss a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case after it was sued by a plaintiff representing himself, claiming the defendant violated the statute because it was attempting to collect a debt that was not owed to that company and because it was allegedly illegal to furnish information about the account to the credit reporting agencies without the plaintiff’s consent.
The Background: The plaintiff filed suit, and included two letters he sent to the defendant as evidence for his claims. One letter stated that the defendant had no proof of ownership of the underlying debt and that because there was no signed agreement between the two parties, there was no basis for attempting to collect on the debt.
- In the second letter, the plaintiff demanded that the defendant cease and desist all collection activities and other claims about attempting to collect or furnish without the plaintiff’s permission. The plaintiff also included an invoice for $9,000 for the alleged violations and demanded payment within 10 days.
- The defendant’s letter to the plaintiff indicated that it was attempting to collect on a debt and included the amount and identified the original creditor.
- The defendant sought a motion to dismiss on the grounds that the plaintiff offered nothing more than unsupported assertions and conjecture in support of his claims.
The Ruling: Judge Michael P. Mills of the District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi makes short work of the plaintiff’s arguments in his ruling, noting that the plaintiff never alleges the defendant is a debt collector nor does he assert the debt is consumer related. Even is he had, Judge Mills notes, the claims would still fail because none of the allegations had anything to do with conduct prohibited by the FDCPA.
