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Date: 02-15-2023
Case Style:
Sharon Baker v. Harris & Harris, Ltd.
Case Number: 1:23-CV-188
Judge: Jane Magnus-Stinson
Court: United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana (Marion County)
Plaintiff's Attorney:
The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
(15 USC 1692 et seq.), which became effective in
March 1978, was designed to eliminate abusive,
deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices. It
also protects reputable debt collectors from unfair
competition and encourages consistent state action
to protect consumers from abuses in debt
collection.
Coverage
Debt That Is Covered
The FDCPA applies only to the collection of debt
incurred by a consumer primarily for personal,
family, or household purposes. It does not apply to
the collection of corporate debt or debt owed for
business or agricultural purposes.
Debt Collectors That Are Covered
The FDCPA defines a debt collector as any person
who regularly collects, or attempts to collect,
consumer debts for another person or institution or
uses some name other than its own when collecting
its own consumer debts. The definition includes, for
example, an institution that regularly collects debts
for an unrelated institution, such as an institution
that, under a reciprocal service arrangement,
solicits the help of another in collecting a defaulted
debt from a customer who has moved.
Debt Collectors That Are Not Covered
An institution is not considered a debt collector
under the FDCPA when it collects
• Another institution’s debts in isolated instances
• Its own debts under its own name
• Debts it originated and then sold but continues to
service (for example, mortgage and student
loans)
• Debts that were not in default when they were
obtained
• Debts that were obtained as security for a
commercial credit transaction (for example,
accounts receivable financing)
• Debts incidental to a bona fide fiduciary relationship or escrow arrangement (for example, a debt
held in the institution’s trust department or
mortgage loan escrow for taxes and insurance)
Consumer Compliance Handbook FDCPA • 1 (1/06)
• Debts, regularly, for other institutions to which it is
related by common ownership or corporate
control
Other debt collectors that are not covered by the
FDCPA include
• Officers or employees of an institution who
collect debts owed to the institution in the
institution’s name
• Legal-process servers
Federal Reserve
Outcome: Settled and dismissed with prejudice.
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: