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I had an attorney tell me that the maximum penalty a person can sue a CA for over FDCPA violations is up to $1000.00 TOTAL. he said it doesnt matter if they break the law once or a hundred different ways--that you can only sue for up to $1000.00 total.

My interpretation was that you could sue for up to $1000.00 for each unique violation. For example, if they ignored a DV request while continuing collection efforts, that is one violation. If they continue calling your parents and harassing them even after thay have located you, thats another. If they threatened to have you arrested for bank fraud for not paying a debt, thats a third. I knew that if they called you a dozen times at 6 in the morning, that you couldnt sue them over that for $12,000.00--but unique violations, as far as I thought, cound be added up.

Who here knows the answer to this? Has anyone spoken to an attorney about their own cases, like frogpatch, maybe? I need to get some kind of clarification on this that I can show to this lawyer. Any help would be appreciated!

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:40 pm Subject:

Hi there sky, I'm going to see an Attorney tomorrow, I'll be sure and ask him that question. I wonder if Frogpatch can answer this also.

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:42 pm Subject:

thanks shaz--I really need to get this one answered. The attorney told me that based on the specific wording of the law, anyone who violates the law is subject to a penalty of up to $1000 in statutory damages. He is claiming that this means that no matter how many times or ways they violate it, that it is only 1 penalty.

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 3:45 pm Subject:

Well, I hope your Attorney is mistaken, it would hardly be worth any Attorney's effort to work on a contingency basis unless a person had a whole cart load of debt collectors after them. Confused

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 5:13 pm Subject:

actually one of them is $1000 total and one is $1000 per violation....there is FCRA and FDCPA, I just can't recall which is which.

Guest · Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 6:34 pm Subject:

I recall seeing a case where someone sued LVNV Funding and had about 15 FDCPA violations and only claimed $1,000. Under the FCRA there where 6 violations and he claimed $6,000.

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 8:03 pm Subject:

It is $1,000 total for FDCPA, and $1,000 per violation for FCRA. However that is the limit for statutory damages, punitive damages however are a different story.

Posted: Tue Apr 22, 2008 9:24 pm Subject:

How do you even come up with punitive damages? I just scratch my head on that one. What is reasonable? How would you even calculate something like that?

Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 5:10 am Subject:

It's not easy to convince a judge about the "punitive" damages.

Several years ago I loaned my boss $2000 and he would not pay it back. When I finally sued him, I sued him for $2000 + 2 days of lost wages (I had to take off work to sue him).

{Interestingly, Judge Joe Brown and Judge Hatchett TV producers both sent me letters wanting us to go be on their show - they were ready to fly me and my boss out to California. But my boss didn't want to look like an idiot on TV so he refused.}

Anyway, when it came before the judge, he asked me what this "extra" is, and I explained that I was losing even more money by having to take time off work to sue my boss, and he should pay for that. The judge just laughed a little and said "sorry, it doesn't work like that", and he only gave me a $2000 judgment.

Posted: Wed Apr 23, 2008 7:29 am Subject:

Punitive damages can be actual costs incurred by you such as attorney fees etc. It could also include pain and suffering and/or mental anguish if applicable. Such as the woman who won $147,000 against a collection agency who threatened to take her kids from her "since she was such a deadbeat mother" she received $1,000 in statutory damages for the FDCPA violation but since the judge believed that she believed the CA's lie the judge awarded their punitive damages. It really comes down to the judges decision. You can request whatever you like in punitive damages, they judge may approve it for the full amount, reduce the amount, or deny punitive damages altogether.

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OK, what is the answer? A CA that violates the FDCPA....

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