Dist.Ct. did not err in granting defendant’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiffs’ action alleging that defendant violated Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by placing on plaintiffs’ front door hanger that contained message for plaintiffs to call “Green Tree” that had serviced mortgage loan on which plaintiffs had defaulted. Defendant, which had contracted with Green Tree to perform lawn maintenance and winterizing services, had placed hanger on plaintiffs’ door as part of Green Tree’s compliance with HUD requirement to determine whether plaintiffs had vacated property. As such, defendant was not “debt collector” as defined under FDCPA, since its actions were too attenuated from Green Tree’s own debt collection services, especially where defendant did not know how much plaintiffs owed Green Tree, and message on hanger did not claim that plaintiffs owed anything to Green Tree. Ct. further noted that defendant’s principal purpose was not debt collection given its property maintenance duties that it usually performed for Green Tree, that defendant was not compensated based on whether plaintiffs had contacted Green Tree, and that defendant’s efforts to re-establish communication between plaintiffs and Green Tree did not implicate specific concerns set forth in FDCPA.
