Ross v. Financial Asset Management Systems, Inc.

Dist. Ct. did not err in granting defendant-debt collector’s motion for summary judgment in plaintiff-wife of debtor’s action, under Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), alleging that defendant repeatedly called plaintiff’s phone after debtor had sent email challenging validity of debt, and after plaintiff had told defendant that she was not responsible for debtor’s debt. Defendant was entitled to invoke bona fide error defense under section 1692k(c) of FDCPA, where: (1) debtor sent email challenging validity of debt to defendant’s CEO, which was not mentioned as suitable method to inform defendant of debtor’s challenge to validity of debt; (2) had debtor properly submitted his dispute via methods set forth in letter sent to debtor, defendant could have followed its policy and practice of stopping all collection activity until debt was validated; and (3) collector at defendant had failed to properly code plaintiff’s phone number on its do-not-call list to prevent plaintiff from receiving future calls. Ct. further found that defendant maintained procedures reasonably adapted to avoid error, and that fact that human error was cause of instant failure to place plaintiff’s phone on do-not-call list, which, in urn, resulted in plaintiff receiving series of telephone calls, did not require different result.