Ronale Bea-Mone, III v. Steven D. Silverstein, Attorney at Law
Nov 13, 2018OUTCOME: Unanimous jury verdict in favor of Plaintiff
Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), a debt collector is required to provide an individual with specific information in its initial communication in connection with the collection of ... any debt. Plaintiff was a tenant who rented his premises from his landlord. Defendant was the attorney for the landlord. Plaintiff alleged that Defendant failed to provide him with all of the required information in the 3-day notice to pay rent or quit the premises that Plaintiff received from Defendant. The FDCPA also prohibits a debt collector from threatening to take any action that it does not intend to take. Plaintiff alleged that although Defendant threatened to report negatively on his credit report for nonpayment of the alleged debt, Defendant had no intention of doing so. Defendant denied the allegations that he violated the FDCPA and claimed that he did not make misleading statements nor communications to Plaintiff. Defendant also claimed that he is not a “debt collector” under the FDCPA. On November 13, 2018, a federal jury sitting in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California decided that Defendant IS a debt collector subject to the FDCPA. The jury further decided that Defendant’s 3-day notice to pay rent or quit the premises failed to comply with the FDCPA and awarded Plaintiff maximum statutory damages in the amount of $1,000.
