Monthly Archives: May 2018

Webinar to Discuss Active, Passive Debt Buyers and Which Are Subject to FDCPA

May 22, 2018 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Donald Maurice will be among a panel of speakers, including an attorney with the Federal Trade Commission, that will discuss how the 2017 Supreme Court case Henson v. Santander is impacting debt buyers during an RMA International webinar tomorrow at noon ET.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Henson v. Santander held that not all entities that purchase defaulted debt are subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Although Santander addressed the issue in the context of a national bank, the decision fueled discussion (and several cases) raising the possibility that certain debt buying companies may not be subject to the FDCPA. The panelists will discuss what kind of entities those might be and how they would be structured.

For more information and to register for “The Debt Buyer Identity Crisis: Active, Passive or Something Different?” click here.

Maurice Wutscher’s Eric Rosenkoetter Profiled by AccountsRecovery.net

May 17, 2018 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Eric Rosenkoetter has been profiled by AccountsRecovery.net, which also produces Mr. Rosenkoetter’s podcast, co-hosted with Maurice Wutscher’s Brent Yarborough.

The light-hearted interview discusses everything from his “career highlight” to what Mr. Rosenkoetter thinks he would be doing if he wasn’t involved with law and the financial services industry.

To read the full interview, visit AccountsRecovery.net by clicking here.

“The Least Sophisticated Podcast,” named as a nod to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act’s least sophisticated consumer provisions, has released seven episodes so far.

The latest, “The Petition to Reshape the TCPA,” examines a recent petition submitted by trade groups to the Federal Communications Commission to address the Telephone Consumer Protection Act following the D.C. Circuit’s recent ruling in ACA International v. FCC, et al. on the FCC’s 2015 TCPA order.

The podcast can be accessed for free on iTunes and Google Play or by clicking here.

Mr. Rosenkoetter focuses his practice on various aspects of financial services law, including compliance and litigation.

Maurice Wutscher’s Donald Maurice Authors Articles for RMA Insights

May 16, 2018 — Maurice Wutscher attorney Donald Maurice discusses the Telephone Consumer Protection Act as well as a favorable ruling for the debt buying industry in two articles for the spring issue of RMA Insights.

In “DC Circuit Dials Back on FCC’s Broadening of TCPA,” Mr. Maurice discusses the D.C. Circuit’s recent ruling in ACA International v. FCC, et al. on the Federal Communications Commission’s 2015 TCPA order, which, he writes, “created uncertainty and confusion that only multiplied risk and offered little in the way of guidance to companies seeking to comply with the federal law .

Mr. Maurice writes that remarks made by current FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai after the ruling noting that “the 2015 order was overreaching and unlawfully expanded the scope of TCPA risk . . . hopefully reflect that any TCPA rulemaking under Commissioner Pai will provide needed clarity and guidance and put to an end the disturbingly ambiguous guidance that has plagued the TCPA for too long.”

In “Massachusetts Court Rules in Favor of Passive Debt Buyers,” Mr. Maurice explains a recent holding by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in Dorrian v. LVNV Funding, LLC that passive debt buyers are not required to obtain a state license when all aspects of debt collection activities are handled by a third party.

The ruling was a win for the debt buying industry. It was bolstered by an amicus brief filed by RMA International on behalf of LVNV, supporting the company’s appeal seeking reversal of the lower court’s decision.

In the brief, which was written by Maurice Wutscher attorneys including Mr. Maurice, RMA noted its long-standing work with the Massachusetts Division of Banks and Attorney General concerning the regulation of debt buyers.

Mr. Maurice serves as outside counsel to RMA in addition to representing financial institutions nationwide.

RMA Insights is published by RMA International and is available to members only. For more information, click here.