Williams v. Emergency Groups' Office CA2/2

FACTS

On December 30, 2004, Williams received medical services from Mission Viejo Emergency Medical Associates (Mission Viejo). On behalf of Mission Viejo, EGO sent Williams a bill for $281. Over the next couple of years, EGO sent Williams a plethora of statements. He sent EGO $5 a month even though EGO never agreed to piecemeal payment. In March 2007, the matter was referred to a collection agency. But before any collection activities took place, EGO removed the account from collection. Subsequently, it sent Williams monthly statements, the last of which was dated November 19, 2007.1 Williams filed a class action against EGO under the Act. He alleged, inter alia, that EGO acted unlawfully when it violated four provisions of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) that are incorporated into the Act (Civ. Code, § 1788.17).2 Specifically, he alleged: (1) on its notices, EGO failed to state, “This is an attempt to collect a debt and any information obtained will be used for that purpose” (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(11)); (2) it used false, misleading or deceptive representations in connection with debt collection (15 U.S.C. § 1692e(2) & (10)); (3) instead of using its

1 The…