Michael Davis v. Hollins Law

Hollins Law, a law firm and debt collection agency, is subject to the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), which among other things requires debt collectors “to disclose in subsequent communications that the communication is from a debt collector.” 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(ll). Today we hold that if a subsequent communication is sufficient to disclose to the least sophisticated debtor that the communication was from a debt collector, there is no violation of § 1692e(ll) even if the debt collector did not expressly state, “this communication is from a debt collector.” Accordingly, Hollins Law did not violate § 1692e(ll) here.

I

We begin by describing the legal background. The FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692 -1692p, comprehensively regulates debt collectors. Tourgeman v. Collins Financial Servs., Inc., 755 F.3d 1109, 1119 (9th Cir. 2014). Its remedial purpose is to prevent debt collection actions that frustrate consumers’ ability to chart a course of action in response to a collection effort. See Donohue v. Quick Collect, Inc., 592 F.3d 1027, 1034 (9th Cir. 2010). Section 1692e precludes a debt collector from using “any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in…