Louis Mendez was quoted in a New Jersey Law Journal article titled, After Reconsideration Brings Split Ruling on Privacy Claims, Collection Agencies Worry About What's Next, written by Charles Toutant.
The April 21, 2021 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit in Hunstein v. Preferred Collections & Management Services, which ruled unanimously that consumers may assert a claim under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for a debt collector's transmittal of the consumer's personal information to a third-party mail house. On October 28, 2021, after granting a motion for reconsideration, the Eleventh Circuit’s ruling is now a to a 2-1 decision, but nevertheless affirms that such claims by consumers are actionable under the FDCPA.
When asked about the ruling, Louis stated "The Eleventh Circuit is likely to hear the case en banc, given the split ruling." And although the Eleventh Circuit ruling is binding in only three states, Louis said he "thinks it's possible that someday it could be adopted in other jurisdictions. Therefore, the split ruling is cause for concern among collection agencies around the country." Louis went on to state "When a consumer files a claim now in whatever district court, it can cite to the Hunstein opinion to say this is an actionable claim. To the extent that this ruling could spread across the country, you're looking at a mushroom cloud of these kinds of cases. I think [collection agencies] need to be worried about it."
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