Diaz v. Kubler Corp., No. 14-55235 (9th Cir. 2015)
Annotate this CasePlaintiff filed suit against defendant, a debt collector, alleging that by sending a collection letter that sought ten percent interest on a debt, defendant violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), 15 U.S.C. 1692(f)(1) and thereby violated California's Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the Rosenthal Act), Cal. Civ. Code 1788-1788.33. The district court granted summary judgment in favor of plaintiff. The court reversed and remanded, concluding that defendant's debt collection letter did not violate the FDCPA or the Rosenthal Act where the district court's grant of summary judgment was based on an incorrect reading of California Civil Code section 3287. The court concluded that section 3287(a) can entitle a creditor to prejudgment interest on a debt that is certain or capable of being made certain even without a prior judgment.
Court Description: Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Reversing the district court’s summary judgment and remanding, the panel held that a collection letter seeking ten percent interest on a debt did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or California’s Rosenthal Act. The panel held that the letter did not violate 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1), and thus did not violate the Rosenthal Act, because the amount sought was authorized by California state law, which allows recovery of prejudgment interest on a debt that is certain or capable of being made certain, even if a judgment has not yet been obtained.
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