4th Circuit: Smith v. EVB- Determination of whether a Debt is a Consumer Debt under the FDCPA‏

As the  FDCPA is concerned “with the substance of the transaction as opposed to the form”,  the 4th Circuit held that even assuming that the original 2004 debt was  a commercial loan, the later 2006 debt,  used to satisfy the original obligation,  was a consumer loan as it concerned the Plaintiff's personal finances, his personal residence, and was taken out in his own name. This case may also have value in determining whether a debtor "debts are primarily consumer debts"  under  11 U.S.C. § 707(b). Smith v. EVB & Berkeley.PDF