Summary:
After the Gatelys had filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy and provided written notice, Holly Hills Hospital sent the Debtors ten (10) billing statements and also threatening telephone calls for several weeks. As Mrs. Gately suffers from mental health issues (for which she had presumably received treatment from Holly Hills Hospital), these letters and telephone calls “informed the debtors that bankruptcy was futile” and caused Mrs. Gately to seek additional treatment.
Accordingly, the bankruptcy court found that Holly Hills Hospital had violated the automatic stay and awarded $8500 in sanctions, consisting of $1,000 in damages for the billing statements, $2500 for the telephone calls, $2500 in actual damages for additional medical treatment and $2500 in attorneys’ fees.
Commentary:
It would be interesting to hear from FDCPA/UDAP attorneys about what damages would likely have resulted had the case been brought under alternative consumer protection statutes, particularly if this had gone to a jury.
For a copy of the opinion, please see:
Gately- Stay Violation by Hospital.pdf
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