Summary:
In an effort to collect $77.09 in homeowner’s association late fees, Elmore & Throop, P.C. were alleged to have, starting in 2016 and continuing over a period until at least 2018, taken actions against the Benders in violation of the FDCPA. When the Benders brought suit for these violations in April 2018, Elmore & Throop, P.C. argued that the one-year Statute of Limitations had commenced to run from the first violation and had now passed. The district court agreed and dismissed the case as time-barred.
The 4th Circuit, however, recognized that such a holding would “[n]o matter how frequent or abusive such collection efforts might become, the debtor would be left entirely without a remedy because the debtor did not timely pursue the first violation.” The clear statutory text of the FDCPA provides that each violation has its own Statute of Limitations.
Commentary:
The Supreme Court has held in Rotkiske v. Klemm, 140 S.Ct. 355 (2019), that the Statute of Limitations for the FDCPA commences with the actual date of the violation, not the date of discovery, which further supports that each violation runs separately.
For a copy of the opinion, please see:
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