Consumer Protection — WCA

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United States Court of Appeals For the Seventh Circuit

Civil

Consumer Protection — WCA

Even though a credit card could only be used at the defendant’s business, the defendant itself is not a creditor liable under the Wisconsin Consumer Act.

“[A]s the district court stated, the debt in question is ultimately ‘owed to Citibank, not to Home Depot— which did not extend any credit to [the Parents] itself.’”

“In response, the Parents argued that Home Depot necessarily had a direct monetary interest in Citibank’s recovery of the original $9,761.64 debt because of their reliance on Citibank to be paid for the sale of merchandise, specifically the log cabin materials. So, the Parents claim any interactions between Home Depot and the Parents qualified as an attempt to collect its debt. But whether or not Home Depot relied on Citibank to get paid for their sales is irrelevant; the Parents failed to present any competent evidence that Home Depot attempted to collect a debt from them. Without such evidence, a reasonable jury could not conclude that Home Depot violated the Wisconsin Consumer Act.”

Affirmed.

11-3665 Parent v. Home Depot U.S.A., Inc.

Appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Griesbach, J., Bauer, J.