By: Derek Hawkins//November 25, 2015//
Civil
7th Circuit Court of Appeals
Officials: EASTERBROOK, MANION, and WILLIAMS, Circuit Judges.
Creditor/Debtor – Debt Collection
14-1329 Gregory Leeb v. Nationwide Credit Corporation
Debt collector failure to cease collection activities after debt disputed by appellant amounted to violation of FDCPA.
“To be sure, Leeb did not believe that he owed the debt. But that does not strip him of § 1692g(b)’s protection. To the contrary, § 1692g(b) specifically protects debtors like Leeb, who could be pressured by persistent collection efforts to pay debts that are not actually owed. It is also true that Nationwide sent its letter in response to Leeb’s demand for an acknowledgement of his dispute. But Leeb did not demand a letter “from a debt collector attempting to collect a debt,” stating his “balance” and instructing him to send payment. We conclude that, when the content and context are analyzed objectively, Nationwide’s January 5 letter was an at- tempt to collect a debt, so Nationwide failed to “cease collection,” thereby violating § 1692g(b).”
Affirmed.