FDCPA Violation

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7^th Circuit Court of Appeals

Case Name: Beth LaVallee v. Med-1 Solutions, LLC,

Case No.: 17-3244

Officials: WOOD, Chief Judge, and SYKES and HAMILTON, Circuit Judges.

Focus: FDCPA Violation

Debt collector Med-1 Solutions, LLC, attempted to recover two unpaid medical bills on behalf of Beth Lavallee’s healthcare provider. The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA” or “the Act”) required Med-1 to disclose certain information to Lavallee about her debts within a specific time frame. 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a). Med-1 could satisfy its § 1692g(a) disclosure obligations by including the required information in its “initial communication” with Lavallee or by sending “a written notice containing” the disclosures within five days after that “initial communication.” Id.

In March and April 2015, Med-1 sent Lavallee two emails, one for each debt. The emails contained hyperlinks to a Med-1 vendor’s web server. Once there, a visitor had to click through multiple screens to access and download a .pdf document containing the disclosures required by § 1692g(a). Lavallee never opened these emails. When the hospital called her in November to discuss a different medical debt, she learned about the earlier debts and was told that they had been referred to Med-1 for collection. She then called Med-1 to inquire about them, but the debt collector didn’t provide the required disclosures. Nor did it send a written notice within the next five days.

Lavallee sued Med-1 for violating § 1692g(a). She alleged that Med-1 never provided the statutory disclosures, either during the November phone call or within five days as required. Med-1 responded that its March and April emails were the “initial communication[s]” and argued that they contained the mandatory disclosures. A magistrate judge, presiding by consent, 28 U.S.C. § 636(c), granted Lavallee’s motion for summary judgment.

We affirm. Med-1 concedes its failure to send Lavallee a written notice within five days of her phone call. This appeal rests on Med-1’s contention that its emails were initial communications that contained the required disclosures. But the emails do not qualify under the Act’s definition of “communication” because they did not “convey[] … information regarding a debt.” 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(2). Nor did the emails “contain” the statutorily mandated disclosures. § 1692g(a). At most the emails provided a means to access the disclosures via a multistep online process. Because Med-1 violated § 1692g(a), the judge was right to enter judgment for Lavallee.

Affirmed

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Derek A Hawkins is trademark corporate counsel for Harley-Davidson. Hawkins oversees the prosecution and maintenance of the Harley-Davidson’s international trademark portfolio in emerging markets.