Hamid v. Stock & Grimes, LLP - ED Pa. July 9, 2012
http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/12D0655P.pdf
Money paid by plaintiff/consumer after defendant/collector filed lawsuit barred by applicable statute of limitations is properly recoverable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
It is clear from its underlying purpose that debtors may recover for violations of the FDCPA even if they have defaulted on a debt. It follows that debtors may recover the amount paid to settle a debt, if the debt collector violated the FDCPA in making the collection, as occurred here. Hamid paid some or all of the money she owed to Discover Bank only as a result of the untimely lawsuit filed by S&G on behalf of the Bank. If her payment was not a proper element of actual damages under the FDCPA, a debt collector could harass a debtor in violation of the FDCPA, as a result of that harassment collect the debt, and thereafter retain what it collected. We do not believe that Congress intended this result.
Other good language
[T]here is universal agreement among scholars, law enforcement officials, and even debt collectors that the number of persons who willfully refuse to pay debts is minuscule.'" Id. at 165-66 (quoting S. Rep. No. 93-382, at 2 (1977), reprinted in 1977 U.S.C.C.A.N. at 1696)). The court further stated that "Congress recognized that 'the vast majority of consumers who obtain credit fully intend to repay their debts. When default occurs, it is nearly always due to an unforeseen event such as unemployment, overextension, serious illness or marital difficulties or divorce.'" Id.
