Levins v. Health Care Recovery Group –
3d Cir. – August 22, 2018
Elaine and William Levins allege that
Healthcare Revenue Recovery Group LLC (“HRRG”) violated §§ 1692e(14), 1692d(6), and 1692e(10) of the
FDCPA by leaving telephone voice messages that did not use its true name, did
not meaningfully disclose its identity, and used false representations and
deceptive means to collect or attempt to collect a debt or obtain information
about a consumer.
In particular, the Levinses complain that
voicemail messages in which HRRG went by the name of “ARS” were insufficient to
identify it as HRRG or even as “ARS ACCOUNT RESOLUTION SERVICES,” which is an
alternative business name used by HRRG. HRRG moved to dismiss the complaint, as
amended, for failure to state a claim, and the District Court granted that
motion.
Held: the Levinses have
stated a plausible claim that HRRG violated § 1692e(14)’s “true name”
provision, but they have not stated plausible claims under §§ 1692d(6) or
1692e(10).
