Yesterday, the First Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s ruling that slashed a request for legal fees sought by counsel representing plaintiffs in a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act matter. The FDCPA allows attorney fees on successful claims, and the plaintiffs in this case were successful, but for a variety of reasons, attorneys fee award ended up being a little more than 10% of what was sought. The case should serve as a wake-up call for consumers, attorneys and Congress.
The plaintiffs, a married couple, sued Corporate Receivables, Inc. and one of its employees for abusive debt collection practices (the husband owed the debt). They took their case to a jury and presumably did so with the hopes of getting a significant award of actual damages.
