U.S. top court won't expand debt-collection abuse law in Santander case

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to widen the reach of a federal law targeting abusive debt-collection tactics such as harassment and threats, ruling it does not cover companies that buy debt, sometimes for pennies on the dollar, and then collect it.

The justices, in a 9-0 ruling, upheld a lower court's dismissal of a proposed consumer class action lawsuit against Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc over allegations it violated a law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

The ruling was the first authored by the court's newest justice, President Donald Trump's appointee Neil Gorsuch, who wrote that any changes to the law should come from the U.S. Congress, not the court.

The law applies only to companies that collect money on behalf of others, not businesses like Santander that collect debt bought from other companies after it fell into default, the justices ruled.

[font size=1]-snip-[/font]


Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-court-debt-idUSKBN1931NA

---

SUPREME COURT | Mon Jun 12, 2017 | 11:19am EDT
By Andrew Chung | WASHINGTON

[bitterross]

1. 9-0, The law must be pretty clearly written.

If all of the "liberal" justices signed on the law must be clear and easily understood.

However, that has never stopped the right-wing justices from contorting a law to the purpose of businesses even when it was clearly written. They still do it all the time. It is known as 5-4 decision.

[benfranklin1776]

2. Another law to rewrite when we take back Congress to make it clear it applies to purchasers

No reason they should be exempt from basic rules of decency which is what this law seeks to uphold.

[Justice]

3. So if Santander and B of A swamp their consumer debt with each other - do they escape FDCPA