Facts

Delia Aikens received a home equity loan from Panatte LLC for personal and family expenses. Panatte hired Malcolm Cisneros to collect the debt from Aikens that was allegedly in default. Cisneros sent Aikens correspondence stating there was an intent to foreclose and referenced an account number and property address. The notice requested payment of the $65,262.58 balance within 30 days of receipt of the notice and included a clause providing the option to contact Josh Ross at Panatte to discuss payment options and avoid foreclosure.

Panatte sent a letter informing Aikens that the notice was sent in error and it did not intend to foreclose on the property listed in the notice. Aikens then sued Cisneros in a class action for violating the Fair Collection Practices Act and the Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

PLAINTIFFS' CONTENTIONS: Plaintiffs contended that there was no default on the home equity loan defendant insisted on collecting. Plaintiffs also contended that defendant did not provide the proper disclosures required by the FDCPA to verify the debt. Plaintiffs further contended that defendant utilized false threats of foreclosure proceedings to attempt to extract payments. Plaintiffs also contended that defendant used deceptive and unfair means to attempt to collect debts and failed to provide the option of providing debtors with a statement of their account within 30 days of a written request.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied the contentions.

Result

The parties agreed to a $7,900 settlement.