Representative Matters
Federal court of appeals affirms grant of summary judgment for Simmonds & Narita client
The United States Court of Appeals affirmed the district court’s grant of summary judgment for Simmonds & Narita’s client in an action arising under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The Court held that the an assertion in a state-court collection complaint filed by the firm’s debt collector client that an account was stated between it and the debtor was not a false, deceptive or misleading representation, and was not a material misrepresentation. The Court confirmed that California laws did not preclude the use of claims for account stated to collect an uncontested credit card debt. The Court also upheld the debt collector’s attempt to collect fees and interest that were included by the original creditor in the credit card debt, holding that the effort to collect these amounts was not unfair or unconscionable.