Burr & Forman Partner and Commercial Litigation Attorney Nick Agnello’s article “Devil's In The Details On FDCPA, Article III Standing” was published on May 15, 2024, in Law360’s Expert Analysis section and distributed across multiple newsletters.

The article discussed the use of outside vendors for mailing communications related to debt collection and its implications for the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Some plaintiffs have argued that using outside vendors for mailing communications to attempt to collect a debt violates the FDCPA, while others have disagreed.

The article highlighted a specific case, Barclift v. Keystone Credit Services LLC, where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit affirmed the dismissal of a class action alleging FDCPA violations. The court emphasized the need for a concrete injury-in-fact as a necessary precondition for standing to sue, referencing the U.S. Supreme Court's 2021 decision in TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez.

The article also discussed different interpretations of the TransUnion decision by various federal courts of appeal, noting the divergent approaches taken to determine whether the harm alleged in response to a statutory violation is sufficient to constitute a concrete injury in fact.

“A concrete injury-in-fact is a necessary precondition for standing to sue, as set forth in the case law interpreting Article III of the U.S. Constitution and its jurisdictional requirement of a case and controversy,” Agnello explained.

As the article further reviewed the complexities surrounding the use of mailing vendors during debt collection and the evolving legal landscape regarding FDCPA violations and Article III standing, Agnello concluded that “the issue of Article III standing in consumer protection cases is unlikely to go away anytime soon. While the Barclift decision examined the case law on Article III standing in the context of the FDCPA, the issue is also alive and well with respect to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, and other statutes necessitating decisions from the Supreme Court and the federal circuit courts of appeal.”

For the full article, please click here.