North Carolina Republican Walter Jones Jr. introduced a bill to the House of Representatives this past Holiday Season. It will likely be introduced to 113th Congress in the next session that begins January 10th, 2013.
This bill is called H.R.6706 — the Fair Debt Collection Practices Technical Correction Act of 2012.
The intent of this bill is to lessen the exposure that collection attorneys have to the FDCPA. The proposed law updates the definition of debt collector as follows:
…The term (debt collector) does not include –
(F) any law firm or licensed attorney–
(i) serving, filing, or conveying formal legal pleadings, discovery requests, or other documents pursuant to the applicable rules of civil procedure; or
(ii) communicating in, or at the direction of, a court of law or in depositions or settlement conferences, in connection with a pending legal action to collect a debt on behalf of a client; and…
Already exempt from the FDCA are original creditors, government employees among others.
It will be interesting to see if the Congress remembers who they work for.
Fight the Essential Fight, Boiler
Just consider this a Jobs Creation Bill because, if this bill passes, it will create thousands of jobs for attorneys. Exactly what this country needs, right?
I cant wait to hear Boilers reply to your comment. I know he has a deep concern about lawyers well being.
I think that this is bad news and that it will limit the number of people that are screwing you that you can sued.
Mitch and Ron,
As you know, I love lawyers! I am glad they arent flipping hamburgers.
I am also all about job creation.
I dont really think this will change much. We will just have to proceed a little differently. It will depend on the case law that follows.
Also remember this hasn’t passed yet.
Fight Your Good Fight, Boiler