Federal Appeals Court: OK To Use 'FDCPA-Hammer' On Attorneys Hired For Mere Enforcement Of Security Interest Through Non-Judicial Foreclosure

From the law firm Burr & Forman, LLP:

• The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals released an opinion earlier this month that could give foreclosure lawyers cause for concern.
  
  
• In Reese v. Ellis, Painter, Ratterree & Adams, LLP, No. 10-14366, 2012 WL 1500108 (11th Cir. May 1, 2012), the Eleventh Circuit ruled that a foreclosure firm conducting a non-judicial foreclosure could be liable under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) for sending homeowners correspondence that includes false or misleading information.
  
  
• This decision may call into question the protection that foreclosure firms have enjoyed under existing case law holding that mere enforcement of a security interest through non-judicial foreclosure is not debt collection activity under the FDCPA.

For more, see FDCPA Case Alert: Reese v. Ellis, Painter, Ratterree & Adams, LLP.

For the ruling, see Reese v. Ellis, Painter, Ratterree & Adams, LLP, No. 10-14366, 2012 WL 1500108 (11th Cir. May 1, 2012).

Editor's Note: This case was brought as a putative class action.