Lawsuit: Florida Community Law Group Misled Debtor Regarding Dispute Rights, Amount Owed

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A proposed class action claims Florida Community Law Group, P.L. violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by serving a consumer with a lawsuit that misled the man as to his debt dispute rights and amount owed.

The notice was allegedly unclear as to whether the defendant was acting as a debt collector when it stated, in part (emphasis added):

"This law firm may be deemed a 'debt collector’ under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Any and all information obtained during the prosecution of this lawsuit may be used for all purposes of collecting a debt."

Further, the lawsuit apparently required the plaintiff to respond within 20 days of being served and gave no explanation as to the “apparent contradiction” between its deadline and the 30-day period during which the man had the option to dispute the debt.

The case goes on to take issue with the notice allegedly identifying the debt balance as “$3,290.97 exclusive of interest, costs, and attorney's fees.” By not listing the amounts of these additional charges, the case argues, the defendant failed to meaningfully convey how much money the plaintiff owed.