U.S. District Court in New York Grants Debt Collector Motion to Certify Important FDCPA Issue for Interlocutory Appeal

In an Order dated May 5, 2016 a Federal Judge in New York has determined that a decision he rendered in the matter of Halberstam v. Global Credit and Collection Corp. (U.S. District Court, ED, NY, 15-cv-5696 (BMC) earlier this year should be certified for an immediate interlocutory appeal. (Editor’s Note: Interlocutory actions are certified by courts when an issue presents a question of law that should be answered by an appellate court before a trial may proceed or to prevent irreparable harm from occurring to a person or property during the pendency of a lawsuit or proceeding. Generally, courts are generally reluctant to make interlocutory orders.)

insideARM wrote about the case on January 14, 2016.  The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) case involved leaving a message with a person who answers the consumer’s phone. The issue presented by the case was whether a debt collector, whose telephone call to a debtor is answered by a third party, may leave his name and number for the debtor to return the call — without disclosing that he is a debt collector — or whether the debt collector must refrain from leaving callback information and attempt the call at a later time.

The critical facts of the case were not in dispute.  Defendant debt collector telephoned plaintiff about his debt. The person answering the phone (who plaintiff did not identify) responded that “Herschel [the debtor/plaintiff] is not yet in,” and asked if he could take a message. The collection agent responded, in relevant part, “Name is Eric Panganiban. Callback number is 1-866-277-1877 … direct extension is 6929. Regarding a personal business matter.”