ERC Wins Sanctions Against Plaintiff and Plaintiff’s Counsel, Court Awards Debt Collector its Defense Costs and Fees

Yesterday, ERC secured a tremendous win in an FDCPA lawsuit—the District of Connecticut sanctioned plaintiff and her counsel for continuing to pursue a claim even though it was clear the claim is meritless. Overall, the court awarded ERC $41,871.95 in attorneys' fees and costs.

The Facts

In Cobb v. ERC, No. 3:17-cv-01629 (D. Conn. Mar. 10, 2020), plaintiff filed a lawsuit claiming that ERC failed to identify its true name—Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC—in debt collection communications, and thus violated the FDCPA. Prior to filing an answer, ERC reached out to plaintiff's counsel with evidence showing that ERC is a registered trade name under which the company is licensed to collect consumer debt in Connecticut. In this communication, ERC also stated that if the matter is not voluntarily dismissed, "ERC will litigate and entertain filing for sanctions due to the continuance of the matter knowing that your allegations lack merit."