8th Cir. Rejects FDCPA Claims Relating to Assignment of Collection Services Agreement

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit recently affirmed summary judgment in favor of debt collectors over claims of purported violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

In so ruling, the Eighth Circuit concluded that the assignment of a contract from one debt collector to its successor entity put it into privity with the original collector’s agreement with a medical services provider to satisfy Minnesota’s third-party debt collector’s written contract requirements, and the successor entity could legally take action to collect that debt on behalf of the provider. 

The Eighth Circuit further concluded that the debt collectors did not threaten to take actions they could not legally take or attempt to collect a debt by unfair or unconscionable means in violation of sections 1692e(5) and 1692f(1) of the FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. 1692, et seq., because the Treasury Department regulations governing hospital facilities and organizations did not apply to the debt collectors.