Arrow Fin. Servs. LLC v. Wright

This appeal is taken from the trial court’s entry of judgment in favor of Mary Wright in the amount of $22,502.85 after a jury verdict on Wright’s counterclaims against Arrow Financial Services, LLC under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 USC § 1692 et seq. “the federal Act” and the Fair Business Practices Act, OCGA § 10-1-391 et seq. “the Georgia Act”. At the close of Arrow’s evidence, the trial court granted Wright’s motion for directed verdict concerning Arrow’s own claim that Wright owed it money as the assignee of a debt originally payable to Empire Flooring, which had replaced Wright’s floor the day after she cancelled a contract to do so. On appeal, Arrow asserts that the trial court erred when it excluded Arrow’s business records of the debt and when it charged the jury concerning the federal Act. We affirm. “The jury is the final arbiter of the facts, and the verdict must be construed by the trial and appellate courts in the light most favorable to upholding the jury verdict.” Citation and punctuation omitted. Wilmock, Inc. v. French , 185 Ga. App. 259, 261 1 363 SE2d 789 1987. By contrast, and because the trial court granted a directed verdict as to Arrow’s claim of indebtedness, we determine whether there is “no conflict in the evidence as to any material issue” and whether “the evidence introduced, with all reasonable deductions therefrom, shall demand a particular verdict” on that claim. OCGA § 9-11-50 a.

So viewed, the record shows that in January 2008, Arrow brought an action as the assignee of “Home Value/GE Money Bank” to collect a debt in the amount of $7,353.92 plus interest and costs. Wright answered and counterclaimed under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Georgia Fair Business Practices Act for wrongs including Arrow’s false and misleading statements made in the course of its attempts to collect the consumer debt, including its assertion that it was a valid assignee. Wright’s counterclaim prayed for statutory damages and actual damages under the federal Act as well as treble damages under the Georgia Act.