WASHINGTON – In a suit involving a debt-collection law firm, the U.S. Supreme Court held yesterday that debt collectors and their lawyers do not have a good-faith defense to liability when they misinterpret the legal requirements of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
In Jerman v. Carlisle McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich, No. 08-1200, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, writing for a 7-2 majority, said nothing in the law’s language, context or history supported applying its bona fide error defense to legal mistakes.
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