13 B 29753, 14 A 00674
In this Chapter 13 adversary proceeding, the Debtor-Plaintiff, Samuel Brimmage, alleges that the Defendants, Quatnum3 Group LLC and Elite Recovery Acquisition, LLC, violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by filing a proof of claim on a debt that is otherwise time-barred. Elite Recovery Acquisition is a national debt buyer and Quantum3 Group is its agent.
The Defendants moved to dismiss the adversary proceeding by arguing that 1) filing a proof of claim is not a debt collection action subject to FDCPA and 2) that if it was a debt collection action then it would be impossible to comply with both the Bankruptcy Code and the FDCPA, and that the Code should therefore control.
The Court denied the motion, concluding that filing a proof of claim is a form of debt collection. The Seventh Circuit has held that while the statutes do overlap, enforcement of both is possible where “any debt collector can comply with both simultaneously.” Randolph v. IMBS, Inc., 368 F.3d 726, 730 (7th Cir. 2004). Agreeing with a similar decision out of the Southern District of Indiana, the Court determined that the Defendants could easily comply with both the Code and the FDCPA by simply not filing a proof of claim on a time-barred debt. See also Patrick v. PYOD,LLC, 2014 WL 4100414 (S.D.Ind. 2014). As such, the Court will be able to enforce both the FDCPA and the Code in this situation.