14 B 31070, 15 A 00560
Upon the defendant’s motion to dismiss the debtor’s adversary complaint for failure to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, held: By predicating his claim against the defendant solely on the filing of a proof of claim but asserting no other indicia of deceptive behavior within the gambit of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act or fraudulent intent, the debtor has failed to state a claim upon which relief may be granted under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. The filing of a proof of claim on a time-barred debt is not deceptive per se. The defendant is owed a debt that gives rise to a claim within the meaning of the Bankruptcy Code and is entitled to assert that claim. The court will not create a per se rule that potentially denies the defendant the due process built into the Bankruptcy Code and guaranteed by the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. For similar reasons, the filing of a proof of claim on account of a time-barred debt is not a fraud on the court. The defendant’s motion to dismiss is GRANTED, without prejudice to the debtor’s ability to bring an action based on actual deceptive behavior, should such behavior exist.