Overview
On September 28, 2018, the Honorable David M. Lawson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern division, granted final approval to a class action settlement consisting of $7.5 million in cash and injunctive relief. The case alleged that Defendants had violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Michigan’s Regulation of Collection Practices Act (RCPA) in connection with foreclosure form letters sent to almost a quarter million Michigan homeowners over several years.
Case Background
On August 8, 2016, plaintiffs filed a putative class action against Trott Law PC for violations of FDCPA and Michigan’s RCPA relating to allegedly misleading foreclosure form letters it sent to 248,686 Michigan homeowners over several years.
Specifically, plaintiffs alleged that Trott Law PC’s form letters suggested to consumers that, among other things, they were written by an attorney, when they were not.
Plaintiffs further alleged that defendants also failed to comply with the statutory requirements for a “notice of debt” by incorrectly stating the amount of the debt, by omitting or misstating attorneys’ fees due under the loan documents, and/or by including charges for attorneys’ fees not authorized by Michigan law, thereby violating both federal and state debt collection law.
Other allegations include that many of the form letters referenced a looming “sheriff’s sale,” containing a solicitation of a request for a reinstatement quote, thereby “overshadowing” the notice-of-dispute rights of the debtor under the FDCPA – also in violation of the Michigan collection practices statutes. Finally, many of the form letters used the term “corporate advance,” masking an attempt to collect fees, also not permitted by Michigan law.
Defendants deny any liability for the allegations described above.
The case name is: Martin, et al. v. Trott Law, et al., Case No. 2:15-cv-12838, U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division