Alaska Trustee, LLC v. Ambridge
Alaska Trustee, LLC v. Ambridge
Opinion of the Court
OPINION
L INTRODUCTION
Brett and Josephine Ambridge defaulted on their home loan. Alaska Trustee, LLC, in the business of pursuing nonjudicial foreclosures, sent the Ambridges a notice of default that failed to state the full amount due as required by the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The Ambridges filed suit against Alaska Trustee and its owner, Stephen Routh, seeking damages under the FDCPA and the Alaska Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (UTPA), as well as injunctive and declaratory relief, The superior{court held that both Alaska Trustee and Routh were "debt collectors" subject to liability under the FDCPA; awarded damages under that Act, and awarded injunctive relief under the UTPA. Alaska Trustee and Routh appeal, arguing that neither of them is a-debt collector as defined by federal law and that injunctive relief was improperly awarded.
We conclude that the superior court's decision that Alaska Trustee was a debt collector and liable for the violation of the FDCPA accords with the more persuasive authority, and we therefore affirm it. But while we agree with the superior court's decision that Routh was a debt collector as well, we conclude that the evidence did not support finding him liable for the violation, and we reverse the superior court's decision on this issue. Finally, we affirm the superior court's award of injunctive relief under the UTPA.
IIL. FACTS AND PROCEEDINGS
A. Alaska Trustee's Notices Of Default To The Ambridges ° -
The Ambridges bought their first home in 2006. They took out a home loan from Alag-ka Housing Finance Corporation, secured by a deed of trust against the property; the loan was serviced by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. The Ambridges fell behind on their payments in late 2007 and received a letter from Alaska Trustee, LLC, notifying them that they were in default and that a foreclosure sale would take place in January 2008.
The Ambridges were able to cure the default,. But they fell behind again and received another notice of default from Alaska Trustee in August 2009.
The 2009 notices of default are at the center of this appeal. The first one de
The amended notice, sent later, contained the same provisions and attached an additional page that stated at the bottom: "THE PURPOSE OF THIS COMMUNICATION IS TO COLLECT THE DEBT. ANY INFORMATION OBTAINED WILL BE USED FOR THAT PURPOSE." It also provided this information for the recipient: "Your rights will clearly be affected by the foreclosure and you may wish to seek legal advice, If you have been discharged of this debt in Bankruptcy, you are not to regard this message as a demand for payment or an assertion of personal Hability."
Federal law requires, among other things, that a consumer be informed of "the amount of the debt" in the initial communication about the debt or within five days thereafters.
B. Alaska Trustee
Alaska Trustee is a limited liability company, formed in 2005 by Routh, an attorney, who continues to be the company's owner and managing member. Alaska Trustee's activities consist of "processing non-judicial foreclosures of deeds of trust on real property." This includes "ordering the title report, recording the Notice of Default in the real property records, providing notice of the foreclosure as required by statute, responding to requests from the borrower ... for reinstatement or payoff quotes," and handling formalities before and after foreclosure sales. If a borrower asks for information about reinstating a loan in order to avoid foreclosure, Alaska Trustee sends a reinstatement letter that gives the reinstatement amount and allows payment to the mortgage servicer or sometimes to Alaska Trustee itself, Alaska Trustee does not bring suit to recover on an underlying note, nor does it write demand letters.
The details of Routh's involvement with Alaska Trustee are also important to the resolution of this appeal; they are discussed below in section IV.B.
C. Proceedings In The Superior Court
The Ambridges filed a complaint against Alaska Trustee and Routh alleging violations of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and Alaska's Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act(UTPA). They asked for injunctive and declaratory relief, requiring the defendants to include the actual amount of the debt owed in their first communications with consumers; they also requested damages, costs, and full attorney's fees. The superior court ruled on a number of dispositive motions. As relevant to this appeal, the superior court held that both Alaska Trustee and Routh were "debt collectors" subject to 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a). It held that a violation of the FDCPA translates into an "unfair or deceptive" act or practice prohibited by the UTPA,.
The superior court. entered a final judgment awarding the Ambridges $4,000 in damages under the FDCPA. Alaska Trustee and Routh appeal the superior court's. adverse decisions, arguing that (1). Alaska Trustee is not a "debt collector" subject to the FDCPA; (2) Routh is not a "debt collector" subject to the FDCPA; and (8) the Ambridges were not entitled to injunctive relief under the UTPA.
III. STANDARDS OF REVIEW
"We review a grant of summary judgment 'de novo, affirming if the record presents no genuine issue of material fact and if the movant is entitled to judgment as a matter of law." "
rv." DISCUSSION
A. The Superior Court Did Not Err In Determining That Alaska Trustee Is A _. "Debt - Collector" Under § 1692a(6) Of The FDCPA.
The FDCPA was enacted in 1977 "to eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to insure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged, and. to promote: «consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses."
[tlaking or threatening to take any nonjudicial action to éffect dispossession or disablement of property if ... (A) there is no present right to possession of the property claimed as collateral through an en-foreeable security interest; (B) there is no present intention to take possession of the property; or (C) the property is exempt by law from such dispossession 'or disablement.
The superior court noted a split in the way courts apply these sections: some hold that enforcers of security interests are debt collectors: as long" as they meet the general definition of '§$ 1692a(6),
Recognizing that the FDCPA, as a remedial statute, should be liberally construed, the superior court followed the first line of authority, determining that an entity pursuing non-judicial foreclosure is a debt collector subject to the FDCPA.
Alaska Trustee disputes this conclusion. It argues first that recovering collateral is a fundamentally different activity than seeking the payment of money, and that the FDCPA is concerned only with the latter. It highlights the distinction between judicial foreclosures-which may result in a deficiency judgment for the payment of money-and non-judicial foreclosures, which result only in loss of the property.
1. The FDCPA does not exclude nonjudicial foreclosure from the debt-col-lectiot} activities it addresses.
Interpreting the FDCPA liberally to effectuate its remedial purposes, as the superior court did,
That Congress intended the FDCPA to apply to home mortgages is evident not just from the Act's broad language but also from its legislative history. The Senate Report on the bill observed, for example, that "[the collection of debts, such as mortgages and student loans, by persons who originated such loans" is not debt collection, implying that the collection of mortgages by persons who did - not originate such loans is debt collection.
The FDCPA's list of enforeement agencies was most recently modified and simplified under the Dodd-Frank Act; it now charges "the appropriate Federal banking agency" with enforcement with respect to FDIC-insured banks and "State savings associations," and it charges the newly-created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (the Bureau) with enforcement "with respect to any person subject to this subchapter."
In Glazer v. Chase Home Finance, the Sixth Cireuit found further support for this interpretation of the Act in $ 1692i.
The Sixth Cireuit in Glazer found persuasive the decision of the Fourth Circuit in Wilson v. Draper & Goldberg, P.L.L.C.,
The plaintiff sued for violations of the FDCPA; specifically, "failing to verify the debt, ... continuing collection efforts after [the plaintiff] had contested the debt, and ... communicating directly with her when they knew she was represented by counsel."
But the Fourth Cireuit reversed. It first rejected the defendants' argument that they had not acted in connection with a "debt":
Defendants notified [the plaintiff] that she was in "default in [her] Deed of Trust Note payable to the Lender ... [and] that the Lender [had] accelerated the debt." Defendants informed [the plaintiff] that her failure to make mortgage payments entitled Chase to immediate payment of the balance of her loan, as well as fees, penalties, and interest due. These amounts are all "debts" under the Act, because they were "obligation(s] ... to pay money arising out of a transaction in which, the . property ... which.[is] the subject of the transaction [is] primarily for personal, family, or household purposes." [39 ]
The court next rejected the defendants argument that the "'debt' ceased to be a 'debt' onee foreclosure proceedings began,"
The Colorado Supreme Court reached the same conclusion - in Shapiro & Meinhold v. Zartman.
We agree that foreclosing on property, selling it, and applying the proceeds to the underlying indebtedness constitute one way of collecting a debt-if not directly at least indirectly. The language of the Amended Notice of Default at issue here supports this conclusion. Besides its express déclaration that "[the purpose of this letter is to collect 4 debt" and its inclusion of a "Fair Debt Colléction Practices Act Statement,"
3. The arguments against holding that the FDCPA applies to mortgage foreclosures are not persuasive.
. For its different interpretation of the FDCPA, Alaska Trustee relies in part on the reasoning of the federal district court in Fluise v. Ocwen Federal Bank, FSB, which concluded that "[the FDCPA is intended to curtail objectionable acts occurring in the process of collecting funds from a debtor," whereas "foreclosing on 'a trust deed is an entirely different path."
According to the court in Hulse, "[playment of funds'is not the object of the foreclosure action. Rather, the lender is foreclosmg its interest in the property."
We do not find this rationale persuasive. As the Ambridges point out, a home mortgage is, for most individuals, their largest and most long-term debt and the most likely to be affected at some point by unforeseen financial difficulties. The lender's foreclosure on its security-the home-is likely to be a devastating prospect for the homeowner, who may therefore be partlcularly susceptible to abusive collection practices.
The dissent finds determinative the distinction between a consumer's obligation to pay money and a deed of trust, which is not itself an obligation to pay money but rather a mechanism by which property is transferred in the event the money is not paid.
In Colorado, whether the form of security be a mortgage or a deed of trust, the debt is the principal thing. The security is a mere incident.... An action to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust is simply, in effect, am action to collect the debt, to secure the payment of which was the sole purpose of its execution; and, when the statute after the lapse of a certain time bars an action upon the debt for its collection, we believe it includes all actions seeking to effectuate that purpose.[59 ]
This description continues to reflect the real nature of a home mortgige foreclosure: "simply, in effect, an action to collect the debt."
We also disagree with the dissent's position that Alaska Trustee cannot be held Hable under the FDCPA for sending the notice that commences a non-judicial foreclosure under Alaska law because the notice "did not attempt to collect money" and because it is statutorily required.
is mutually exclusive with debt collection."
Finally, we disagree with the dissent's warning that "making deed of trust trustees ... 'debt collectors' will wreak havoc" on the non-judicial foreclosure process because the FDCPA allows consumers to ask debt collectors to cease contact and to validate disputed debts, steps the dissent predicts "will grind non-judicial deed of trust foreclosures to a halt."
Finally, we necessarily reject Alaska Trustee's other definitional argument also advanced by the dissent
We do agree with the dissent's observation that, structurally, the definition differentiates between businesses the principal purpose of which is "the collection of any debts" and thoge the principal purpose of which is "the enforcement of security interests." We agree that a business cannot be both. But a business whose principal purposé is not "the collection of any debts" may still be a debt collector under the general definition because, though its "principal purpose" is something else, it "regularly collects or attempts to collect" debts due another. Such a business may have as its principal purpose the enforcement -of security interests, On the other hand, a business may enforce security interests as its principal purpose but not regularly. collect debts; such a business does not satisfy the general definition and is a "debt collector". for purposes of section 1692f(6) only.
To say that mortgage foreclosures are debt collection is not to say, as the dissent would have it, that all enforcement of security interests is debt collection, thus making the definition's reference to security interests redundant.
This was the conclusion of the Sixth 'Circuit in Glazer: the third séntence 'of § 1692a(6) is 'a statement of inclusion, not exclusion. That is, it does not operate to exclude an entire category of persons and entities who would otherwise be included in the definition, but rather "simply '(make[s] clear that some persons who would be without the seope of the general definition are to be , included where § 1692f(6) "is concerned."
We recognize the split in authority regarding the effect of § 1692f(6) on the "debt collector" definition, Alaska Trustee relies on Derisme v. Hunt Leibert Jacobson P.C., which adopted the conclusion of two federal courts of appeal and the Federal Trade Com- . mission (FTC) that "the purposeful inclusion of enforcers of security interests for one section of the FDCPA [§ 1692f(6)] implies that the term debt collector does not include an enforcer of security interests for any other sections of the FDCPA.
- As noted above, the Dodd-Frank Act gave primary. authority for enforcement of the FDCPA to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has been forceful about the need to ensure that mortgage foreclosure proceedings are not exempted from the FDCPA's protections. In its statutorily mandated annual report to Congress on the Fair Debt Collections Act in 2013, the Bureau explained why it had filed an amicus brief in support of the consumers in Birster v. American Home Mortgage Servicing, Inc.,
'Some courts have unduly restricted the FDCPA's protections by rejecting challenges to harmful practices occurring in the context of foreclosure proceedings. In particular, courts have concluded that businesses involved in enforcing security interests are not "debt collectors" subject to most of the Act's requirements, and that activity surrounding foreclosure or other enforcement of security interests is not debt collection covered by the Act. These ~ decisions have left consumers vulnerable to harmful collection tactics as they fight to save their homes from foreclosure.[
The court in Birster held that a loan servicer that advised the debtors it would foreclose on their home unless they cured their default by paying a certain sum within 30 days "may be liable under the FDCPA beyond § 1692f(6) even though it was also enforeing a security interest."
Ultimately, while the provisions of the FDCPA could certainly be clearer on the question presented in this case, we conclude that the meaning we find in them is most consistent with their language, liberally interpreted in light of the Act's remedial purposes. The superior court was correct in ruling that Alaska Trustee, through its processing of nonjudicial foreclosures, is a "person who uses ... the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts," is therefore a "debt collector" as defined by § 1692a(6), and is subject to the broader provisions of the FDCPA.
B. The Superior Court Did Not Err In Determining That Routh Is A "Debt Collector" Under The FDCPA, But The Evidence Did Not Support Its Conclusion That Routh Was Liable For The Violation At Issue.
We also affirm the superior court's decision that Steven Routh, Alaska Trustee's sole owner and shareholder, was a "debt collector" subject to lability under the FDCPA, but we disagree with the superior court's conclusion that Routh was therefore necessarily liable for the violation at issue.
Alaska Trustee argues that Routh cannot 'be held liable under the FDCPA unless he personally participated in a specific violation of the Act, Alaska Trustee focuses on the - statutory section Routh is alleged to have
violated, which states in relevant part: "Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication ..., send the consumer a written notice containing ... the amount of the debt...."
Alaska Trustee urges that we instead apply the Ninth Circuit's analysis in Cruz v. International Collection Corp., in which the court considered the FDCPA liability of the sole owner, officer, and director of a debt collecting company.
Again, "debt collector" is relevantly defined as "any person who uses ... the mails in any business the- principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed ... or due another."
The evidence showed that Routh was Alaska Trustee's sole owner and managing member and had been since the company's creation in 2005. He was ultimately in charge of the company's operations, though he attested that in recent years his management was "at the enterprise level of client relations, staffing decisions, strategic planning and the like" and that he often spent "only a few hours a week, if any," at Alaska Trustee's offices. The day-to-day manager, Athena Vaughn, reported to him and in turn supervised the other managerial employee, Roge Santiago. Routh testified that Vaughn and Santiago were "the operational piece" of the company's management, but they did not have access to the business's financial information, As the managing member he was in "[flrequent contact with [Vaughn], both [by] phone and in person," and "[iJssues that [were] important [got] elevated [to him] very quickly." He had the final say on the language of forms and correspondence, though he was likely to get involved only when "made aware that there are issues that go beyond just the mere formalities or issues that need counsel involved." But given what Routh perceived as the high-risk legal environment-in which "we need to be very careful on what is said and parse things very closely" in order to avoid litigation-he testified that "most changes [to collection forms] would either be touched on by me and reviewed by me or ... more typically, I think, counsel,"
In sum, Routh's involvement in the business, though usually distant, was that of a high-level manager with real decisional authority, not an absentee owner or shareholder whose only interest was financial, These undisputed facts are sufficient to establish that Routh is a person who "regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed ... or due another"
The violation at issue here is the debt collector's failure to include the full amount due in the initial communication to the debt- or or within five days of it"
But the undisputed facts show that Routh did not "materially participate" in creating the notices of default that the Ambridges allege were in violation of the FDCPA. The superior court concluded, on Routh's undisputed testimony, that Routh "did not draft, review, approve or sign the Notice of Default" sent to the Ambridges."
We conclude that these facts are insuffi-client to show that Routh materially participated in the specific violation of the FDCPA that the Ambridges are pursuing. Under the two-step inquiry of Crug, Routh is a "debt collector" but is- not individually. liable for the violation. We therefore affirm in part, and reverse in part, the superior court's decision of this issue.
C. The Superior Court Did Not Err In Awarding Injunctive Relief Under The UTPA.
The superior court held that the Ambridges were entitled to an injunction under the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act (UTPA), requiring that Alaska Trustee conform its notices of default to the requirements of 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a)(1).
Alaska Trustee challenges the propriety of injunctive' relief on three grounds. First, it argues that an FDCPA-violation is not necessarily a violation of the UTPA, because Alaska law would not consider unfair or deceptive every conceivable violation of the federal law. Alaska Trustee contends that the. Ambridges were not harmed or misled in any way by what in this case was at most a technical violation of: the FDCPA, because the Am-bridges: knew that the notice of default in-eluded only the principal amount due (it was explicitly described as such) and they could not have paid it anyway.
We reject this argument. © Alaska Statute 45.50471(a) declares unlawful all "[u)nfair methods of compétition and unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of trade or commerce." The legislature has directed that in interpreting these words we give "due consideration and -great weight" to "the interpretations of 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1) [the Federal Trade Commission Act]"
'We applied these principles in State v. O'Neill Investigations, Inc., in. which we held that the activities of mdependent debt collectors fall within the seope of the UTPA.
(1) whether the practice ... offends public policy as it has been established by statutes ..., in other words, it is within at least the penumbra of some common-law, statutory, or other established concept of*226 unfairness; (2) whether it is immoral, unethical, oppressive, or unserupulous; (8) whether it causes substantial injury to consumers (or competitors or other businessmen);[110 ]
To simplify matters here, the FDCPA expressly states that a violation of it "shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of [the Federal Trade Commission Act],"
Alaska Trustee's second argument is that holding the UTPA applicable to violations of the FDCPA that involve real property fore-clogures conflicts with our line of cases holding that "goods or services" for purposes of the UTPA do not include real estate transactions.
There was no FDCPA claim before us in Bachmeier.
Finally, we turn to Alaska Trustee's argument that the UTPA's injunctive relief provision does not apply to it because it is not "a seller or lessor."
For these reasons, we conclude that the superior court did not err when it awarded injunctive relief to the Ambndges under AS 45,50.585(a).
v. CONCLUSION
We REVERSE the decision of the:sguperi- or court holding Routh liable for the violation at issue. We otherwise AFFIRM the decisions of the superior court. »
. As before, the Ambridges first received a letter from Wells Fargo in April 2009 informing them of the default, stating the total delinquency, and offering them another chance to reinstate the loan. .
. The statement provided information required by 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a) (2012). It read: The principal balance of the debt is $196,712.28, plus interest, late charges, attorney fees and costs and other advances. The creditor to whom the debt is owed is Alaska Housing Finance Corporation. Unless within 30 days after receipt of this notice you dispute the debt or any portion of it, we will assume the debt to be valid. If you notify us within 30 days after receipt of this notice that you dispute the debt or any part of it and do so in writing, we will obtain verification of the debt and mail it to you. If you request it in writing within 30 days after receipt of this notice, we will provide you with the name and address of the original creditor, if different from the current creditor. Address requests to Alaska Trustee, LLC....
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a).
. Olson v. City of Hooper Bay, 251 P.3d 1024, 1030 (Alaska 2011) (quoting Beegan v. State, Dep't of Transp. & Pub, Facilities, 195 P.3d 134, 138 (Alaska 2008)).
. Td. (quoting McCormick v. Reliance Ins. Co., 46 P.3d 1009, 1011 (Alaska 2002)). .
, 1d. (quoting McCormick, 46 P.3d at 1013).
. Id. (first alteration in original) (quoting Jacob v. State, Dep't of Health & Soc. Servs., Office of Children's Servs., 177 P.3d 1181, 1184 (Alaska 2008)).
. Mcleod v. Parnell, 286 P.3d 509, 512 (Alaska 2012) (citing Hageland Aviation Servs., Inc. v. Harms, 210 P.3d 444, 448 (Alaska 2009)).
. Id. (quoting State, Dep't of Commerce, Cmty. & Econ. Dev., "Div. of Ins. v. Progressive Cas. Ins. Co., 165 P.3d 624, 628 (Alaska 2007)).
; (15 U.S.C. § 1692(e) (2012); see also 15 U.S.C. § 1692(a) ("There is abundant evidence of the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices by many debt collectors,. Abusive debt collection practices contribute to the number of personal bankruptcies, to marital instability, to the loss of jobs, and 'to invasions of individual prlvacy ").
, 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6).
, Id. The statute also lists six categories that ~ Congress explicitly excluded from the definition
. Supporting this position are cases from four federal circuit courts of appeal and one state supreme court; Kaymark v. Bank of Am., N.A., 783 F.3d 168, 179 (3d Cir. 2015); Glazer v. Chase Home Fin. LLC, 704 F.3d 453, 463-64 (6th Cir. 2013); Reese v. Ellis,; Painter, Ratterree & Adams, LLP, 678 F.3d 1211, 1218-19 (11th Cir,2012); Wilson v. Draper & Goldberg, P.L.L.C., 443 F.3d 373, 378 (4th Cir. 2006); Shapiro & Meinhold v. Zartman, 823 P.2d 120, 123-24 (Colo. 1992). See also Kabir v. Freedman Anselmo Lindberg LLC, No. 14 C 1131, 2015 . WL. 4730053, at *2-3 (E.D.Ill; Aug, 10, 2015) (poting that "[the Sev- - enth Circuit has not determined whether mortgage foreclosure actions qualify as debt collection activities under the FDCPA, but those courts of appeals to consider the issue have all held that communications related to mortgage foreclosures are covered by the FDCPA," and following that authority); Paulsen v. Blommer Peterman, S.C,, No. 14-cv-106-wimc, 2015 WL 1486546) at *2-4 (W.D.Wis. Mar. 31, 2015) (same); Muldrow v. EMC Mortg. Corp., 657 F.Supp.2d 171, 175-76 (D.D.€C. 2009) (noting that "this Circuit has not determined whether § 1692a(6) of the FDCPA excludes substitute trustees from liability under the general provisions of the FDCPA" and following Wilson}; Porada v. Monroe, No. Al3-1615, 2014 WL 3700820, at "4 (Minn.App. July 28, 2014) (unpublished) (noting that "the weight of persuasive authority lies heavily in favor of the conclusion that a lien foreclosure constitutes a debt collection under the FDCPA").
. A number of federal district courts have reached this conclusion, including many within the Ninth Circuit. See, eg., Doughty v. Holder, . Nos. 2:13-cv-00295-LRS, 2:13-cv-00296-LRS, 2:13-cv-00297-LRS, 2014 WL 220832, at "3-5 (E.D.Wash. Jan. 21, 2014); Natividad v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., 3:12-cv-03646 JSC, 2013 WL 2299601, at "5-8, *5 n. 4 (N.D.Cal. May 24, 2013) (collecting cases); Hulse v. Ocwen Fed. Bank, FSB, 195 F.Supp.2d 1188, 1204 (D.Or. 2002); see also Boyd v. J.E. Robert Co., No. 05- CV-2455 (KAM)(RER), 2013 WL 5436969, at *8-12 (E.D.N.Y. Sept, 27, 2013); Derisme v. Hunt . Leibert Jacobson P.C., 880 F.Supp.2d 311, 323-25 (D.Conn. 2012); Gray v. Four Oak Court Ass'n, 580 F.Supp.2d 883, 887-88 (D.Minn. 2008); Rosado v. Taylor, 324 F.Supp.2d 917, 924 & n. 3 (N.D.Ind. 2004).
. See Stamper v. Wilson & Assocs., P.L.L.C., No. 3:09-CV-270, 2010 WL 1408585, at *7 (E.D.Tenn. Mar. 31, 2010) ("In contrast to judicial foreclosures, non-judicial foreclosures do not involve personal ('deficiency') judgments against the debtor, This is important to recognize because the FDCPA defines 'debt' as an 'obligation to pay money," and there is no enforcement of that obligation in non-judicial foreclosures."); see also Derisme, 880 F.Supp2d at 326 ("[Clourts have drawn a distinction between non judicial foreclosures which are intended to only enforce the mortgagee's security interest and judicial foreclosure which also seeks a personal judgment against the debtor for a deficiency which would amount to a debt collection.").
. See, eg., Brown v. Morris, 243 Fed.Appx. 31, 35 (5th Cir. 2007) (holding that defendant's involvement "primarily in non-judicial foreclosures" does not make him a per se FDCPA debt collector); Santoro v. CTC Foreclosure Serv., 12 Fed.Appx. 476, 480 (Oth Cir. 2001) ("[Defendant's] foreclosure sale notice also did not seek to collect the debt, the conduct forbidden under the [FDCPA]."); Hulse, 195 F.Supp.2d at 1204 ('[Tlhe activity of foreclosing on the property
. See Tourgeman v. Collins Fin. Servs., Inc. 755 F.3d 1109, 1118 (9th Cir. 2014) ("[Blecause the FDCPA ... is a remedial statute, it should be construed liberally in favor of the consumer." (quoting Clark v. Capital Credit & Collection Servs., Inc., 460 F.3d 1162, 1176 (9th Cir. 2006) (alteration in original)); see also Johnson v. Riddle, 305 F.3d 1107, 1117 (10th Cir. 2002).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5) (2012) (defining "debt" as "any obligation or alleged obligation of a consumer to pay money arising out of a transaction in which the money, property, insurance, or services which are the subject of the transaction are primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, whether or not such obligation has been reduced to judgment" (emphasis added)).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6) (defining "debt collector" as "any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business- the principal purpose of which is the collection of any.debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another" (emphasis added)).
, Glazer v. Chase Home Fin. LLC, 704 F.3d 453, 461 (6th Cir. 2013).
. See Bric M. Marshall, Note, The Protectzve Scope of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act: Providing Mortgagors The Protection They Deserve From Abusive Foreclosure Practices, 94 Mmm. L, Rev, 1269, 1291 (2010) (emphasis added) (quoting S. Rep, No. 95-382, at 3 (1977)). _
. S. Rep, No. 95-382, at 3-4 (1977).
. Fair Debt Collections Practices Act, Pub, L. No. 95-109, 91 Stat. 874, 882 (1977). In the 1976 United States Code, "section 5(d) of the Home Owners Loan Act of 1933" was codified as 12 U.S.C. § 464; "section 407 of the National Housing Act" was codified as 12 U.S.C. § 1730; and "sections 6(i) and 17 of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act" were codified as 12 U.S.C. §§ 1426 and 1427.
. The Federal Home Loan Bank Board was superceded in 1989 by the Federal Housing Finance Board, which in turn was superceded in 2008 by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. See Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989, Pub. L. No. 101-73, secs. 401(a)(2), 702-703, 12 U.S.C. §§ 1422a, 1437(a), 103 Stat. 183, 354, 413, 415; Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, Pub. L, No. 110-289, secs. 1101, 1311, 12 U.S.C. §§ 4511, 4512, 122 Stat. 2654, 2661.
. The primary purpose of the Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933 is "[tlo provide emergency relief with respect to home mortgage indebtedness, to refinance home mortgages, [and] to extend relief to the owners of homes occupied by them and who are unable to amortize their debt elsewhere." Home Owners' Loan Act of 1933, ch. 63, § 1, 48 Stat. 128, The National Housing Act's full title is "An Act: To encourage improvement in housing standards and conditions, to provide a system of mutual mortgage insurance, and for other purposes." National Housing Act, ch. 847, 48 Stat. 1246 (1934). The Home Loan Bank Act, as its name implies, focused on increasing the nationwide availability of loans secured by home mortgages. See Home Loan Bank Act, ch. 522, § 10(a), 47 Stat. 725, 731 (1932) ("Each Federal Home Loan Bank is authorized to make advances to members and nonmember borrowers, upon the security of home mortgages,").
. -See Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Pub. L. No. 111-203, sec. 1089, § 16921, 124 Stat. 1376, 2092-93 (2010) (amending the FDCPA).
. 12 U.S.C. § 5491(a) (2012) (a Dodd-Frank provision). ©
. 12 U.S.C. § 5512(b)(4)(B).
. 704 F.3d 453, 461-62 (6th Cir. 2013).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692i(a)(1) (2012); see also S. Rep. No. 95-382, at 5°(1977) (noting that to prevent "forum abuse," "[wlhen an action is against real property, it must be brought where such property is located").
. 704 F.3d at 462 (emphasis in original).
. Id. at 462-63 (citing Wilson v. Draper & Goldberg, P.L.L.C., 443 F.3d 373, 376, 378 (4th Cir. 2006)).
. Wilson, 443 F.3d at 374.
. Id. at 375.
. Id.
, Id. (alterations in original).
. Wilson, 443 F.3d. at 376 (alterations in origi- - nal) (citation. omitted) (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5)). -
. Id.
. Id. (citing Romea v. Heiberger & Assocs., 163 F.3d 111, 116 (2d Cir. 1998); Shapiro & Meinhold v. Zartman, 823 P.2d 120, 124 (Colo. 1992)).
. Id.
. Id. at 376-77.
. Id.
. 1d.
. We recognize the potential unfairness of relying on such language alone, given that entities that may or may not be subject to the FDCPA will understandably err on the side of caution and include it, See Newman v, Trott & Trott, PC., 889 F.Supp.2d 948, 959-61 (E.D.Mich. 2012) (holding, pre-Glazer, that law firm that was a "debt collector" only for the limited purposes of 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(6) was not made subject to the entire FDCPA because of the "debt collector" warnings on its letters). On the other hand, especially under the "least sophisticated consumer" standard applied by the federal courts, it is difficult to conclude that a debtor reading the disclosure language would not believe what it says-that Alaska Trustee is attempting to collect a debt. See, eg., Currier v. First Resolution Inv. Corp., 762 F.3d 529, 535-36 (6th Cir. 2014) (dis-cussmg nature of creditor's assertlon of lien in light of how it would be perceived by the “least sophlstlcated consumer").
. See Wilson v. Draper & Goldberg, P.L.L.C., 443 F.3d 373, 375 (4th. Here, the reinstatement letter states, ''Reinstatement funds must be in the form of a cashier's check made payable to" and provides boxes to be checked beside two choices: "Alaska Trustee, LLC" and "Our client: Wells Fargo Bank, N.A." Only the "Our client" box is checked, but the letter also makes it clear that in order for the loan to be reinstated the check must be received by Alaska Trustee ("in our office") by a time certain.
. Glazer v. Chase Home Fin. LLC, 704 F.3d 453, 463 (6th Cir. 2013).
. 195 F.Supp.2d 1188, 1204 (D.Or. 2002).
, Id.
, See Jordan v. Kent Recovery Servs., Inc., 731 F.Supp. 652, 658 (D.Del. 1990) ("[The evil sought to be regulated by the FDCPA, harassing attempts to collect money which the debtor does not have due to misfortune, is not implicated by the actions of an enforcermof a security interest with a 'present right' to the secured property.’ "}.
. See Marshall, supra note 22, at 1287 ('The detrimental effect of losing one's home makes mortgagors particularly susceptible to coercive settlement practice." (footnote omitted)).
. See Shapiro & Meinhold v. Zartman, 823 P.2d 120; 124 (Colo. 1992) ("If Congress had intended to exempt from the FDCPA one whose principal business is the enforcement of security interests, it would have provided an exception in plain language.").
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(A)-(F) (2012).
. Dissent at 227-29.
. 444 P.2d 777, 780 82 (Alaska 1968).
. Id. at 782 (citing 3 R. Power:, THE Law or Rear Property 1461, at 682-83 (1967)); see also id. at 782 n. 24 (noting the "undestrability of the results" in states that allow foreclosure after the - statute of limitations has run on:collection of the underlying debt).
. I4. (emphasis added) (quoting Pratt v. Pratt, ., 121 Wash. 298, 209 P. 535, 536 (1922) (quoting McGovney v. Gwillim, 16 Colo.App. 284, 65 P. 346, 347 (1901))).
, Dissent at 233-34.
. 163 R.3d 111, 116 (2d Cir. 1998).
. Id.
. Id.
. Brief of Amicus Curiae Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Support of Appellant and Reversal at 13, Ho v. ReconTrust Co., No. 10-56884 (Aug. 7, 2015), httpi/ffiles.consumer finance.gov/f/201508._cfpb..amicus-briefho-v-reconstruct-n.pdf. ("'That such a misrepresentation might have occurred in the context of a state-mandated notice does not somehow immunize Appellees from abiding by § 1692e in the course of providing such notices.").
. Dissent at 230-31 (citing 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692c(c) and 1692g8(b) (2012)).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(c)(3).
. See Graveling v. Castle Mortg,. Co., 631 Fed. Appx. 690, 699 (11th Cir. 2015) ("[Elven if the [debtors'] request that the defendants cease communications was distinct from their request for debt validation, the acceleration notice was still a permissible communication because it notified the [debtors] of [the debt collector's] intent to invoke the specific remedy of acceleration and foreclosure."); Cohen v. Beachside Two-I Homeowners' Ass'n, No. 05-706 ADM/JS, 2006 WL 1795140 at *14 (D.Minn. 2006) (holding that attorney's letter "falls within the third statutory exception to 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c) because [the attorney] was further notifying [the debtor] of [the creditor's] intent to invoke a specified remedy, namely, foreclosure" (specifically "foreclosure by advertisement," a non-fudicial foreclosure remedy provided by state law)); see also Vitullo v. Mancini, 684 F.Supp.2d 747, 758 (E.D.Va. 2010) (dismissing a claim that notice of a non-judicial foreclosure notice violated 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(a)(2) because "the FDCPA does not prohibit debt collectors from foreclosing on debtors' properties pursuant to state law, and nothing in the FDCPA authorizes debt collectors to violate or fail to comply with state foreclosure laws"); Lewis v. ACB Bus. Servs., Inc., 911 F.Supp. 290, 293 (S.D.Ohio 1996) aff'd, 135 F.3d 389 (6th Cir. 1998) (dismissing a claim that a debt collector with "notice not to make further contact" violated 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c) because the letter offered payment plans that were covered under § 1692c(c)(2) as a "standard remedy 'ordinarily invoked by such debt collector'").
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(b) (emphasis added).
. The Ninth Circuit has followed other federal courts to hold that "verification of a debt [for purposes of § 1692g(b) ] involves nothing more than the debt collector confirming in writing that the amount being demanded is what the creditor
. Dissent at 228-29.
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6).
. Id. (emphasis added).
. Dissent at 228-29, 232.
, 15 U.S.C.§ 1692a(6).
. Generally speaking, repossession agencies are which are employed by the owner of * collateral to dispossess the debtor of the collater- » al and return it to the owner." Ghartey v. Chrysler Credit Corp., 1992 WL 373479, at *4 (B.D.N.Y. Nov. 23, 1992).
. Glazer v. Chase Home Fm LLC, 704 F.3d 453, 463 (6th Cir. 2013) (quoting Piper v. Portnoff Law Assocs., Ltd., 396 F.3d 227, 236 (3d .Cir. 2005)); ' see also Wilson v. Draper & Goldberg, P.L.L.C., 443 F.3d 373, 378 (4th Cir. 2006).
. Glazer, 7104 F.3d at 463-64.
. See 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692b ("Acquisition of loca- . tion information"), 1692¢ ("Communication in connection with debt collection"), 1692d ('Harassment or abuse"), 1692e ("False or misleading representations"), 1692f(1)-(3), (7)-(8) ('Unfair practices"), 1692g «('Validation of debts"), 1692h ("Multiple debts'"), 16921 ("Legal actions by debt collectors"), 1692; (”furmshmg certain deceptive forms").
. 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692a(6), 1692f(6).
. 880 F.Supp.2d 311, 324 (D.Conn. 2012). The court in Derisme also relied on the FTC "Commentary on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act," as cited in Jordan v. Kent Recovery Servs., Inc., 731 F.Supp. 652, 658 (D.Del. 1990), and Warren v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 342 Fed.Appx. 458, 460 (11th Cir,2009) (referencing the principle of expressio unius est exclusio alteri- - us and concluding that "the statute specifically says that a person in the business of enforcing security interests is a 'debt collector' for the purposes of § 1692f(6), which reasongbly suggests that such a person is not a debt collector for purposes of the other sections of the Act"). See Derisme, 880 F.Supp.2d at 323-35.
. See Glazer; 704 F.3d at 463 (explicitly reject ing ' Montgomery, 346 F.3d 693, 699-701 (6th Cir,2003) and stating that "the ['debt collector'] definition does not except from debt collection ~ the enforcement of security interests; it simply 'make[s] clear that some persons who would be without the scope of the general definition are to be included where § 169286) is concerned."" - (second alteration in original) (quoting Piper, 396 F.3d at 236)); see also Reese v. Ellis, Painter, Ratterree & Adams, LLP, 678 F.3d 1211, 1216-18 (11th Cir. 2012) (holding that an enforcer of security interests could have "dual purposes," whereby it could act to enforce security interests and also attempt to collect on underlying debts); Birster v. Am. Home Mortg. Servicing, Inc., 481 Fed. Appx. 579, 582-83 (iith Cir. 2012) (following Reese's reasomng and explicitly rejecting that of Warren ). .
Both parties to this appeal cite Dunavant v. Strote & Permutt, P.C., 603 Fed.Appx. 737 (11th Cir. 2015), as supporting their positions. The court in Diunavant affitmed a lower court's 'ruling that a defendant that only published foreclosure notices in the newspaper was an enforcer of security interests and not a debt collector, but in so doing it reaffirmed that an entity could be both, and that it could be liable under the FDCPA if its activities constituted the collection
. 880 F.Supp.2d at 324 (stating that "the FTC expressed its view that enforcers of security interests only fall within the ambit of § 1692f(6)").
. Jordan, 731 F.Supp. at 658 (alteration in original) (emphasis added) (quoting Statements of General Policy or Interpretation Staff Commentary On the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 53 Fed. Reg. 50,097, 50,108 (Dec. 13, 1988)).
. 481 Fed.Appx. 579 (11th Cir. 2012); 'see Brief of The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as Amicus Curiae in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants and Reversal at 16, Birster v. American Home Mortg. Servicing, Inc., 481 Fed. Appx. 579 (11th Cir. 2012) (No. 11-13574-G), http://files. consumerfinance.gov/f/201112._CFPB._Brister-amicusbrief.pdf ("The plain language, purposes, and prior -administrative interpretations of the [FDCPA] all make clear-and the great weight of authority confirms-that an entity meeting the general definition of 'debt collector' qualifies as a 'debt collector' for purposes of the entire Act, even if its principal purpose is enforcing security interests and even if it is enforcing a security interest in the particular case.").
. Consumer Fin. Protection Bureau, Fam Deer Corrrction Practices Acr Ann. Rep., 27 (2013). , ,
, Birster, 481 Fed.Appx. at 583. The dissent questions our reliance on Eleventh Circuit law, stating that "Eleventh Circuit district courts continue to answer this question ['whether a party enforcing a security interest without demanding payment on the underlying debt is attempting to . collect a debt'] in the negative". Dissent at 232 ' and n. 52 (citing Beepot v. J.P., Morgan Chase Nat'l Corp. Servs., 57 F.Supp.3d 1358, 1376 (M.D.Fla. 2014) (relying on Warren v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 342 Fed.Appx. 458, 460-61 (11th Cir. 2009), and Freire v. Aldridge Connors, LLP, 994 F.Supp.2d 1284, 1287-88 (S.D.Fla. 2014))). Another district court within the Eleventh Circuit has concluded that "the Warren rule has 'been, undermined, if not overturned, by two subsequent Eleventh Circuit opinions," Reese and Birster, and "[i)f nothing else, it is now clear- that 'the enforcer of a security interest [can] be held Hable under the FDCPA beyond § 1692f(6)' because, in one fell swoop, 'an entity can both enforce a security interest and collect a debt'" Deutsche Bank Trust Co. Americas v. Garst, 989 F,Supp.2d 1194, 1200 (N.D.Ala. 2013) (emphasis omitted). As for Freire, while it perhaps interpreted Reese too narrowly in light of Birster, the court nonetheless reached a result consistent with it, holding that a foreclosure complaint that attached a notice of the amounts due could have a "dual purpose" of both enforcing a security interest and collecting a debt, Freire, 994 F.Supp.2d at 1288-89. ;
. Brief of Amicus Curiae Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in Support of Appellant and Reversal at 6-20, Ho v. ReconTrust Co., No. 10-56884 (Aug, 7, 2015), http://ffiles.consumer finance.gow/f/201508._cfpb_amicus-brief_ho-v-recontrust-n.pdf.
. We used broad language in Barber v. National Bank of Alaska, 815 P.2d 857, 860-61 (Alaska 1991), to conclude that the FDCPA was not intended to encompass mortgages or mortgage service companies, But the issue before us in Barber, and the authority on which we relied, were limited to "mortgage service companies servicing debts which were not in default when service commenced," a category clearly excluded from the Act's definition of "debt collector," Id. at 860; 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)(F) (defining "debt collector" as not including a person engaged in collection activity that "concerns a debt which was not in default at the time it was obtained by such person."); Perry v. Stewart Title Co., 756 F.2d 1197, 1208 (5th Cir. 1985) (observing that legislative history "indicates conclusively that a debt collector does not include the consumer's creditors, a mortgage servicing company, or an assignee of a debt, as long as the debt was not in default at the time it was assigned.").
. 15 U.S.C. § 16928g(a(1).
. - See AS 10.50.265 ("A person who is amember of a limited liability company.... is not liable, solely by reason of being a member, ... for a liability of the company to a third party ... for the acts or omissions of another member ... or employee of the company to a third party.").
. 673 F.3d 991 (Oth Cir,2012).
, Id. at 1000.
, 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6).
, See, eg, Schwarm v. Craighead, 552 F.Supp.2d 1056, 1073 (E.D.Cal2008) ("EBle-cause the FDCPA imposes personal, not derivative, liability, serving as a shareholder, officer, or director of a debt collecting corporation is not, in itself, sufficient to hold an individual liable as a 'debt collector.'"); Moritz v. Daniel N. Gordon, P.C., 895 F.Supp.2d 1097, 1109 (W.D.Wash. 2012) (following Schwarm ).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6).
. We acknowledge that there is again a range of views on when individual owners, officers, or employees are "debt collectors" for purposes of 'the FDCPA. Compare Pettit v. Retrieval Masters Creditors Bureau, Inc., 211 F.3d 1057, 1059 (7th Cir. 2000) ("Because [officers and shareholders] do not become 'debt collectors' simply by working for or owning stock in debt collection companies, we held [in White v. Goodman, 200 F.3d 1016, 1019 (7th Cir. 2000),] that the Act does not contemplate personal liability for shareholders or employees of debt collection companies who act on behalf of those companies, except perhaps in limited instances where the corporate veil is pierced."), with Kistner v. Law Offices of Michael P. Margelefsky, LLC, 518 F.3d 433, 437-38 (6th Cir. 2008) (holding "that subjecting the sole member of an LLC to individual liability for violations of the FDCPA will require proof that the individual is a "debt collector,' but does not require piercing of the corporate veil"); see also Brink v. First Credit Res., 57 F.Supp.2d 848, 862 (D.Ariz. 1999) (holding that officers who "materially participated in the activities 'of [the company] alleged to be collection activities" may be "debt collectors under the statute"); Ditty v. CheckRite, Ltd., Inc., 973 F.Supp. 1320, 1336-37 (D.Utah 1997) ("[Als the firm's sole attorney, developer of the 'covenant not to sue' practice, author of the generic letters utilized by the firm, and supervisor of all of the firm's collection activities, Mr. DeLoney was regularly engaged, diréctly and indirectly, in the collection of debts.").‘ 'We agree with the view that an individual is or is not a ' "debt collector" under the Act based on his own level of involvement and his own activities, not
., Cruz, 673 F.3d at 1000.
. 1d.
. Del Campo v. Am. Corrective Counseling Serv., Inc., 718 F.Supp.2d 1116, 1127 (N.D.Cal. 2010) (alterations in original) (footnotes omitted); see also Moritz v. Daniel N. Gordon, P.C., 895 F.Supp.2d 1097, 1109 (W.D.Wash,2012) ("[Clourts have found an individual personally liable if 'the individual 1) materially participated in collecting the debt at issue; 2) exercised control over the affairs of the business; 3) was personally involved in the collection of the debt ~ at issue; or 4) was regularly engaged, directly or indirectly, in the collection of debts.'" (quoting Schwarm, 552 F.Supp.2d at 1073»
. See Del Campo v. Mealing, No. C 01-21151 SI, 2013 WL 4764975, at *10-11 (N.D.Cal. Sept. 5, 2013) ("'The Court concludes that under Cruz, plaintiffs must demonstrate, that [the individual debt collector] materially participated not only in debt collection but also in the specific FDCPA violations alleged by plaintiffs.").
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a)(1) (2012) ("Within five days after the initial communication with a consumer in connection with the collection of any debt, a debt collector shall, unless the following information is contained in the initial communication or the consumer has paid the debt, send the consumer a written notice containing ... the amount of the debt. ..."); see Miller v. McCalla, 214 F.3d 872, 875—76 (7th Cir. 2000) (”What [the defendants] certainly could do was to state the total amount due-interest and other charges as well as principal-on the date the dunning letter was sent. We think the statute required this.").
. U.S.C. § 1692g(a)(1). 103.
. See Mealing, 2013 WL 4764975, at "11 (stating that to establish liability for specific FDCPA violations, plaintiffs were required to show . evidence that defendant 'materially participated" in each violation, "such as, for example, that [defendant] played a material role in developing, approving or ratifying the contents and format of the communications in use ... that, plaintiffs allege violate the FDCPA" (citing Musso v. Seiders, 194 F.R.D. 43, 47 (D.Conn. 1999))).
, Cf. Musso, 194 F.R.D. at 47 (denying motion to dismiss claims against ""a stockholder and top executive" ofa collection company where the plaintiff alleged "that he is personally liable as a debt collector because he knew of the allegedly unlawful procedures being used but nevertheless approved or ratified them").
. Alaska Trustee had already changed its challenged practices before the superior court ruled on the Ambridges' request for an injunction. But "[vloluntary cessation does not moot a case or controversy unless 'subsequent events mafke] it absolutely clear that the allegedly wrongful behavior could not reasonably be expected to recur.' "" Parents Involved in Cmty. Sch. v. Seattle Sch. Dist. No'1, 551 U.S. 701, 719, 127 S.Ct. 2738, 168 L.Ed.2d 508 (2007) (citations omitted).
. AS 4550.54.15.
. ASRC Energy Servs. Power & Commo'ns, LLC v. Golden Valley Elec. Ass'n, 267 P.3d 1151, 1158 (Alaska 2011) (quoting State v. O'Neill Investigations, 609 P.2d 520, 532 (Alaska 1980))
. Id. at 535 (quoting F.T.C. v. Sperry & Hutchinson Co., 405 U.S. 233, 244 n. 5, 92 S.Ct. 898, 31 L.Rd.2d 170 (1972)).
. 15 U.S.C. § 16921 (a) (2012).
. AS 45.50,545.
. All three Sperry factors are not necessary to a finding of unfairness. "A practice may be unfair because of the degree to which it meets one of the criteria or because to a lesser degree it meets all three." Robinson v. Toyota Motor Credit Corp., 201 Ill.2d 403, 266 Ill.Dec. 879, 775 N.E.2d 951, 961 (2002) (quoting Disclosure Requirements and Prohibitions Concerning Franchising & Business Opportunity Ventures, 43 Fed. Reg. 59,614, 59,635 (1978)).
, See Roberson v. Southwood Manor Assocs., LLC, 249 P.3d 1059, 1061 (Alaska 2011); Barber v. Nat'l Bank of Alaska, 815 P.2d 857, 861 (Alaska 1991); State v. First Nat'l Bank of Anchorage, 660 P.2d 406, 412-14 (Alaska 1982).
. 332 P.3d 1, 5 (Alaska 2014) (quoting First Nat'l Bank, 660 P.2d at 414).
. Id. at 6-7 (quoting AS 45.50.561(a)(9)); see also ch. 55, § 9, SLA 2004.
. Id. at 7 (emphasis in original).
. Bachmeier arose out of a similar lawsuit against Alaska Trustee. See id. at 2-4. Although the plaintiff in Bachmeier alleged an FDCPA violation in the superior court, it was not at issue on appeal. Id. at 3-4 & 3 n. 6. I
. Id. at 6-7.
. AS 45.50.535(a) provides, in relevant part, that a person "may bring an action to obtain an injunction prohibiting a seller or lessor from continuing to engage in an act or practice declared unlawful under AS 45.50.471" (emphasis added).
. See Donahue v. Ledgends, Inc., 331 P.3d 342, 353 (Alaska 2014) (noting that the UTPA was designed to protect both consumers and "honest businessmen from the depredations of those persons employing unfair or deceptive trade practices" (quoting W. Star Trucks, Inc. v. Big Iron Equip. Serv., Inc., 101 P.3d 1047, 1052 (Alaska ©2004))).
. AS 45.50.535(a).
Dissenting Opinion
with whom STOWERS, Justice, joins, dissenting.
The primary issue in this appeal is Whether a business that regularly-but only—acts as a trustee conducting non-judicial deed of trust-foreclosures falls for all purposes under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act's (FDCPA) "debt collector" definition.
I. A Deed Of Trust Is A Security Instrument, Not A Debt.
A deed of trust is interdependent yet dis-tinet from the debt it secures,
The mortgage was created by the early English court as a transfer of title from the mortgagor to the mortgagee, generally as security for a loan by the mortgagee to the mortgagor. Onee the mortgagor repaid the loan proceeds, title to the property would return to him. If, however, the mortgagor failed to pay the mortgage by the due date, called the law day, he would*228 forfeit all interest in the property.[6 ]
Because of injustices surrounding law day forfeitures, a common law right of 'equitable redemption developed allowing a mortgagor to repay the loan after law day. and thus regain title to property.
From this emerged the concept that a mortgage-or as is commonly used in Alaska, 2a deed of trust
Against this historical backdrop the FDCPA defines the term "debt collector" differently depending on whether a debt or a security interest is at issue. Relevant here, a "debt collector" is:
[A]ay person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another. .. . For the purpose of section 1692f(6) of this title,[13 ] such term also includes any person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the enforce- . ment of security interests.[14 ]
The FDCPA defines "debt" in: terms of money and does not mention security interests; a "debt" is "any obligation ... of a consumer to pay money."
In construing the term "debt collector," courts have recognized that "if the enforcement of a security interest was synonymous with debt collection," then the definitional sentence referencing security interests "would be surplusage because any business with a principal purpose of enforcing security interests would also have the principal purpose of collecting debts.
II. Congress Did Not Intend The FDCPA To Impose Liability On Entities Only Pursuing Non-Judicial Deed Of Trust Foreclosures.
Congress passed the FDCPA in 1977 in response to "the use of abusive, deceptive, and unfair debt collection practices"
Indeed, "the purposes of the FDCPA would [not] be furthered by applying [it] to state foreclosure proceedings considering the panoply of protections and safeguards available to parties of a foreclosure action under [state] law."
As one district court reasoned: [The] statutes require the trustee to record a notice of default as the first step in a non-judicial foreclosure proceeding. The notice must contain a statement that a breach of an obligation has occurred and set forth the nature of the breach. The intent behind the FDCPA was to prohibit abusive collections practices, not to outlaw foreclosures when there is an express security agreement and breach of an obligation.[28 ]
The evils the FDCPA was meant to remedy are not implicated during a non-judicial deed of trust foreclosure sale that fully complies with Alaska law. On the other hand, overlaying the FDCPA on a state's statutory non-judicial deed of trust foreclosure system by making deed of trust trusteee-such as title companies-"debt collectors" will wreak havoc, For example, the FDCPA bars a debt collector from contacting a consumer with respect to a debt if the consumer has asked the debt collector to stop
III. The Assertion That Non-Judicial Deed Of Trust Foreclosures Are Debt Collection Under The FDCPA Is Unpersuasive.
The court's reliance on Glazer v. Chase Home Finance LLC
And in Alaska and many other jurisdictions permitting non-judicial deed of trust foreclosures, no legal action of any kind is required; rather, the trustee must only notify interested parties, including the trustor, of the default.
After conflating the FDCPA's distinction between a debt and a security interest, the Glazer court had to explain to whom the illegal dispossession subsection
The Glazer court posited that the illegal dispossession subsection was intended to apply to personal property repossession agencies, and the court adopts Glager's logic, agreeing that such entities "may well have no regular practice of communicating with debtors" of the type the FDCPA prohibits.
'In short, Glazer's logic does not support treating every security interest enforcer as a debt collector. If Congress meant for "any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts" to mean exactly the same thing as "any business the principal purpose of which is the enforcement of security interests,"
Finally, the court asserts that recent case law from the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals supports imposing FDCPA liability on Alaska Trustee. . But in Reese: v. Ellis, Painter, Ratterree & Adams, LLP the Eleventh Circuit imposed FDCPA liability on a law firm initiating a non-judicial foreclosure gale when, although Georgia law required that a notice of foreclosure be sent to the mortgagor but did "not require a demand for payment of the debtf,] ... the law firm included one anyway.
The only FDCPA provision under which the Ambridges brought suit; 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a), requires in relevant part that a debt collector's initial communication with the debtor state "the amount of the debt" or that the debt collector inform the debtor of this amount "(within five days after the int-tial communication." Under the Alaska law relevant here, trustees must send notices of default to trustors before holding non-Jjudicial foreclosure sales, and the notices must state: "that a breach of the obligation for which the deed of trust is security has occurred"; "the nature of the breach"; "the sum owing on the obligation"; and that the trustee has elected "to sell the property to satisfy the obligation."
On these facts, had Alaska Trustee instead initiated a judicial foreclosure and served the Ambridges with a complaint, its non-liability under the FDCPA would not be debatable: "A commauniceation in the form of a formal pleading in a civil action shall not be treated as an initial communication for purposes of [§ 1692g(a) ].
Although the FDCPA was intended "to eliminate abusive debt collection practices," it also was intended "to insure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged.
V. Conclusion
Other courts repeatedly have refused to conflate the FDCPA's distinction between security interest enforeers-to whom only the illegal dispossession subsection applies
. 15 U.S. C §§ 1692-1692p (2012).
. See zd § 1692a(6) (defimng the term "debt collector").
. See id. § 1692f(6).
. Id. § 1692g(a).
. See Espeland v. OneWest Bank, FSB, 323 P.3d 2, 9-10 (Alaska 2014) (stating that trustors "signed a Promissory Note creating the obligation to repay their loan and a Deed of Trust giving the lender, through the trustee, the right to sell the property if they failed to repay the loan"); accord Jackson v. Mortg. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 770 NW.2d 487, 493-94 (Minu. 2009) ('Historically, promissory notes and security instruments have been treated as two distinct documents that are legally intertwined. A real property mortgage has 'two things, the personal » obligation and the interest in the realty securing that obligation.'" (citation omitted) (quoting 4 Groree E. OssornE, American Law or Property § 16.107 (1952))), Grant S. Nerson Er at, Rear Esrare TRANSFER Finance, anp Deveropment 100 (8th ** ed. 2009) ("A mortgage involves a transfer by a debtor-mortgagor to a creditor-mortgagee of a real estate interest, to be held as security for the performance of an obligation, normally the pay- , ment of a debt evidenced by a promissory note.").
. Young v. Embley, 143 P.3d 936, 940 (Alaska 2006) (footnote omitted) (citing 1 Grant S; Nelson & Dame A. Wurman, Rear Estate FINANCE Law ~§ 1.2, at 6-7 (4th ed. 2002)).
. See zd
. Resrarement (Trmirp) or Pror.; Morras. § 3. 1 emt. a (1997). o
. For the most part Alaska law does not differentiate between deeds of trust and mortgages because both " 'accomplish(] the same purpose[] {of] creating a security interest in land.' " Young, 143 P.3d at 941-42 (quoting Brand v. First Fed. Sav. & Loan Ass'n of Fairbanks, 478 ;P.2d 829, 831 (Alaska 1970)). ,
. Id. at 940 (quoting Restatement (Tammi) or Prop.; Mortes. § 4.1(a) (1997); Nelson & Wurman, supra note 6, § 1.5, at 10).
. See generally AS 34.20.070. -
. See Derisme v. Hunt Leibert Jacobson P.C., 880 F.Supp.2d 311, 321 (D.Conn. 2012) (quoting City of New Haven v. God's Corner Church, Inc., 108 Conn.App. 134, 948 A.2d 1035, 1040 (2008)); see also AS 34.20.070(a) (permitting non-judicial foreclosure sale if deed of trust "provides that in the case of default ... trustee may sell the property for condition broken"); AS 34.20.090(a) (stating non-judicial foreclosure sale "transfers all title and interest that the party executing the ~ deed of trust had in the property").
. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(6) a security interest enforcer incurs liability only by:
Taking or threatening to take any non-judicial action to effect dispossession or disablement of property if ... there is no present right to possession of the property claimed as collateral through an enforceable security interest; there is no present intention to take possession of the property; or ... the property is exempt by law from such dispossession or disablement.
. Id. § 1692a(6) (emphases added).
. Seeid. § 1692a(5) (emphasis added).
. See supra note 12 and accompanying text; see also AS 34,20.100 (prohibiting an "action[,] ...
. Eg., Gray v. Four Oak Court Ass'n, 580 F.Supp.2d 883,888 (D.Minn. 2008); Natividad v. Wells Fargo Bank, NA., No. 3:12-cv-03646 JSC, 2013 WL 2299601, at *6 (N.D.Cal.. May 24, 2013); see also Warren v. Countrywide Home Loans, Inc., 342 Fed.Appx. 458, 460-61 (11th Cir. 2009) (per curiam) ("[TJhe statute specifically says that a person-in the business of enforcing security interests is a 'debt collector' for the purposes of § 1692f(6), which reasonably suggests that such a person is not a debt collector for purposes of the other sections of the Act."); Dunavant v. Sirote & Permutt, P.C., 603 Fed. Appx. 737, 739-40 & n.2 (11th Cir. 2015) (per curiam) (Clarifying that Warren remains good law).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692(a); Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Pub. L. No. 95-109, 91 Stat. 874 (1977). .
. S. Rap, No. 95-382, at 4 (1977), as reprinted in 1977 U.S.C.C.A.N. 1695, 1698; see also 15 U.S.C. § 1692d ("A debt collector may not engage in any conduct the natural consequence of which is to harass, oppress, or abuse any person in connection with the collection of a debt."); 15 U.S.C. § 1692f ("A debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt.").
. Derisme v. Hunt Leibert Jacobson P.C., 880 F.Supp.2d 311, 328 (D.Conn. 2012).
. Id. at 327.
. See Bauman v. Day, 892 P.2d 817, 823-24 (Alaska 1995) ("We see no reason why the per- . sonal defenses of an owner cannot, result in invalidating a non-judicial sale just as they can result in invalidating the obhgatxon on which the sale was based.").
. See Fireman's Fund Mortg,. Corp. v. Allstate Ins. Co., 838 P.2d 790, 797 (Alaska 1992).
. See Cook Schuhmann & Groseclose, Inc. v. Brown & Root, Inc., 116 P.3d 592, 596 (Alaska2005) (noting that procedurally "unfair and unreasonable" non-judicial foreclosure sales may be set aside); Baskurt v. Beal;.101 P.3d 1041, 1044, 1046 (Alaska 2004). h
. See Baskurt, 101 P.3d at 1046 (noting that the trustee has "the duty to take reasonable and appropriate steps to avoid sacrifice of the debt- or's property and interest").
. AS 34.20.070(1)(1).
. AS 34.20.070(b).
. Maynard v. Cannon, 650 F.Supp.2d 1138, 1143-44 (D.Utah 2008) (citations omitted), aff'd, 401 Fed.Appx. 389 (10th Cir. 2010); see also Burnett v. Mortg,. Elec. Registration Sys., Inc., 706 F.3d 1231, 1239 (10th Cir. 2013) (" [When a debt has yet to be reduced to a personal judgment against a mortgagor, a non-judicial forecio-sure does not result in a mortgagor's obligation to pay money-it merely results in the sale of property subject to a deed of trust.'" {(emphasis in original) (quoting Maynard, 401 Fed.Appx. at 394)).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692c(c).
. Id. § 16928(b).
. Cf. AS 34.20.070-.080 (providing state procedures for notification of default and conducting sale for non-judicial deed of trust foreclosures).
. 704 F.3d 453 (6th Cir. 2013).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692i(a)(1); see Glazer, 704 F.3d at 461-62.
. See AS 09.45.170; AS 09.45.180; AS 34,20.100; Kuretich v. Alaska Tr., LLC, 287 P.3d 87, 91 (Alaska 2012) (explaining that after judicial foreclosure sale, "the lender can obtain a deficiency judgment against the borrower for amounts still owed"); see also, eg., Wash. Fed., v. Harvey, 182 Wash.2d 335, 340 P.3d 846, 847 n. 1 (2015) (explaining that in non-judicial foreclosures borrowers surrender their rights to redemption "in exchange for protection from deficiency judgments" available in judicial foreclosures); Garretson v. Post, 156 Cal.App 4th 1508, 68 Cal.Rptr.3d 230, 235 (2007) (explaining deficiency judgments are available in judicial foreclosures but not in non-judicial foreclosures).
The court's reliance on Dworkin v. First National Bank of Fairbanks, 444 P.2d 777 (Alaska 1968), is equally misplaced. That case involved a judicial action to enforce an alleged equitable mortgage when no legal mortgage existed and , the specific question whether, for a judicial action, a security interest could survive beyond the statute of limitations for the underlying debt. I4. at 780-82.
. See Doughty v. Holder, Nos. 2:13-cv-00295-LRS to 00297-LRS,2014 WL 220832, at *5 (E.D.Wash. Jan. 21, 2014) ("[A] deficiency judgment ... is not for the purpose of enforcing the
. See AS 34.20.100 (prohibiting a deficiency "action[,] ... proceeding[,] ... [or] judgment ... on the obligation secured by the deed of trust" after a non-judicial foreclosure sale); see also, eg., Can Cw. Proc, Copr § 580d (West 2015); Wase. Rev. Copm Ann. § 61.24.100 (West 2015); see also 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5) (defining "debt" as "any obligation ... to pay money").
. See AS 34.20.070; 2 Baxter Dunaway, Tur Law or Disrersssp Rear Estate § 17.4 (2015) ("State [non-judicial foreclosure] statutes specify notice requirements, such as recording, posting on the property, mailing of notice to the borrower and other specified parties, and advertisement in newspapers."); 1 id. app. 13A (listing 29 states where non-judicial foreclosure with varying notice requirements is "normal" foreclosure method); Rear Estate Transrer, FinaNcE, aNp DeveLror. ment, supra note 5, at 641-43 (quoting Grant S. Nzrson er at., Rear Estate Finance Law 633-36 (5th ed. 2007)) (explaining that roughly 60% of jurisdictions allow power of sale or non-judicial foreclosures "[alfter varying types and degrees of notice").
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(6).
. Id.
. 704 F.3d 453, 463-64 (6th Cir. 2013).
, See U.C.C. § 9-102(a)(73) (2010); accord AS 45.29.102(a)(91)(A) (defining "secured party" in part as "a person in whose favor a security interest is created or provided for under a security agreement"). ' .
. See U.C.C. §§ 9-609, 9-610; accord AS 45.29.609(a)(1) ("After default, a secured party ... may take possession of the collateral...."); AS 45,29.610(a) ("After default, a secured party may sell, lease, license, or otherwise dispose of any or all of the collateral.....").
. See AS 34.20.080(b) (permitting "beneficiary"-the entity with "the ultimate right to be repaid on the loan," Espeland v. OneWest Bank, FSB, 323 P.3d 2, 5 n. 4 (Alaska 2014)-to bid at a non-judicial foreclosure sale); U.C.C. § 9-610(c); see also AS 45.29.610(c) (permitting secured party to bid on collateral at post-default sale); UCC. §9-620(a)-(c) & emt. 3; UCC. § 9-609(b)(2); AS 45.29.620(a)-(c) (permitting secured party to accept collateral in full satisfaction of debt upon notice to other parties with interest in collateral and if, debtor consents, either explicitly or by failing to timely respond to a proposal to accept collateral, but requiring that consumer goods not be "in the possession of the debtor when the debtor consents to the acceptance"); AS 45.29.609(b)(2) (permitting secured party to non-judicially repossess collateral upon default "if it proceeds without breach of the peace").
. See also 704 F.3d at 463-64.
. In Jordan v. Kent Recovery Services, Inc. the repossession agent visited the debtor's home and communicated with her no less than five times in an attempt to locate the car. 731 F.Supp. 652, 654-55 (D.Del. 1990), cited by Glazer, 704 F.3d at 464. And in James v. Ford Motor Credit Co. "Ford Credit notified the Jameses of their default and told them that they planned to repossess the Escort. Ms. James told Ford Credit that she did not want her car repossessed and that Ford Credit could not take it." 47 F.3d 961, 962 (8th Cir. 1995), cited by Glazer, 704 F.3d at 464.
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(6) (emphasis added).
. Id. § 1692a(6) (emphases added).
. See id. (stating that "[flor the purpose of" the illegal dispossession subsection, the term debt «collector "also includes" security interest enfore-ers); see also Jordan, 731 F.Supp. at 657-58 {(concluding that security interest enforcers incur liability only under the illegal dispossession subsection because " 'where Congress includes particular language in one section of a statute but omits it in another section of the same Act, it is generally presumed that Congress acts intentionally and purposely in the disparate inclusion or exclusion.'" (quoting Russello v, United States, 464 U.S. 16, 23, 104 S.Ct. 296, 78 L.Ed.2d 17 (1983))). .
. 678 F.3d 1211, 1217 (11th Cir. 2012).
. Id. at 1218 n. 3. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau brief on which the court also relies similarly states: "The Court need not decide in this case whether foreclosure by itself constitutes debt collection activity covered by the Act." Brief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau as Amicus Curiae in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants and Reversal at 32, Birster v. Am. Home Mortg. Servicing, Inc., 481 Fed. Appx. 579 (11th Cir. 2012) (No, 11-13574) (emphasis added), available at, http://consumerfinance.gov/f/ ~- 201112._CFPB_Birster-amicus-brief. pdf.
. See, eg., Beepot v. J.P. Morgan Chase Nat'l Corporate Servs., 57 F.Supp.3d 1358, 1376 (M.D.Fla. 2014) (dismissing FDCPA claim "[ble-cause foreclosing on a security interest is not debt collection activity under the provisions of
. Former AS 34. 20.070(b)(4)-(7), (c) (2003).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(d); see Wood v. Lerner Sampson & Rothfuss, No. 1:13CV1669, 2014 WL 4249785, at *6 (N.D.Ohio Aug. 27, 2014) ("Plaintiff's citation to Glazer ... for the proposition that 'mortgage foreclosure is debt collection under the Act{,]' is unavailing for purposes of the § 1692g(a) claim.... {Section 1692g(d)] is perfectly clear that a legal pleading[, such as a foreclosure complaint,] is not an 'initial commu- .- nication.'" (first alteration and emphasis in original) (citation omitted) (quoting Glazer v. Chase Home Fin. LLC, 704 F.3d 453, 455 (6th Cir. 2013))).
. See Statements of General Policy or Interpretation Staff Commentary On the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 53 Fed. Reg. 50,097-02, 50,101 (Dec. 13, 1988) [hereinafter FTC Staff Commentary] (emphasis added); sée also Montgomery v. Huntington Bank, 346 F.3d 693, 699 (6th Cir. 2003) (noting that the FTC's interpretations of the FDCPA can help "shed light on the statute's meaning"); Dietz v. Quality Loan Serv. Corp. of Wash., No. C13-5948 RJB, 2014 WL 5343774; at *2 (W.D.Wash. Oct. 20, 2014) ('The Notice of Default and Notice of Sale(s) are statutorily required notices under [state law]. They are not 'debt collection' activities separate from the non judicial process.");" Fouché v. Shapiro & Massey LLP., 575 F. Supp 2d 776 787—88 (S.D.Miss. 2008) (stating notice that i is "necessary to foreclose under the deed of trust" with purpose of "satisfy[ing] conditions precedent to a foreclosure on the mortgage" subjected law firm to liability only under 111ega1 dispossession subsection).
The court relies on the Corisumer Finance Protection Bureau's recent amicus position to the contrary in a pending Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals case. The Bureau came into existence in 2010, after all of the events in this case took place. It apparently supplants the FTC as the "official" FDCPA agency, but-has not yet promulgated any formal interpretations: It remains to be seen how the Bureau's amicus position will be-treated by the Ninth Circuit panel.
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(4) (emphasis added).
. See AS 34.20.070.
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692d(4).
. FTC Staff Commentary, 53 Fed. Reg. at 50,-105; see also AS 34.20.070(b) (requiring that notices of default be recorded); AS 34.20.080(a)(2) (requiring public notice before non-judicial foreclosure sale).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e); see also id. § 1692n (''This subchapter does not annul, alter, or affect, or exempt any person subject to [its] provisions ... from complying with the laws of any State with respect to debt collection practices, except to the extent that those laws are inconsistent with any provision of this subchapter, and then only to the extent of the inconsistency.").
. As the court recognizes, it would be unfair to penalize Alaska Trustee for including FDCPA disclaimer language in its notices of default; the law in this area is far from clear, and Alaska Trustee asserted it was simply acting "out of an abundance of caution." See Golliday v. Chase Home Fin., LLC, 761 F.Supp.2d 629, 636 (W.D.Mich. 2011) (noting security interest enforcers are debt collectors "for the narrow purposes of [the illegal dispossession subsection]" and therefore should not be faulted for including FDCPA disclaimer language in letters to mortgagors).
. 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(6).
. See, eg., Boyd v. J.E. Robert Co., No. OS-CV-2455(KAM)(RER), 2013 WL 5436969, at *9-12 (ER.D.N.Y. Sept. 27, 2013), (declining to follow Glazer because it "overlooks [a] basic statutory distinction" "between the 'collection of any debts' and 'the enforcement of security interests' " (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6))); Derisme v. Hunt Leibert Jacobson PC., 880 F.Supp.2d 311, 323-26 (D.Conn. 2012); Gray v. Four Oak Court Ass'n, 580 F.Supp.2d 883, 887-88 (D.Minn. 2008).
, See, eg., Goodin v. Bank of Am., N.A., 114 F.Supp.3d 1197, 1207 (M.D.Fla. 2015) ("As the foreclosure complaint sought to collect on the note and the security interest, it constituted debt collection activity and a violation of the FDCPA."); Doughty v. Holder, Nos. 2:13-cv-00295-LRS to 00297-LRS, 2014 WL 220832, at *3, 6 (E.D.Wash. Jan. 21, 2014) (holding that "{slo long as the foreclosure proceedings, be they non-fudicial or judicial, involve no more than mere enforcement of security interests," only the illegal dispossession subsection applies). Natividad v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., No. 3:12-cv-03646 JSC, 2013 WL 2299601, at *8 (N.D.Cal. May 24, 2013) ("[Plersons who regularly or principally engage in communications with debtors concerning their default that go beyond the statutorily mandated communications required for {non-judiciall foreclosure may be considered debt collectors."); Calvert v. Alessi & Koenig, LLC, Nos.2:11-CV-00333,00411, 00442, & 01004-LRH-PAL, 2013 WL 592906, at "4 (D.Nev. Feb. 12, 2013) (holding letters sent to debtor that were not part of Nevada's statutory "lien enforcement process" were "part of the debt collection process subject to the full battery of FDCPA provisions," whereas other letter required by statute was "subject to the lighter regulation of FDCPA section 1692f(6)"); Beadle v. Haughey, No. Civ.04-272-SM, 2005 WL 300060, at *3-4 (D.N.H. Feb. 9, 2005) ("'Because defendants were executing a non-judicial foreclosure proceeding rather than collecting a debt, their activities are ... subject [only to the illegal dispossession subsection].").
. Accordingly, I do not address Stephen Routh's personal liability under the FDCPA or the superior court's injunction under the UTPA.
Reference
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