Paul Hill v. Accounts Receivable Services
Opinion
Paul Hill brought suit against Accounts Receivable Services, LLC (Accounts Receivable), under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act,
On October 30, 2015, Accounts Receivable filed suit against Hill on an assigned debt from Allina Health System (Allina), seeking payment for unpaid medical services totaling $2,997.63 and for statutory interest under Minnesota Statutes § 334.01. During a hearing before the Conciliation Court for the Fourth Judicial District of Minnesota, Accounts Receivable submitted exhibits-the authenticity of which Hill challenged-purporting to document the assignment. The conciliation court ruled in favor of Hill and issued its judgment on a standard form, checking a box stating that "Plaintiff has not demonstrated an entitlement to relief and recovers zero." The judgment contained no further legal analysis. Hill subsequently filed this action, alleging that Accounts Receivable's conduct before the conciliation court violated the Act. We review
de novo
the district court's ruling on a motion for judgment on the pleadings.
United States v. Any & All Radio Station Transmission Equip.
,
Hill argues that the district court erred in its interpretation of 15 U.S.C. § 1692e and its subparts that state that "[a] debt collector may not use any false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt." See also 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e(2) and 1692e(10). This includes a prohibition on threatening "to take any action that cannot legally be taken or that is not intended to be taken." 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(5). Hill argues that the district court erred by applying a materiality standard to these provisions. We disagree.
In
Hahn v. Triumph Partnerships LLC
,
Hill argues that even under a materiality standard, Accounts Receivable made materially false representations by claiming that the documents submitted to the conciliation court were authentic. Hill does not deny that his family received medical care from Allina or that Allina assigned the debt to Accounts Receivable. Instead, he argues that Accounts Receivable cannot "acquir[e] documentation to establish its debt collection claims" and that the documents submitted to the conciliation court contained a number of false statements.
2
In
Hemmingsen v. Messerli & Kramer, P.A.
,
Hill also argues that Accounts Receivable violated the Act by engaging in unfair practices. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692f, "[a] debt collector may not use unfair or unconscionable means to collect or attempt to collect any debt." Included within that definition is "[t]he collection of any amount ... unless such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law." 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(1). Hill argues that Accounts Receivable violated these provisions by attempting to collect interest under Minnesota Statutes § 549.09. Accounts Receivable's conciliation court complaint, however, sought interest under Minnesota Statutes § 334.01. Whether § 334.01 applies to Accounts Receivable's conciliation court claim is a question of Minnesota law that has not been decided by the Minnesota Supreme Court.
Hogenson v. Hogenson
,
The judgment is affirmed.
The Honorable Donovan W. Frank, United States District Judge for the District of Minnesota.
Hill disputes the following: (1) although the conciliation court complaint alleged that Hill owed $3,687.62 on an account stated, that amount included statutory interest that would not have been on the account stated Hill received; (2) one of the documents submitted to the conciliation court falsely stated that Accounts Receivable is a division of Allina; (3) two documents stated that the assignment was "hereby" made from Allina to Accounts Receivable, which could not be true because only one document could assign the rights; and (4) one document stated that Accounts Receivable was to "select an experienced agency to pursue collection of the accounts," which it did not do.
Reference
- Full Case Name
- Paul HILL, Plaintiff-Appellant v. ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE SERVICES, LLC, Defendant-Appellee
- Cited By
- 38 cases
- Status
- Published