House Committee Approves Legislation to Amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

The House Financial Services Committee approved a bill this week to amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to exclude law firms and licensed attorneys from the definition of a “debt collector” under the law. The bill would also protect debt collection lawyers from liability with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for debt collection activities, including serving and filing legal pleadings, serving discovery requests, and enforcing judgments against consumers.
 
The proposed bill now moves the House floor for consideration. If passed, this legislation will have a significant impact on Las Vegas consumers by restricting the scope of their rights under federal law to stop harassing, abusive, and/or misleading debt collection tactics by debt collection lawyers and law firms. This is especially true because Nevada does not have an enforceable state law to bring similar debt collection abuse claims.