Debt-collection lawyers who file affidavits to obtain garnishments in state courts are fair game for consumers' Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuits in federal court, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has held.
The decision marks the first time that a federal circuit has held that a debt-collection lawyer's affidavit is not protected by the absolute immunity commonly granted to witnesses in judicial proceedings.
Both industry and consumer attorneys say this decision means that debt-collection lawyers will have to be more careful in future about what they sign -- or have their clients sign the affidavits.
The 6th Circuit denied absolute immunity to Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., a Cleveland-based national debt-collection practice, and Weltman lawyer Mark N. Wiseman. Plaintiff Robert Todd has accused Wiseman of allegedly filing a false affidavit to initiate a garnishment proceeding in a state collection court. Todd v. Weltman, Weinberg & Reis Co., No. 04-4109 (6th Cir.).
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