I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2014
To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act with regard to liability
for noncompliance, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MAY 25, 2001
Mr. ANDREWS (for himself and Mrs. KELLY) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services
A BILL
To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act with regard
to liability for noncompliance, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Debt Collection
Practices Improvement Act of 2001’’.
SEC. 2. COLLECTION ACTIVITY FOLLOWING INITIAL NO-
TICE.
Section 809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act
(15 U.S.C. 1692(g)) is amended by adding at the end the
following new subsection:
‘‘(d) CONTINUATION DURING PERIOD.—Collection
activities and communications may continue during the
30-day period described in subsection (a) unless the con-
sumer requests the cessation of such activities.’’.
SEC. 3. LIABILITY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.
(a) CLARIFICATION OF LIMITATION ON CLASS AC-
TION AWARDS.—Section 813(a)(2)(B) of the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k(a)(2)(B)) is
amended—
(1) by inserting ‘‘or any series of class actions
arising out of the same violations by the same debt
collector’’ after ‘‘case of a class action’’; and
(2) by inserting ‘‘of such class action or series
of class actions’’ after ‘‘all other class members’’.
(b) ATTORNEYS FEES TO ENFORCE CIVIL LIABIL-
ITY.—Paragraph (3) of section 813(a) of the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k(a)) is amended
to read as follows:
‘‘(3) subject to subsection (f), in the case of a
successful action to enforce a liability under para-
graph (1) or (2), the costs of the action, including
reasonable attorney’s fees, as determined by the
court, in an amount not to exceed the amount
awarded in such action under the applicable para-
graph.’’.
(c) RULES APPLICABLE TO CERTAIN ACTIONS.—Sec-
tion 813 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15
U.S.C. 1692k) is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new subsection:
‘‘(f) RULES APPLICABLE TO ACTIONS UNDER THIS
TITLE.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in
any action arising under this title, for purposes of Rule
68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the following
provisions shall apply:
‘‘(1) PLAINTIFF’S
ATTORNEY’S
FEES.—Costs
shall include reasonable fees for the plaintiff’s attor-
ney.
‘‘(2) DISALLOWANCE OF CERTAIN FEES ACCRU-
ING AFTER REFUSAL OF SETTLEMENT OFFER.—In
accordance with Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of
Civil Procedure, if—
‘‘(A) an offer is made by the debt collector
to a consumer bringing an action (including any
class action or series of class actions referred to
in subsection (a)(2)(B)) under this title, and
the offer is not accepted; and
‘‘(B) the amount of the final judgment
awarded to the consumer (or, in the case of a
class action or series of class actions, the total
amount awarded to all class members in such
class action or series of class actions) is less
than or equal to the amount of the offer re-
ferred to in subparagraph (A),
the consumer (or the class with regard to a class ac-
tion or series of class actions) may not be awarded
or otherwise recover costs for attorney’s fees in-
curred after the date such offer is rejected.’’.
(d) FACTORS FOR CONSIDERATION.—Section 813(b)
of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C.
1692k(b)) is amended—
(1) in the portion of such subsection which pre-
cedes paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘liability in any ac-
tion’’ and inserting ‘‘any award’’; and
(2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the
following new paragraph:
‘‘(1) in any action under subsection (a)(2)(A), the
frequency and persistence of noncompliance by the debt
collector, the nature of such noncompliance, the extent to
which the such noncompliance was intentional, and the
amount of actual damages awarded; or’’.
(e) BONA FIDE ERRORS.—Section 813(c) of the Fair
Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k(c)) is
amended—
(1) by striking ‘‘(c) A debt collector may not’’
and inserting ‘‘(c) BONA FIDE ERRORS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A debt collector may not’’;
and
(2) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
‘‘(2) RELIANCE
ON
RULES
OF
CIVIL
PROCE-
DURE.—A debt collector may not be held liable in
any action brought under this title if the debt col-
lector shows by a preponderance of the evidence that
the violation resulted from good faith compliance
with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure; in the
case of a proceeding in a State court, the rules of
civil procedure available under the laws of such
State; or a nonjudicial foreclosure proceeding.’’.
Æ