Opinion ID: 716699
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: claim for attorney fees

Text: 26 The plaintiffs argue that a claim for $150 in attorney fees in the complaint against them was a violation of 15 U.S.C. § 1692f. They argue that the refusal of the trial judge to instruct the jury that the defendants could only seek attorney fees if allowed by contract was prejudicial to their case in light of the jury's finding that the Defendants did not collect or attempt to collect amounts not permitted by the contract or authorized by law. In their statement of issues, the plaintiffs frame the issue as whether the complaint demanding $150 in attorney fees violated 15 U.S.C. § 1692f. That section prohibits the use of unfair and unconscionable means of collecting or attempting to collect a debt. Subsection 1 of that section specifically prohibits: The collection of any amount (including any interest, fee, charge, or expense incidental to the principal obligation) unless such amount is expressly authorized by the agreement creating the debt or permitted by law. 27 We find that the record on appeal is inadequate, and we are therefore unable to review this issue. The documents which the plaintiffs submitted are incomplete in that they do not fully detail the substance of this issue, nor do they sufficiently convey all the facts which form the basis of the issue. Further, we are not convinced that the plaintiffs adequately documented that this issue was preserved for appeal, and we thus refrain from addressing the substance of the plaintiffs' claim. An appellant who provides an inadequate record does so at his peril. Deines v. Vermeer Mfg. Co., 969 F.2d 977, 978-79 (10th Cir.1992).