Court Opinion

ID: 9618105
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 05:06:39.111549+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:04:22.575217
License: Public Domain

*294MELTON, Justice,
dissenting.
Because the FBPA is a law of general application that has nothing to do with impermissibly regulating the practice of law in violation of separation of powers, I must respectfully dissent from the majority’s erroneous conclusion that the remedies relating to Appellee’s allegedly abusive debt collection practices “must be found outside the FBPA.” Maj. Op. at 293. Investigating violations of the law that happen to involve lawyers does not automatically amount to impermissibly “regulating” the practice of law, as a lawyer who violates the law is just as subject to investigation as any other common offender. See Higgins v. Dept. of Public Safety, 256 Ga. 288 (347 SE2d 562) (1986) (attorney given traffic citation for speeding); Smith v. Jefferson County, 201 Ga. 674 (40 SE2d 773) (1946) (attorney arrested in connection with helping client erect fence around property that client claimed was hers). See also Midboe v. Commission on Ethics for Pub. Employees, 646 So2d 351, 359 (La. 1994) (“A person possessing a law license is not exempt from the duties of citizenship or ordinary state laws”) (citation omitted), overruled on other grounds, Transit Mgmt. v. Commission on Ethics for Pub. Employees, 703 So2d 576 (La. 1994).
The FBPA is a law of general application that applies to anyone who engages in consumer debt collection practices, and attorneys are not specifically exempted from the statute’s application. See OCGA § 10-1-391 (FBPA “shall be liberally construed and applied to promote its underlying purposes and policies”); OCGA § 10-1-397 (Administrator authorized to issue cease and desist order to “any person [who] is using, has used, or is about to use any method, act, or practice declared ... to be unlawful [by the FBPA]”) (emphasis supplied); OCGA § 10-1-396 (no mention of attorneys in exemptions from application of FBPA). See also 1st Nationwide Collection Agency, Inc. v. Werner, 288 Ga. App. 457 (654 SE2d 428) (2007) (violations of Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act also constitute violations of Georgia’s FBPA). In this regard, the Administrator may initiate an investigation when it reasonably appears that any person
has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in any act or practice declared to be unlawful by [the FBPA] or when [the Administrator] believes it to be in the public interest that an investigation should be made to ascertain whether a person in fact has engaged in, is engaging in, or is about to engage in any act or practice declared to be unlawful by [the FBPA].
OCGA § 10-1-403 (a). A lawyer, like any other person engaged in or about to engage in unlawful activity prohibited by the FBPA, would *295be subject to investigation pursuant to the plain terms of the statute. There is no statutory exemption that would prohibit lawyers from being investigated when they are suspected of being involved in unfair business practices.
In this connection, it cannot be said that a mere investigation into alleged abusive debt collection practices conducted by lawyers would constitute regulating the practice of law in violation of the separation of powers principle. See Heslin v. Connecticut Law Clinic of Trantolo & Trantolo, 461 A2d 938 (Conn. 1983) (investigative demand provisions of Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act were applicable to attorneys and did not violate separation of powers where no specific exemption for attorneys existed in the statute). Indeed, compliance with the investigative demand here to determine whether or not the FBPA has been violated would not require Appellee to change how it practiced law, impose any additional requirements on Appellee’s practice of law, or interfere with any attorney disciplinary proceedings that could be initiated in this case. Even though the majority purports to side step the issue of separation of powers by claiming that “[w]e need not address whether application of the FBPA to the practice of law would violate the constitutional separation of powers doctrine” (Maj. Op. at 293), the majority actually relies on a thinly-veiled separation of powers analysis in reaching its erroneous conclusion that the FBPA can have no application here. See Haynes v. Yale-New Haven Hosp., 699 A2d 964, 972-973 (II) (Conn. 1997) (relying on separation of powers analysis applicable to legal profession from Heslin, supra, in order to limit application of Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act to entrepreneurial or commercial aspects of medical profession); Maj. Op. at 291. As explained more fully below, the majority reaches its erroneous conclusion simply because it misses the point that the FBPA is not being applied to impermissibly regulate the practice of law here, but to sustain an inquiry into potentially abusive consumer debt collection practices that fall squarely within the regulatory scope of the FBPA. See 1st Nationwide Collection Agency, Inc., supra. Because application of the FBPA here has nothing to do with impermissibly regulating the practice of law, and everything to do with regulating a commercial activity that may be properly investigated pursuant to the FBPA, there can be no violation of the separation of powers principle. See Heslin, supra, 461 A2d at 946-947 (III). In any event,
[w]e need not in this case decide whether every provision of [the FBPA] permits regulation of every aspect of the practice of law by every member of the bar of this state. For now, we need conclude only that [the FBPA’s] regulation of “the *296conduct of any trade or commerce” does not totally exclude all conduct of the profession of law. For the purpose of sustaining an investigatory demand, [the FBPA] applies to the conduct of attorneys.
Id. at 943 (II).
Contrary to the majority’s misreading of Henderson v. Gandy, 280 Ga. 95 (623 SE2d 465) (2005) and Haynes v. Yale-New Haven Hosp., supra, this Court’s decision in Henderson actually compels the result that the activities of Appellee here may be properly investigated by the Administrator. In Henderson, we relied on Haynes, supra, to limit the application of the FBPA to the entrepreneurial or commercial aspects of the medical profession. We did this because “[o]nly when physicians are engaging in the entrepreneurial, commercial, or business aspect of the practice of medicine are they engaged in ‘trade or commerce’ within the purview of the [FBPA].” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Id. at 97. Where, however, the claims involve professional malpractice, we made clear that “[m]edical malpractice claims recast as FBPA claims cannot form the basis for a FBPA violation[, because to] hold otherwise would transform every claim for medical malpractice into a FBPA claim.” (Citation and punctuation omitted.) Id. at 98. See also Haynes, supra, 699 A2d at 972 (“[Professional negligence — that is, malpractice — does not fall under [the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act].”). Here, Appellee is directly engaged in trade or commerce regulated by the FBPA by collecting consumer debts from the public. See 1st Nationwide Collection Agency, Inc., supra. We are not applying the FBPA to a private matter between an attorney and his or her client that would “transform [a] claim for [legal] malpractice into a FBPA claim.” Henderson, supra, 280 Ga. at 98. Here, we are specifically dealing with commercial debt collection practices aimed at the general public, which fall directly within the purview of the FBPA. 1st Nationwide Collection Agency, Inc., supra, 288 Ga. App. at 459 (1). Thus, the rationale provided in Henderson shows exactly why the attorneys here would be subject to investigation under the FBPA, not why they would not be, as the majority contends. The collection of consumer debts, in and of itself, has nothing to do with the practice of law, as it is simply a commercial activity that any person can perform, and any person who engages in the activity is involved in “trade or commerce” governed by the FBPA. See 1st Nationwide Collection Agency, Inc., supra. Accordingly, to the extent that the attorneys in this case are involved in the debt collection process — again, an activity that anyone can perform — they are engaged in commercial activities that are directly regulated by the FBPA. Whether or not the individuals collecting the debts happen to be *297lawyers makes no difference, as the FBPA applies directly to the commercial activities involved here and there is no statutory exemption that would prevent the individuals involved from being investigated pursuant to the terms of the statute.1
It also makes no difference that Appellee is collecting debts on behalf of clients as part of its law practice, as such law practice simply does not shield Appellee from investigation under the FBPA. Indeed, as explained above, the collection of consumer debts is indisputably a commercial activity that falls within the purview of the FBPA. Further, the focus here is not simply on the rendering of professional legal services, but the manner in which consumer debts are being collected. Just like any other law of general application, the FBPA would subject anyone to investigation who is engaged in unlawful practices with respect to debt collection. Under the majority’s analysis, however, any illegal commercial activity taken by a lawyer “on behalf of a client” would not be subject to investigation by any State entity other than the State Bar, even where the relevant State statute that authorizes such investigation contains no express exemption for lawyers. Such an analysis would be untenable in the context of criminal statutes, and is equally untenable here. For example, as the majority would surely have to concede, a lawyer who punches another person in the face “on behalf of a client” would not be shielded from investigation for criminal battery by claiming that punching people in the face was simply part of the way that he practiced law on behalf of clients. Similarly, an attorney cannot abuse members of the public by engaging in unfair and unlawful debt collection practices and then shield himself from investigation under the FBPA because he was engaging in such unfair practices “on behalf of a client.” A lawyer can, and must, practice law without punching people in the face. And a lawyer can, and must, practice law without violating the FBPA by abusing members of the public. The fact that one is practicing law does not place one above it. Midboe, supra, 646 So2d at 359.
As further evidence that an investigation under the FBPA has nothing to do with impermissibly regulating the practice of law here, an investigation into allegedly unfair debt collection practices does nothing to interfere with the disciplinary authority that lies within the *298exclusive province of this Court. See, e.g., Scanlon v. State Bar of Ga., 264 Ga. 251, 252 (1) (443 SE2d 830) (1994) (“Matters relating to the practice of law, including the admission of practitioners, their discipline, suspension, and removal, are within the inherent and exclusive power of the Supreme Court of Georgia.”) (citations and punctuation omitted). Indeed, all of the possible punishments for violations of the Professional Rules of Conduct would be available and uncompromised in any way if an investigation of Appellee’s debt collection practices implicated aspects of the professional duties of Appellee’s individual lawyer employees. See State Bar Rule 4-102 (possible discipline for violations of Rules of Professional Conduct includes disbarment, suspension, public reprimand, review panel reprimand, investigative panel reprimand, or formal admonition). Under the majority’s analysis, however, the sole type of State investigation against a lawyer for engaging in unfair debt collection practices would be limited to actions by the State Bar to determine whether an attorney should be disbarred, suspended, publicly reprimanded, subjected to a review panel reprimand, subjected to an investigative panel reprimand, or given a formal admonition. Id. Such an investigation and the remedies available following such an investigation have nothing to do with any investigation under the FBPA. Further, the entity responsible for pursuing such an investigation and remedies — the State Bar of Georgia — does not look to the FBPA to determine whether or not individual lawyer misconduct would be subject to attorney discipline. Rather, the State Bar focuses its investigation and enforcement efforts on the lawyer specific Rules of Professional Conduct.
In this sense, even the remedies authorized by the FBPA do not interfere with the potential sanctions that may be imposed for individual lawyer misconduct within Appellee’s company. Unlike the lawyer specific Rules of Professional Conduct and the punishments available for violations of them, under the FBPA, the Administrator may (1) issue a cease and desist order prohibiting any unfair practice; (2) impose a civil penalty for those who continue to engage in the prohibited practice; or (3) petition the superior court to enter (a) a temporary restraining order or temporary or permanent injunction, (b) a civil penalty, (c) a declaratory judgment, (d) restitution to any person adversely affected by the defendant’s unfair practices, (e) the appointment of a receiver, auditor, or conservator for the defendant or its assets; or (f) other relief as the court deems just and equitable. OCGA § 10-1-397 (a). All of these remedies are designed, not to discipline an attorney for the manner in which he or she practices law, but to prevent that individual from engaging in unlawful commercial activities. Indeed, any lawyer could continue to practice law and collect debts on behalf of clients after being subjected to a cease and desist order from the Administrator. That *299lawyer would just have to start collecting debts in a manner permitted by the FBPA, just like any other person who collected consumer debts. Individual Bar discipline, on the other hand, could result in the attorney being suspended from the practice of law or disbarred from practicing law entirely (State Bar Rule 4-102) — leaving the lawyer unable to practice law in any capacity.2 However, despite the fact that even the remedies available under the FBPA and those available to the State Bar have nothing to do with each other, the majority would not even allow a mere investigation into the alleged unfair debt collection practices of Appellee. This is particularly troubling where the investigation authorized by the FBPA would merely complement, rather than impede, any potential separate investigation by the State Bar that could lead to individual attorney discipline. Instead of allowing an investigation under the FBPA to complement that of the State Bar, however, the majority would choose to insulate lawyers from any FBPA investigation, and accordingly shield them from any remedies that could be pursued by the Administrator — even though such remedies could be pursued entirely separately from any action that the Bar might deem appropriate.
Moreover, the majority’s interpretation of the FBPA runs directly contrary to the express legislative intent of the statute. Specifically, OCGA § 10-1-391 (b) provides that
[i]t is the intent of the General Assembly that [the FBPA] be interpreted and construed consistently with interpretations given by the Federal Trade Commission in the federal courts pursuant to Section 5 (a) (1) of the Federal Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. Section 45 (a) (1)) [the “FTC Act”], as from time to time amended.
The United States Supreme Court and this Court have made clear that the FTC Act would reach the commercial conduct of professionals such as doctors and dentists. FTC v. Indiana Federation of Dentists, 476 U. S. 447 (106 SC 2009, 90 LE2d 445) (1986) (policy among dentists to refuse to submit x-rays to dental insurers for use in benefits determination constituted an unfair method of competition under the FTC Act); Henderson, supra, 280 Ga. at 99. The FTC Act would logically reach the commercial practices of attorneys as well. See Heslin, supra, 461 A2d at 942 (II) (“Although the federal courts have not directly addressed the issue of whether the [FTC *300Act] applies to attorneys,... it is reasonable to conclude that the federal courts would construe the FTC Act as applying to attorneys.”). As explained above, the collection of consumer debts is a commercial practice, regardless of who is collecting the consumer debts. The FTC Act would apply to such practices. See 15 USC § 16921 (a) (“[A] violation of [the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act] shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of [the FTC Act]”). The majority, however, would interpret the FBPA such that the statute would not apply where the FTC Act would, which is directly contrary to the legislative mandate that we interpret the statutes in such a manner that they be consistent with one another. OCGA § 10-1-391 (b).
In this regard, as the majority concedes, the Federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the “FDCPA”) applies to the conduct of the attorneys here. Maj. Op. at 293. Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U. S. 291 (115 SC 1489, 131 LE2d 395) (1995) (FDCPA applies even to lawyers regularly engaged in collecting consumer debt through litigation). This being the case, it must also be said that if the attorneys here have violated the FDCPA then they have also violated the FTC Act. See 15 USC § 16921 (a). See also 1st Nationwide Collection Agency, Inc., supra, 288 Ga. App. at 459 (1) (“[A] violation of the FDCPA is clearly considered a violation of the Federal Trade Commission Act”). The lawyers would also be violating the FBPA, as a “violation of the FDCPA also constitute^] a violation of [Georgia’s] FBPA.” 1st Nationwide Collection Agency, Inc., supra, 288 Ga. App. at 459 (1). Based on the violation of federal law, the attorneys would be subject to investigation by the Federal Trade Commission, the regulatory entity responsible for enforcement of the FDCPA. 15 USC § 16921 (a) (“Compliance with [the FDCPA] shall be enforced by the [Federal Trade] Commission”). Based on the violation of the FBPA, the lawyers would be subject to investigation by the Administrator. See OCGA § 10-1-403 (a). Consistent with the federal interpretations given to the FTC Act in relation to professionals, the scope of enforcement given to the FTC in relation to the types of collection practices involved here, and the FBPA’s application to these same activities, the Administrator should be free to investigate the debt collection practices being employed by Appellee in this case.
The investigation here is not rooted in legal malpractice. It is being conducted to root out potential illegal commercial activity that just happens to be conducted by an alleged law firm. Such an investigation is proper pursuant to the terms of the FBPA, and I believe that holding otherwise inappropriately places lawyers above the law by writing an exception into a law of general application that simply does not exist. “This Court is forbidden from engaging in such an exercise. State v. Fielden, 280 Ga. 444, 448 (629 SE2d 252) *301(2006) (‘[U]nder our system of separation of powers this Court does not have the authority to rewrite statutes.’).” Davis v. Dunn, 286 Ga. 582, n. 4 (690 SE2d 389) (2010).3 Indeed,
Decided June 7, 2010.
Thurbert E. Baker, Attorney General, Sidney R. Barrett, Jr., Senior Assistant Attorney General, Jeffrey W. Stump, Amy C. Meyer Burns, Assistant Attorneys General, for appellant.
Balch & Bingham, Michael J. Bowers, J. Matthew Maguire, Jr., Marlie A. McDonnell, for appellee.
attorneys are subject to laws other than the Rules of Professional Conduct, and sometimes those laws relate to their actions as attorneys. A person who receives a license to practice law and adheres to the Rules of Professional Conduct is not insulated from other regulations and conditions under which the license may be used. . . . For example, a lawyer’s business is affected and limited by local zoning ordinances, yet these regulations do not impede or frustrate this Court’s authority over the practice of law. A lawyer who converts and commingles his clients’ money may have violated this Court’s disciplinary rules but is also subject to the state criminal theft laws. Similarly, an attorney who is a public official or employee is subject to the Rules of Professional Conduct, as well as the ethics code rules which apply to all public servants, as long as the ethics code provisions do not impede or frustrate this Court’s authority to regulate the practice of law.
(Citations omitted.) Midboe, supra, 646 So2d at 359. Moreover, the majority’s holding runs contrary to the express legislative mandate that Georgia’s FBPA be construed consistently with applicable interpretations of federal law. OCGA § 10-1-391 (b). I therefore respectfully dissent.
I am authorized to state that Justice Hines and Justice Nahmias join in this dissent.

 It is not even clear in this case that the debts involved are being collected by lawyers. Appellee employs approximately four hundred and fifty persons, only ten of whom are lawyers, and the non-attorneys in the business are heavily involved in the initial debt collection process without the involvement of any of the attorneys. In any event, it makes no difference whether or not attorneys are or are not engaged at some point in the process, as the FBPA allows the Administrator to launch an investigation into Appellee’s debt collection practices to determine whether or not the law is being violated.

 Ironically, however, this suspended or disbarred lawyer would still he able to work as a debt collector.

 To reach its intended result, the majority relies on case law from another jurisdiction interpreting an unfair debt collection statute that contained a “learned profession exemption.” See Reid v. Ayers, 531 SE2d 231,235 (N.C. App. 2000). Again, Georgia’s FBPA contains no such exemption. The majority’s reliance on this foreign case law is therefore inappropriate, as it only serves to impermissibly graft language onto Georgia’s FBPA that does not exist.