Court Awards Woman $83 Million For Collection Harassment

A Missouri court recently ordered Portfolio Recovery Associates LLC, a large debt collection agency, to pay $83 million in damages to a Missouri woman.  The agency allegedly harassed the woman for a $1,000 credit card debt that the woman claimed she did not owe.  The woman’s attorneys argued the agency maliciously prosecuted her and did not immediately withdraw the case upon learning the mistake.  The debt allegedly belonged to another person with a similar name.

The company has a reputation in the industry for using aggressive tactics and not stopping even after being proven wrong.  In this case, the company brought suit against the woman who argued the debt was not hers.  The company threatened to take the woman’s house and continued with the case against her for over a year after the woman made this claim.  The company only dropped the original suit after the woman hired attorneys and brought a counter-suit. 

The court struck down the debt collection agency’s pleadings when the company failed to provide requested information in the counter-suit.  After the court dismissed the agency’s pleadings, a jury made a determination for the damages after hearing five days of evidence in the case.  The jury divided the award between a $250,000 fine for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and punitive damages of $82,990,000 for the woman.  The debt collection agency will appeal the jury verdict as it claims the award will significantly hurt the collection agency’s finances and operations.     

If you are being harassed for a debt you do not owe, contact the offices of Fitzgerald Campbell.  Our experienced California attorneys are not afraid to stand up to companies using unfair debt collection practices like threats and harassment.  Please contact us for a free consultation by calling (855) 790-8271 FREE.