2017-11-15 Arias v.

Gutman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfeldt | Win for

Consumers: Second Circuit Reverses Debt Collection Suit
Posted on15 November 2017.

LAW-
Attorneys for the plaintiffs in a debt collection suit lauded a decision Monday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Second Circuit, calling it a major victory for low-income people facing aggressive and potentially illegal collection
practices.
In Arias v. Gutman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfeldt, 16?2165?cv, the panel of Circuit Judges Guido Calabresi and
Raymond Lohier Jr., along with U.S. District Judge Katherine Forrest of the Southern District of New York, sitting
by designation, vacated the motion for judgment on the pleadings by U.S. District Judge George Daniels for the
Southern District of New York in a suit against Gutman, Mintz, Baker & Sonnenfeldt for violations of the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act. The panel remanded the case for further proceedings.
According to plaintiff Franklin Arias co-counsel on appeal, National Center for Law and Economic Justice staff
attorney Claudia Wilner, the order is a watershed decision by the appellate court in addressing unfair actions under
the FDCPA.
Weve never had a court ruling that looks at these practices before, Wilner said. To have a court say so clearly
that the representations are deceptive, that the conduct is unfair, really is just so important.