RESEARCH PROJECT MEMO PROCO

RESEARCH PROJECT MEMO

PROCO

               Your Name Here

NAME:  __________________________________

                                                3470___003

CLASS SECTION: ___________________________

This research project is to take place during the week of March 28 – April 1.  This week is thus a self-study week.  This is worth 5 extra credit points and is in lieu of the final quiz.   Given the difficulty of the final exam, I highly suggest that you do this work.

Type your answers.   You can also copy and paste answers directly from the internet.  I am looking for case and statute references, and originality is great but not required in your answers below.

This research project involves a legal collections proceeding in small claims court in Toledo, OH.  Discovery standards are relaxed and less rigid in small claims court.  However, precedent, stare decisis and common law legal standards apply.

In other words, there may be statutory and case law that provides precedent to legally support defendant in this matter.

Facts:

Defendant has at least 8 red light traffic tickets in the city of Toledo.  Administrative hearings were scheduled and “believed to be held” for each violation.  Default judgments were rendered against the defendant for red light camera violations related to running red lights and speeding.

Defendant did not attend the administrative proceedings in these matters because the administrative proceeding would have still resulted in the tickets being given and judgment rendered against the defendant.

Defendant believes that the Plaintiff must prove that the underlying debt exists to actually win the case and collect on the debt.

The plaintiff will thus have to prove that defendant actually broke the law and ran the red light(s) or sped through the intersection(s).

On at least three separate occasions, the driver of the vehicle was in fact the defendant’s spouse.

Issues to research:

1.       Does the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act apply to this legal issue?  Defendant believes that the FDCPA only applies to consumers, is defendant a consumer?

Yes or no?

Give a one-sentence answer justifying your answer in 1.a.

2.       Is there an Ohio Revised Code that specifically provides for spousal privilege?

a.       Yes or no?

b.      If yes above, what is the code reference?  However it seems that it might only apply to criminal proceedings…

3.       Is there a legal case in Ohio that is considered the seminal (reference) precedent that provides for spousal privilege?

a.       Yes or no?

b.      If yes above, what is the case name?

4.       Does Ohio expressly state that in a collections proceeding that the Plaintiff must prove that the debt is owed?

a.       Is there an Ohio statute regarding debt collections?  Key Words:  Ohio case statute debt collections.    What is the Ohio Revised Code citation?

Statute Cite Here:

b.      Is there an Ohio case law precedent regarding what level of proof is required in a debt collections lawsuit?   Key Words:  Ohio case law debt collections.

Case Cite(s) Here:

5.       Is there Ohio statutory law the specifically addresses and regulates administrative agencies?

Statute Cite Here:

6.       Is there a written law or case law anywhere in the state of Ohio regarding funeral processions running through a red-light?  Find the statute or state reference and provide it here:

Notes:

Under the FDCPA, attorneys who regularly collect debts on behalf of their clients are subject to the same code of conduct non-attorney debt collectors are required to follow. The line between a law firm that “regularly” collects consumer debts for its clients and one that does not is not always clear. Whether an attorney is a “debt collector” is determined on a case-by-case basis by looking to the volume of collection activity performed, whether the attorney has an ongoing relationship with a creditor, the percentage of an attorney’s practice that is taken up with debt collection, the frequency and pattern of debt collection activities, and whether the attorney has systems or personnel in place to facilitate debt collection.

The primary legal basis for Plaintiffs' suit against Defendants arises under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA"), 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e and 1692f.⁷ The FDCPA was designed to "eliminate abusive debt collection practices by debt collectors, to insure that those debt collectors who refrain from using abusive debt collection practices are not competitively disadvantaged, and to promote consistent State action to protect consumers against debt collection abuses." 15 U.S.C. § 1692(e). Under the FDCPA, a "debt collector" is defined as "[a]ny person who uses any instrumentality of interstate commerce or the mails in any business the principal purpose of which is the collection of any debts, or who regularly collects or attempts to collect, directly, or indirectly, debts owed or due or asserted to be owed or due another." 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6). As a preliminary matter, the Court notes that attorney debt collectors engaged in litigation are subject to the strictures of the FDCPA. Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291, 294, 115 S.Ct. 1489, 131 L.Ed.2d 395 (1995).

Ohio Revised Code 1319.12 Taking assignment of debts.

(A)

(1) As used in this section, "collection agency" means any person who, for compensation, contingent or otherwise, or for other valuable consideration, offers services to collect an alleged debt asserted to be owed to another.

(2) "Collection agency" does not mean a person whose collection activities are confined to and directly related to the operation of another business, including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) Any bank, including the trust department of a bank, trust company, savings and loan association, savings bank, credit union, or fiduciary as defined in section 5815.04 of the Revised Code, except those that own or operate a collection agency;

(b) Any real estate broker or real estate salesperson, as defined in section 4735.01 of the Revised Code;

(c) Any retail seller collecting its own accounts;

(d) Any insurance company authorized to do business in this state under Title XXXIX of the Revised Code or a health insuring corporation authorized to operate in this state under Chapter 1751. of the Revised Code;

(e) Any public officer or judicial officer acting under order of a court;

(f) Any licensee as defined either in section 1321.01 or 1321.71 of the Revised Code, or any registrant as defined in section 1321.51 of the Revised Code;

(g) Any public utility;

(h) Any person registered to sell interment rights under