Whitford v. Weber & Olcese, P.L.C., 2015 WL 5607659 (W.D. Mich. Sept. 21, 2015)

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The parties have reached a settlement of this action in the United States District Court for the Westerm District of Michigan. The settlement provides for a common fund from which participating class members will receive a pro-rata share.

This case stems from alleged violations by Weber & Olcese, P.L.C. (“Defendant”) of section 15 U.S.C. 1692g(a)(4) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”), with regard to initial debt collection letters sent to Michigan consumers on behalf of Bank of America, N.A. Lead Plaintiff Sharon Whitford alleged that Defendant violated the FDCPA by failing to include proper disclosures in these initial debt collection letters.

The Settlement Class is defined as: 

All persons with Michigan addresses to whom Weber & Olcese, P.L.C. mailed an initial debt collection communication that stated: “If you notify this firm within thirty (30) days after your receipt of this letter, that the debt or any portion thereof, is disputed, we will obtain verification of the debt or a copy of the judgment, if any, and mail a copy of such verification or judgment to you,” between April 15, 2014 and August 26, 2015, in connection with the collection of a consumer debt on behalf of Bank of America, N.A.
 
Excluded from the class is:
a. Any person who is already subject to an existing release;
b. Any person who is deceased;
c. Any person who has filed for bankruptcy protection under Title 11 of the United States Code; and
d. Any Class Member who timely mails a request for exclusion.

The settlement was preliminarily approved by the Court on September 21, 2015. 

The Court granted final approval of the settlement on January 11, 2016. 

If you have any questions about the settlement or the litigation, please contact Michael L. Greenwald at mgreenwald@gdrlawfirm.com.