A Partner and Shane Swilley Recently Completed the Defense of a Law Firm

A partner and Shane Swilley recently completed the defense of a law firm that had a debtor arrested and incarcerated for ten days for failing to appear and answer questions about his assets. The debtor later sued the law firm and put in evidence a letter written by the law firm to him before the arrest that arguably said his debt was paid off in full. The debtor sued the firm for violating the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Oregon Unlawful Debt Collection Act. The law firm was facing a potential judgment of more than $1,000,000.00. Our attorneys filed motions to dismiss the lawsuit before it could reach a jury trial, arguing various grounds for why neither statute had been violated. The federal court for the District of Oregon agreed with the briefing, and dismissed all claims on summary judgment.