Supreme Court Hears Case on Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and Bankruptcy

On January 17, 2017, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Midland Funding v. Johnson. The case involved: 1) whether filing a claim for a time-barred debt (i.e., the statute of limitations has passed) in a bankruptcy proceeding violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and 2) whether the Bankruptcy Code precludes the application of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  The Court’s decision is expected before June 30 and will resolve a split among the Fourth, Seventh, Eighth and Eleventh Circuits.