''Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc.'', 582 U.S. 79 (2017), is a decision by the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

which held that a company is not a "debt collector" under the

Fair Debt Collection Practices Act The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Pub. L. 95-109; 91 Stat. 874, codified as –1692p, approved on September 20, 1977 (and as subsequently amended), is a consumer protection amendment, establishing legal protection from abusive d ...

(FDCPA) if it purchased that debt and then attempts to collect from the debtor. It was

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

Neil Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court ...

's first written opinion since joining the Court in April 2017.SCOTUSblog
Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc.
/ref>

Background

CitiFinancial loaned money to several individuals seeking to purchase automobiles. When the loans went unpaid, CitiFinancial repossessed and sold them to Santander Consumer USA, and told the individuals they owed the difference between the purchase price and the amount of money for which CitiFinancial sold the debt. Santander attempted to collect the debts. A suit was brought against Santander alleging a violation of the FDCPA. Santander claimed it was not a "debt collector" under the terms of the act because it was seeking to collect on debts that it had purchased, rather than attempting to collect as a third-party.Oyez
Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc.
/ref> The

District Court District courts are a category of courts which exists in several nations, some call them "small case court" usually as the lowest level of the hierarchy. These courts generally work under a higher court which exercises control over the lower co ...

and

Fourth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit (in case citations, 4th Cir.) is a federal court located in Richmond, Virginia, with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * District of Maryland ...

ruled in Santander's favor. The Court considered whether a company that regularly attempts to collect debts it purchased after the debts had fallen into default is a "debt collector" subject to the FDCPA.No. 16-349 Henson v. Santander Consumer USA
Question Presented
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Opinion of the Court

Justice Neil Gorsuch, writing his first opinion, ruled against the borrowers, holding that Santander in this case is not a debt collector under the FDCPA.. When the act was enacted, regulations were put on institutions that collected other companies' debts, but the act left unaddressed businesses collecting their own debts. Gorsuch hinted that Congress could revisit the law, writing, " 's hardly unknown for new business models to emerge in response to regulation, and for regulation in turn to address new business models. Constant competition between constable and quarry, regulator and regulated, can come as no surprise in our changing world. But neither should the proper role of the judiciary in that process — to apply, not amend, the work of the People’s representatives."

References

External links

* {{caselaw source , case = {{ussc, name=Henson v. Santander Consumer USA Inc., 582, ___, 2017, el=no , justia =https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/582/16-349/ , oyez =https://www.oyez.org/cases/2016/16-349 , other_source1 = Supreme Court (slip opinion) , other_url1 =https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/16pdf/16-349_c07d.pdf United States Supreme Court cases United States Supreme Court cases of the Roberts Court Banco Santander 2017 in United States case law Debt collection

Background

Opinion of the Court

See also

References

External links