NARCA Files Amicus Brief in Illinois Debt Buyer Appeal

The National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA) has filed an Amicus Brief with the Appellate Court of Illinois First Judicial District in the case of Unifund CCR Partners, LLC v. Shah. This appeal marks the second in the Shah case.

In the first appeal, Unifund v. Shah, 407 Ill.App.3d 373, 946 N.E. 2d 885 (2011), the First Judicial District held that a collection agency has standing to sue as an assignee for collection but further determined that the Illinois Collection Agency Act did not allow the agency to rely on an affidavit from the assignee to prove ownership and instead required the agency to produce the assignment of the account as an exhibit to the lawsuit and to provide the consideration paid for the assignment.

On remand, the trial court granted the debtor’s motion to dismiss, holding that the statutory requirement that assignments to collection agencies be evidenced by a written assignment required a pleading setting out each transfer of the debt, regardless of whether the transaction involved the sale or assignment and regardless of whether the agency was a party to the prior transaction.

“In its Amicus Brief, NARCA argued that the trial court’s decision disregarded Illinois statutory provisions and the common law of assignments by imposing conditions on debt purchasers neither contemplated by the Collection Agency Act nor by rules of pleading,” explained Ron Canter, Chair of NARCA’s Amicus Brief Committee. “If the appeal is successful, the case will be returned for further proceedings.”

NARCA’s Amicus Brief was authored by NARCA member law firm attorneys Michael L. Starzec of Blitt and Gaines, P.C. and Christopher R. DiPlacido of Resurgence Legal Group, P.C.

The National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA) is a nationwide trade association of over 700 skilled debt collection law firms.  Members are required to adhere to NARCA’s Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics, and attorneys employed by NARCA member law firms are committed to the fair and ethical treatment of all participants in the debt collection process.  They are required to practice law in a manner consistent with their responsibilities as officers of the court and must adhere to applicable state and federal laws, rules of civil procedure, state bar association licensing and certification requirements, and the rules of professional conduct.