Florida Supreme Court Calls FDCPA Suits Frivolous

By Patrick Lunsford, CollectionIndustry.com

The Florida Supreme Court has suspended an attorney in Pensacola, Florida from practicing law for 90 days for filing what it deemed were “two nonmeritorious and frivolous federal lawsuits for the purpose of harassing.” The lawsuits were filed against a collection attorney for violations of the FDCPA.

According to the Pensacola News Journal, Bruce Edward Committe filed two separate Federal lawsuits against collection attorney Stephen Guttmann “claiming $3 million in damages based on alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act?. The Florida Supreme Court decision states that the suits were filed in October 1999 and in November 2000.

The case and suits stem from a judgment entered against Committe in July of 1993. The judgment of $4,527.21 was given to Collection Services, Inc. for collection and subsequently referred to Guttmann. Guttman filed his first collection action in June of 1998. The long process of motions, protective orders and counter-suits continued for years, highlighted by Committe being held in contempt of court October 22, 1999 for failure to comply to a subpoena in the case and Committe’s two Federal lawsuits filed against Guttman in 1999 and 2000.

Committe’s suits argued that Guttmann’s actions in the original collection case constituted violations of the FDCPA and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA). Both lawsuits ended in favorable rulings for Guttmann. When Committe appealed the decisions, they were upheld by an appellate court. The Florida Bar Association then filed suit against Committe for disciplinary action.

According to the Florida Supreme Court’s decision, “Committe testified [before the Florida Bar Association in disciplinary actions] that he had substantial experience in filing claims under the FDCPA and FCCPA and that he had almost five years of prior legal experience in this particular field before he filed the two federal lawsuits against Guttmann.” The Bar ruled that Committe had abused the legal process and recommended that he receive a private reprimand. Committe then filed a petition for review of the case by the Florida Supreme Court. In the ruling, written by Chief Justice Barbara J. Pariente, the court ruled that private reprimand was not a severe enough penalty and decided to impose the 90-day suspension.

In addition to the suspension, Committe must serve one year of probation and complete The Florida Bar’s practice and professionalism enhancement program, “Professionalism Workshop.”