Consumer Finance Litigation

Imagine your company or client was sued for an alleged violation of the Florida Consumer Collections Practices Act ("FCCPA"). The plaintiff has an outstanding debt that is greater than the damages sought in the FCCPA action. Consequently, you want to know if you can counterclaim to setoff (or "offset") the damages sought in the FCCPA lawsuit from the underlying debt. Though the Eleventh Circuit does not provide steadfast answers, it sheds some light on the topic, albeit in a bankruptcy context. In Brook v. Chase Bank USA, N.A., 566 F. App'x 787 (11th Cir. 2014), the Eleventh Circuit ...