Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...Section 559.553 of the FCCPA does not itself provide a private right of action. FLA . STAT . §559.72 (identifying types of FCCPA violations that give rise to a private cause of action and omitting §559.553). Despite the unavailability of a state cause of action, Section 559.785 of the FCCPA provides that it is a misdemeanor for “any person not exempt from registering . . . to engage in collecting consumer debts in this state without first registering.” FLA . STAT . §559.785. In terms of the relationship between the FDCPA and state consumer protection laws like the FCCPA, the FDCPA does not “annul, alter, affect, or exempt” any person or entity subject to its provisions from complying with the...

...ative Defenses filing as its Twelfth Affirmative Defense, but did not mention the doctrine (or the statutory provision on which it relies) within its summary 27 The Welch opinion preceded the FCCPA’s 2003 amendments, including the addition of Section 559.785, making certain acts of non-compliance a misdemeanor criminal offense of the first degree....

...view.” Brown v. City of Vero Beach, 64 So.3d 172, 174 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011) (citation omitted). A state statute and a federal statute govern consumer collection practices in Florida, to wit: the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act, §§ 559.55-559.785 (“the FCCPA”), and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C....

...Two statutes not applicable here provide for administrative and civil remedies for violations of section 559.72.- See §§ 559.730, .77, Fla. Stat. (2012). Another statute provides for criminal penalties for engaging in collections without first registering with the state. See § 559.785, Fla....