Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP

Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP
Supreme Court of the United States
Decided March 20, 2019
Full case name	Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP
Docket no.	17-1307
Citations	586 U.S. ___ ( more )
Holding
A business engaged in only nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings is not a "debt collector" under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, except for the limited purpose of Section 1692f(6).
Court membership
Chief Justice John Roberts Associate Justices Clarence Thomas  · Ruth Bader Ginsburg Stephen Breyer  · Samuel Alito Sonia Sotomayor  · Elena Kagan Neil Gorsuch  · Brett Kavanaugh
Case opinions
Majority	Breyer, joined by unanimous
Concurrence	Sotomayor
Laws applied
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act

Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, 586 U.S. ___(2019), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the court held that a business engaged in only nonjudicial foreclosure proceedings is not a "debt collector" under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, except for the limited purpose of Section 1692f(6). ^{[1] [2]}

Background

the law firm McCarthy & Holthus LLP was hired to carry out a nonjudicial foreclosure on a Colorado home owned by Dennis Obduskey. McCarthy sent Obduskey correspondence related to the foreclosure. Obduskey responded with a letter invoking a federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) provision, 15 U. S. C. §1692g(b), which provides that if a consumer disputes the amount of a debt, a "debt collector" must "cease collection" until it "obtains verification of the debt" and mails a copy to the debtor. Instead, McCarthy initiated a nonjudicial foreclosure action. Obduskey sued, alleging that McCarthy failed to comply with the FDCPA's verification procedure. The district court dismissed on the ground that McCarthy was not a "debt collector" within the meaning of the FDCPA, and the Tenth Circuit affirmed. ^[1]

References

1. Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP,No. 17-1307 , 586 U.S. ___(2019).
2. D'Onfro, Danielle (March 22, 2019). "Opinion analysis: An extremely narrow Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ruling". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved July 12, 2025.

External links

• Text of Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP,No. 17-1307, 586 U.S. ___(2019) is available from: Justia

This article incorporates written opinion of a United States federal court. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the text is in the public domain .