Judge John Keenan
Over three days in 2010, debt collector Sieger, Ross & Aguire contacted Woods’ aunt thricethreatening her with civil and criminal penaltiesand Woods at least five times in an effort to recover a “payday loan” from Eagle Finance. Woods’ complaint asserting violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act sought $1,000 in statutory damages, $5,000 in actual damages, and $6,197 in attorney’s fees and costs. Based on Sieger Ross’ failure to appear at a pretrial conference, as well as a show cause order’s March 20, 2012, return date, the court entered a $8,197 default judgment against Sieger Ross, reflecting $1,000 each in statutory and actual damages under the act, and $6,197 in legal fees. Sieger Ross’ five personal contacts, a high-pressure letter demanding repayment of the entire debt, and threats of legal action were sufficiently severe to warrant the requested $1,000 in statutory damages. The court determined an award of $1,000 in actual damages under the act’s §1692k(a)(1) fairly compensated Woods and was commensurate with the evidence and awards in similar cases. It further concluded that Sieger Ross’ conduct did not meet the strict standard for an intentional infliction of emotional distress claim.
