An upstate federal judge is allowing a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act claim to go forward in a case where a debtor alleges that a debt-collection law firm told the plaintiff that he was "not authorized to record conversations" with the firm. Western District Judge John Curtin said that Overton, Russell, Doerr and Donovan of Clifton Park, Saratoga County, "clearly…sought to prevent the lawful recording of its conversations."
Curtin rejected the firm's explanation that the comment to the debtor merely expressed a preference that the call not be recorded. He also rejected Overton Russell's motion for sanctions against the debtor. In Hallmark v. Overton, Russell, Doerr and Donovan, 12-cv-1120, Curtin noted that under New York law if both parties to a phone conversation are located in the state, either of them can surreptitiously record the conversation. He refused to dismiss Michael Hallmark's action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
