[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1059 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1059

 To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to reduce the cost of 
                    credit, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 13, 1997

  Mr. Bachus introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
              Committee on Banking and Financial Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to reduce the cost of 
                    credit, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Credit Cost Reduction Act of 1997''.

SEC. 2. EXEMPTION FOR COMMUNICATIONS INVOLVING LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

    Section 803(2) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 
1692a(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following new sentence: 
``Such term does not include actions taken pursuant to the Federal 
Rules of Civil Procedure; in the case of a proceeding in a State court, 
the rules of civil procedure available under the laws of such State; or 
a nonjudicial foreclosure.''.

SEC. 3. COLLECTION ACTIVITY FOLLOWING INITIAL NOTICE.

    Section 809 of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 
1692(g)) is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(d) Continuation During Period.--Collection activities and 
communications may continue during the 30-day period described in 
subsection (a) unless the consumer requests the cessation of such 
activities.''.

SEC. 4. LIABILITY FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.

    (a) Clarification of Limitation on Class Action Awards.--Section 
813(a)(2)(B) (15 U.S.C. 1692k(a)(2)(B)) is amended--
            (1) by inserting ``or any series of class actions arising 
        out of the same violations by the same debt collector'' after 
        ``case of a class action''; and
            (2) by inserting ``of such class action or series of class 
        actions'' after ``all other class members''.
    (b) Attorneys Fees To Enforce Civil Liability.--Paragraph (3) of 
section 813(a) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 
1692k(a)) is amended to read as follows:
            ``(3) subject to subsection (f), in the case of a 
        successful action to enforce a liability under paragraph (1) or 
        (2), the costs of the action, including reasonable attorney's 
        fees, as determined by the court, in an amount not to exceed 
        the amount awarded in such action under the applicable 
        paragraph.''.
    (c) Rules Applicable to Certain Actions.--Section 813 of the Fair 
Debt Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k) is amended by adding at 
the end the following new subsection:
    ``(f) Rules Applicable to Actions Under This Title.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in any action arising under 
this title, for purposes of Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil 
Procedure, the following provisions shall apply:
            ``(1) Plaintiff's attorney's fees.--Costs shall include 
        reasonable fees for the plaintiff's attorney.
            ``(2) Disallowance of certain fees accruing after refusal 
        of settlement offer.--In accordance with Rule 68 of the Federal 
        Rules of Civil Procedure, if--
                    ``(A) an offer is made by the debt collector to a 
                consumer bringing an action (including any class action 
                or series of class actions referred to in subsection 
                (a)(2)(B)) under this title, and the offer is not 
                accepted; and
                    ``(B) the amount of the final judgment awarded to 
                the consumer (or, in the case of a class action or 
                series of class actions, the total amount awarded to 
                all class members in such class action or series of 
                class actions) is less than or equal to the amount of 
                the offer referred to in subparagraph (A),
        the consumer (or the class with regard to a class action or 
        series of class actions) may not be awarded or otherwise 
        recover costs for attorney's fees incurred after the date such 
        offer is rejected.''.
    (d) Factors for Consideration.--Section 813(b) of the Fair Debt 
Collection Practices Act (15 U.S.C. 1692k(b)) is amended--
            (1) in the portion of such subsection which precedes 
        paragraph (1), by striking ``liability in any action'' and 
        inserting ``any award''; and
            (2) by striking paragraph (1) and inserting the following 
        new paragraph:
    ``(1) In any action under subsection (a)(2)(A), the frequency and 
persistence of noncompliance by the debt collector, the nature of such 
noncompliance, the extent to which the such noncompliance was 
intentional, and the amount of actual damages awarded; or''.
                                 <all>