[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4624 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4624

  To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to prohibit a court 
 from making an award of costs to a defendant except on a finding that 
                  an action was brought in bad faith.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 9, 2014

Mr. Cartwright introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on 
   the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act to prohibit a court 
 from making an award of costs to a defendant except on a finding that 
                  an action was brought in bad faith.

    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 ``Fair Debt Collections Practices 
Clarification Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION THAT NO AWARD OF COSTS MAY BE MADE AGAINST 
              CONSUMERS EXCEPT WHERE ACTION BROUGHT IN BAD FAITH.

    Section 813(a)(3) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (15 
U.S.C. 1692k(a)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``A 
court may only make an award of costs and attorney fees to the 
defendant on a finding that an action under this section was brought in 
bad faith and for the purpose of harassment, and may not make an award 
of costs or attorney fees otherwise.''.
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