The Second Circuit's recent opinion in Carlin v.
Davidson Fink LLP, No. 15-3105-cv (2d Cir. Mar. 29, 2017), has
important ramifications for the debt collection industry.
Carlin, a putative class action, addressed the adequacy
of a Fair Debt Collection Practice Act ("FDCPA") initial
notice sent per Title 15, U.S.C., § 1692g, which requires a
debt collector to send a written notice to a consumer as or within
five days of its initial communication with a consumer in
connection with the collection of any debt, containing the amount
of the debt, the name of the creditor to whom the debt is owed, and
certain information about the consumer's rights.
In Carlin, the initial notice set forth a "Total
Amount Due" as a dollar figure, but added that such amount
"may include estimated fees, costs, additional payments and/or
escrow disbursements . . . which are not yet due" and apprised
the consumer that if he paid the total amount specified to be due
by a certain date, he would
