Debt collectors frequently rely on affidavits that attest to the
validity of underlying debt in state court collection actions.
An issue that has garnered attention is the extent to which
the debt collector must possess personal knowledge of the facts
contained in its supporting collection affidavits. In
Janson v. Katharyn B. Davis, LLC (Case No. 15-1381, U.S.
Court of Appeals, 8th Cir. (Nov. 17, 2015)), the Court held that a
lack of personal knowledge of the facts contained in collection
affidavits does not, standing alone, violate the Fair Debt
Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA").
Janson grew out of a prior state court collection
action. In that case, a landlord successfully won a state
court action against a tenant to collect past-due rent, and then
the tenant subsequently filed a lawsuit in the Eastern District of
Missouri, alleging violations of the FDCPA. The plaintiff
alleged that the law firm that filed the state court collection
action had violated the
