Ninth Circuit Rejects CFPB Amicus Position As Unpersuasive

On October 19, a divided Ninth Circuit ruled that a trustee of a deed of trust who takes action to initiate non-judicial foreclosure is not a "debt collector" under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). See Ho v. ReconTrust Co., NA, No., 10-56884 (9^th Cir. Oct. 19, 2016).  The court reasoned that because the object of a non-judicial foreclosure is to retake and resell the property that secures a debt, as opposed to collecting money from the borrower, the trustee was not acting as a "debt collector" under the statute.  In further support of its conclusion, the court reasoned that holding otherwise would create a conflict between the trustee's duties under state law and its obligations under the FDCPA.