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An Act To Promote Fiscal Responsibility in the Purchasing of Debt
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 9-A MRSA §5-105, sub-§1, ¶¶A and B, as enacted by PL 1973, c. 762, §1, are amended to read:
 
A. "Disposable earnings" means that part of the earnings of an individual remaining after the deduction from those earnings of amounts required by law to be withheld; and
 
B. "Garnishment" means an installment payment order under Title 14, chapter 502.; and
Sec. 2.  9-A MRSA §5-105, sub-§1, ¶C  is enacted to read:
 
C.  "Debt buyer" has the meaning set out in Title 32, section 11002, subsection 5-A.
Sec. 3.  9-A MRSA §5-105, sub-§4  is enacted to read:
 
4.       A debt buyer may not seek and a court may not issue a garnishment order to enforce payment of a judgment.
Sec. 4.  14 MRSA §3127-B, sub-§8  is enacted to read:
 
8.  Exclusion.     The court may not enter an order under this section if the judgment creditor is a debt buyer within the meaning of the Maine Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Sec. 5. 16 MRSA §355, as amended by PL 1981, c. 470, Pt. A, §34, is further amended to read:
§ 355.Affidavit of plaintiff as prima facie evidence; exception
In all actions brought on an itemized account annexed to the complaint, the affidavit of the plaintiff, made before a notary public using a seal, that the account on which the action is brought is a true statement of the indebtedness existing between the parties to the action with all proper credits given and that the prices or items charged therein are just and reasonable shall beis prima facie evidence of the truth of the statement made in such affidavit and shall entitleentitles the plaintiff to the judgment unless rebutted by competent and sufficient evidence. When the plaintiff is a corporation, the affidavit may be made by its president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer or other person authorized by the corporation.
This section does not apply if the plaintiff is a debt buyer within the meaning of the Maine Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Sec. 6.  32 MRSA §11002, sub-§5-A  is enacted to read:
 
5-A.  Debt buyer.     "Debt buyer" means a person that is engaged in the business of purchasing delinquent debt for collection purposes, whether the person collects the debt directly or hires a 3rd party, which may include an attorney-at-law, to collect the debt. A "debt buyer" is considered a debt collector for all purposes under this chapter.
Sec. 7.  32 MRSA §11002, sub-§8-C  is enacted to read:
 
8-C.  Resolved debt.     "Resolved debt" means a debt that has been paid, settled or discharged in bankruptcy or for which the consumer is no longer liable because collection of the debt is barred by the statute of limitations set forth in section 11013, subsection 8.
Sec. 8. 32 MRSA §11003, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 702, §2, is amended to read:
 
1. Officers or employees of a creditor that is not a debt buyer.   Any officer or employee of a creditor while, in the name of the creditor, collecting debts for that creditor, except that officers and employees of debt buyers are considered debt collectors;
Sec. 9.  32 MRSA §11013, sub-§§9 to 11  are enacted to read:
 
9.  Transfer of ownership of debt; required information.     A creditor may not sell or otherwise transfer ownership of a debt to another creditor or to a debt buyer unless the creditor provides the following to the other creditor or debt buyer:
 
A.  The name of the current creditor or owner of the debt;
 
B.  The original creditor's name;
 
C.  The original creditor's account number for the consumer;
 
D.  The principal amount due;
 
E.  An itemization of interest and fees, if any, claimed to be owed and whether those were imposed by the original creditor or any subsequent owners of the debt;
 
F.  The date that the debt was incurred. In the case of a revolving credit account, the date that the debt was incurred is the date the last extension of credit was made for the purchase of goods or services, for the lease of goods or as a loan of money;
 
G.  The date and amount of the last payment, if applicable;
 
H.  The names of all persons or entities that owned the debt after the original creditor, if applicable, and the date of each sale or transfer;
 
I.  Documentation establishing that the debt buyer is the owner of the specific debt at issue. Each bill of sale or other writing evidencing transfer of ownership must contain the original creditor's account number of the debt purchased and must clearly show the consumer's name associated with that account number; and
 
J.  A copy of the contract, application or other documents evidencing the consumer's liability for the debt containing the consumer's signature. If the debt arises from a credit card and no such signed document evidencing the debt ever existed, the creditor shall provide copies of the most recent monthly statement recording a purchase transaction, service billed, last payment or balance transfer and monthly statements from the 11 months immediately preceding the most recent statement, if applicable.
 
10.  Transfer of ownership of certain debts.     A creditor may not sell or otherwise transfer ownership of a resolved debt, an interest in a resolved debt or any financial information relating to a resolved debt.
 
11.  Garnishment of wages.     A debt buyer may not seek and a court may not issue an order pursuant to Title 14, section 3127-B when enforcing a money judgment entered in a collection action.
Sec. 10.  32 MRSA §11019  is enacted to read:
§ 11019. Collection action by debt buyer
 
1.  Complaint; required allegations.     A debt buyer may not initiate a collection action against a consumer unless the debt buyer alleges all of the following information in the complaint:
 
A.  The information described in section 11013, subsection 9, including that the debt buyer possesses the documentation described in section 11013, subsection 9;
 
B.  The basis for any interest and fees claimed to be owed and sought to be collected in the collection action;
 
C.  The basis for the request for attorney's fees, if applicable;
 
D.  That the debt buyer is the current owner of the debt; and
 
E.  That the cause of action is filed within the applicable statute of limitations period.
 
2.  Requirements for judgment.     Regardless of whether the consumer appears in the action, the court may not enter a judgment in favor of a debt buyer in a collection action against a consumer unless the debt buyer files with the court:
 
A.  A copy admissible under the Maine Rules of Evidence of the contract, application or other writing establishing the consumer's agreement to the debt, which must contain the consumer's signature. If the debt arises from a credit card and no such signed document evidencing the debt ever existed, the debt buyer shall provide copies of the most recent monthly statement recording a purchase transaction, service billed, last payment or balance transfer and monthly statements from the 11 months immediately preceding the most recent statement, if applicable;
 
B.  If not included in the contract, application or other writing filed under paragraph A, a copy admissible under the Maine Rules of Evidence of the terms and conditions that apply to the consumer's account and that establish the basis for the interest and fees alleged;
 
C.  Business records or other evidence admissible under the Maine Rules of Evidence to establish the outstanding principal amount of debt and the interest and fees, if any, claimed to be owed;
 
D.  A copy admissible under the Maine Rules of Evidence of each bill of sale or other writing establishing transfer of ownership of the debt from the original creditor to the debt buyer. Each bill of sale or other writing evidencing transfer of ownership must contain the original creditor's account number of the debt purchased and must clearly show the consumer's name associated with that account number; and
 
E.  Notwithstanding any other law, if attorney's fees are sought under contract, a copy admissible under the Maine Rules of Evidence of the contract evidencing entitlement to attorney's fees.
Sec. 11.  32 MRSA §11055  is enacted to read:
§ 11055. Criminal liability
A person that intentionally, knowingly or recklessly attempts to collect a resolved debt commits a Class C crime.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Maine Fair Debt Collection Practices Act in the following ways:
1. It defines the term "debt buyer" and requires debt buyers to obtain debt collector licenses from the Superintendent of Consumer Credit Protection;
2. It requires creditors to transfer specific documentation when selling or otherwise transferring a consumer debt to another creditor or to a debt buyer;
3. It prevents a debt buyer from obtaining a default judgment in a collection action due to the nonappearance of the consumer in court and instead requires the debt buyer to provide admissible evidence in support of its claim;
4. It prohibits a debt buyer from seeking to garnish a consumer's wages to enforce a judgment obtained against the consumer in a collection action; and
5. It makes it unlawful for a creditor or a debt collector to attempt to collect a debt that has been paid, discharged in bankruptcy court or for which the statute of limitations has expired.
This bill also amends the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 16 to prevent debt buyers from enjoying the presumption of correctness attendant to an account annexed form of court action when bringing a lawsuit to enforce a debt.