The U.S. Supreme Court announced on June 28 that it had granted a petition for a writ of certiorari to review the judgment of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit in Obduskey v. McCarthy & Holthus LLP, et al., and resolve a circuit split on whether the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) applies to non-judicial foreclosure proceedings. Because the Supreme Court's decision in Obduskey will determine whether the FDCPA's protections apply in countless non-judicial foreclosure actions, it could have a significant financial impact on the mortgage industry.
In Obduskey, the 10th Circuit, agreeing with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and numerous district courts, ruled that a law firm hired to pursue a non-judicial foreclosure under Colorado law was not a debt collector as defined under the FDCPA.