Good settlement, but no more

In Tejero v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, a plaintiff who successfully settled a Fair Debt Collection Practices Act case sought recovery of attorneys’ fees, noting that the FDCPA allows a fee award for a “successful action to enforce …. liability.” The Fifth Circuit held that this language “means a lawsuit that generates a favorable end result compelling accountability and legal compliance with a formal command or decree under the FDCPA. Tejero won no such relief because he settled before his lawsuit reached any end result, let alone a favorable one. And by settling, Portfolio Recovery avoided a formal legal command or decree from Tejero’s lawsuit.” No. 20-50543 (April 7, 2021).