No communication, no FDCA claim

The plaintiff in Fontana v. H O V G L L C alleged that a debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Act by speaking with his sister. His claim failed because the FDCA requires a “communication,” and in this case: “[T]he conversation between HOVG’s representative and Fontana’s sister did not convey any information regarding a debt, either directly or indirectly. HOVG’s representative did not mention Fontana’s debt at all and did not directly provide any information about it. Instead, HOVG’s representative mentioned ‘an important personal business matter.’ That does not even suggest the existence of a debt, much less provide information about it. The closest HOVG’s representative came to giving information about a debt was providing the name of the debt collector.” No. 20-30471 (Feb. 26, 2021).