No debt, no demand.

In Calogero v. Shows, Cali & Walsh, LLP, (discussed earlier this week for stylistic reasons), a panel majority found that two recipients of certain Hurricane Katrina relief stated a viable Fair Debt Collection Act claim when:

• The longest possible limitations period (10 years) had run by the time the demand letters requested payment; and
• The demand letters threatened a claim for attorneys fees, when the relevant documents only created a specific right to potential fee recovery that did not include the alleged debt at issue.

The third judge, without opinion, concurred in the result only. No. 22-30487 (March 15, 2024).