§ 19-14.9-13 - Remedies and penalties.
SECTION 19-14.9-13
§ 19-14.9-13 Remedies and penalties.– (1) Any person who engages in the business of a debt collector without aregistration as required by § 19-14.9-12 of this chapter, shall, uponconviction, be fined not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000) or imprisonednot more than one year, or both.
(2) Any debt collector who fails to comply with theprovisions of §§ 19-14.9-4 – 19-14.9-11 of this chapter withrespect to a consumer may be subject to revocation of registration and shall becivilly liable to such consumer in an amount equal to the sum of:
(a) Any actual damages sustained by such consumer as a resultof such failure;
(b) In the case of any action by an individual, suchadditional damages as the court may allow, but not to exceed one thousanddollars ($1,000);
(c) In the case of a class action:
(1) Such amount for each named plaintiff as could berecovered under paragraph (b) of this subsection;
(2) Such amount as the court may allow for all other classmembers, without regard to a minimum individual recovery, not to exceed fivehundred thousand dollars ($500,000) or one percent of the net worth of the debtcollector, whichever is the lesser;
(d) In the case of any successful action to enforce suchliability, the costs of the action, together with such reasonable attorney feesas may be determined by the court.
(3) In determining the amount of liability in any actionunder paragraph (2), the court shall consider, among other relevant factors:
(a) In any individual action under paragraph (b), thefrequency and persistence of noncompliance by the debt collector or, the natureof such noncompliance, and the extent to which such noncompliance wasintentional;
(b) In any class action under paragraph (c), the frequencyand persistence of noncompliance by the debt collector, the nature of suchnoncompliance, the resources of the debt collector, the number of personsadversely affected, and the extent to which the debt collector's noncompliancewas intentional.
(4) A debt collector may not be held liable in any actionbrought pursuant to the provisions of this chapter if:
(a) The debt collector shows by a preponderance of evidencethat the violation was not intentional or negligent and which violationresulted from a bona fide error, notwithstanding the maintenance of proceduresreasonably adapted to avoid any such error; or
(b) Within fifteen (15) days, either after discovering aviolation which is able to be cured, or after the receipt of a written noticeof such violation, the debt collector notifies the consumer of the violation,and makes whatever adjustments or corrections are necessary to cure theviolation with respect to the consumer.
(5) An action to enforce any liability created by theprovisions of this article may be brought in any court of competentjurisdiction within one year from the date on which the violation occurs.
(6) The policy of this state is not to award double damagesunder this article and the federal "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act" (15U.S.C. § 1692 et seq). No damages under this section shall be recovered ifdamages are recovered for a like provision of said federal act.