The case, in response to the attorney general’s regulatory overreach, ended with a dismissal and settlement Jan. 13. Editor’s note: This article is available for members only.
1/13/2021 17:00
ACA International’s lawsuit challenging Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s emergency debt collection regulation last year has come to a close.
Judge Richard G. Stearns of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, who also issued a memorandum opinion and order granting ACA’s motion for a temporary restraining order (TRO) and preliminary injunction against the attorney general’s restrictions, approved dismissal of the case Jan. 13.
The attorney general issued the emergency regulation in late March 2020, almost entirely halting collection calls to Massachusetts consumers, ACA previously reported.
ACA’s lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in April 2020, challenged the regulation on a number of grounds, including infringement on members’ First Amendment guarantee of free speech; the 14th Amendment’s twin guarantees of due process and equal protection of the laws; and the separation of powers doctrine, which prohibits one branch of government (here, the executive branch) from usurping the powers of another (here, the judicial branch).
“At the beginning of the pandemic, we saw many regulators and elected officials making what I felt were hustle mistakes,” said ACA’s Vice President of State Unit and Government Affairs Andrew Madden. “Facing a never-before-seen crisis like COVID-19, lawmakers across the country began to significantly expand the scope of their office and many times aimed their rapid response directly at our industry.”
In October 2020, Healey’s office filed a motion seeking dismissal of ACA’s lawsuit, ACA previously reported.
“ACA’s successful request for a preliminary injunction in Massachusetts came at a critical time as many state and local lawmakers were considering similar restrictions,” Madden said. “ACA’s timely success clearly exposed the overreach being considered by some lawmakers and provided a tangible reference point for our industry advocates fighting for a common-sense approach to any emergency laws or regulations.”