About Richard Jay Perr

Rick Perr focuses his practice in complex commercial litigation and professional liability defense. He also has extensive experience representing Directors and Officers for claims arising from their corporate activity. He is a nationally recognized authority and lecturer on creditor’s rights, representing creditors, law firms and agencies against individual and class action allegations invoking federal and state consumer protection laws, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and the Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act.

Mr. Perr also advises entities and individuals on matters related to compliance in the credit and collection industry, including review, implementation and auditing of policies and procedures, especially in adherence with governmental regulatory bodies such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).

He has served as a foreign policy intern for then United States Senator Al Gore (D-TN) and was the Chairman of the Burlington County Democratic Party. Mr. Perr also served as an Adjunct Professor of Law at Rutgers – Camden School of Law, teaching Election and Political Campaign Law, and has appeared in numerous national, regional and local publications and on broadcast media on the issues of politics and election law. He was also a contributing author for the twenty-volume encyclopedia Constitutions of the Countries of the World.

Professional Memberships

• Association of Credit and Collection Professionals (ACA)

President, 2017/2018

President-Elect, 2016

Treasurer, 2013-2014

Board of Directors, 2012-Present

Federal Affairs Committee Chair, 2015-2016

Regulatory Committee Chair, 2014-2015

Audit Committee Chair, 2013-2014

Members’ Attorney Program (MAP)

MAP Committee, 2011-2014, Chair, 2012-2013

State Compliance Chair, Pennsylvania, 2005-2007

State Compliance Chair, New Jersey, 2011-2013

Fellow Designation, 2013

Scholar Designation

Members’ Attorney Program Designation, 2013

• Professional Liability Defense Federation

Miscellaneous Professional Liability & Cyber Claims Committee, Chair 2018-Present

Professional Liability Defense Quarterly, Co-Editor in Chief

• Mid-Atlantic Collectors Association – Board of Directors, 2011-Present

• Burlington County Bar Association

Federal Practice Committee, Chair, 2005-2006

Government Relations Committee, Co-Chair, 2009-2010

• Burlington County Democratic Party, Chair, 2006-2009

Federal Practice Committee, Chair, 2005-2006

Governmant Relations Committee, Co-Chair, 2006-2009

• The Legal Intelligencer and the Pennsylvania Law Weekly Lawyers on the Fast Track, Class of 2008

• New Jersey State Bar Association

Election Law Committee, Chair, 2003-2005

Federal Practice Committee, 2012-2013

• New Jersey Superlawyers, Business Litigation, 2006–2011

• New Jersey Supreme Court Ethics Committee – District IV, 2005-2009

• Philadelphia Bar Association

Community/Civic Involvement

• Boy Scouts of America – Cubmaster, Garden State Council, Pack 300, 2004-2005

• March of Dimes South Jersey Division, Board of Directors, 2010-2012

• March for Babies Executive Steering Committee, Chair, 2008-2010

• Rutgers School of Law – Camden

Adjunct Professor of Law – Election and Political Campaign Law

• Media Appearances: WPVI-TV (Channel 6 – Philadelphia), CN8 (Comcast News Network – Philadelphia), NJN (New Jersey Network – Trenton), National Public Radio, Associated Press, Chicago Tribune, Newark Star Ledger, New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer

Representative Matters

• Szczurek v. Prof’l Mgmt., No. 14-4775, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 17245 (3d Cir. September 10, 2015) (In an FDCPA action, debt collector was entitled to judgment on the pleadings under Fed. R. Civ. P. 12(c), because court disagreed with debtor’s interpretation of a sentence in a debt collection letter as misleading and declined to hold debt collector liable for failing to notify consumers of rights above and beyond what was required by the FDCPA).

• Douglass v. Convergent Outsourcing, No. 13-3588, 765 F.3d 299 (3d Cir. 2014) (The district court erred in granting the debt collector summary judgment on the debtor’s 15 U.S.C. § 1692f(8) claim where the disclosure of the account number implicated a core concern of the FDCPA, i.e., invasion of privacy, and thus, its disclosure was not benign).

• Seamans v. Temple Univ., No. 12-4298, 744 F.3d 853 (3d Cir. 2013) (In this FCRA action, the grant of summary judgment to the university was vacated; once the borrower’s loan had been repaid, the trade line pertaining to the Loan should have “aged off” his credit report pursuant to 15 U.S.C. § 1681c(a)(4), because the Loan by that time had been placed for collection more than seven years prior).

• Caprio v. Healthcare Revenue Recovery Group, LLC, No. 12-1846, 709 F.3d 142 (3d Cir. 2013) (Based on the court’s interpretation of a collection letter from the perspective of the applicable “least sophisticated debtor,” it determined that the substance and the form of the letter overshadowed and contradicted the validation notice, contrary to 15 U.S.C. § 1692g. It was deceptive because it could be read to have two or more meanings).

• Lesher v. Law Offices of Mitchell N. Kay, PC, No. 10-3194, 650 F.3d 993 (3d Cir. 2011), cert. denied, 2012 U.S. LEXIS 967 (Jan. 23, 2012) (Two debt collection letters from a law firm, acting as a debt collector, were deceptive in violation of the FDCPA because they falsely implied that an attorney was involved in collecting the debt, and the least sophisticated debtor would reasonably believe that an attorney had reviewed the file and determined that legal action was appropriate).

• Rosenau v. Unifund Corp., No. 07-3019, 539 F.3d 218 (3d Cir. 2008) (Judgment on the pleadings was improperly entered for debt collector as to consumer’s deceptive practices claims under 15 U.S.C. § 1692e(3), (10). Factual dispute existed as to whether least sophisticated consumer would think that collection letter signed “Legal Department” necessarily meant that attorney was involved in writing or sending letter).

• Orson, Inc. v. Miramax Film Corp., No. 97-1994, 189 F.3d 377 (3d Cir. 1999), cert. denied, 2000 U.S. LEXIS 1869 (March 6, 2000) (State statute banning exclusivity in motion picture distribution after 42 days was preempted by Copyright Act; state cannot control distribution of copyrighted work contrary to statutory exclusive distribution rights).

• Counseled client through the purchase of a debt portfolio with a face value of $2.4 billion. Fast-paced transaction with an end-of-the-year deadline.

• Successfully forced plaintiff’s counsel to resolve a substantial class action on an individual basis, which dramatically lowered the exposure to the client. Because the nature of the case changed from a class action to a single plaintiff lawsuit the client was only required to pay a nominal settlement.

• Obtained summary judgment on behalf of a leasing company sued as a result of a multiple fatality motor vehicle accident. Plaintiffs alleged that the leasing company’s failure to maintain its own insurance policy on the vehicle made it responsible under a state statute requiring such companies to have insurance to pay for the damages caused by the driver of the vehicle. The court agreed with the leasing company and ruled that noncompliance with the statute did not create a private right of action by the Plaintiffs.

Awards

• Selected for inclusion on the 2006 – 2011 New Jersey Super Lawyers® lists.

• Selected for inclusion on the 2008 “Lawyers on the Fast Track” list by The Legal Intelligencer and the Pennsylvania Law Weekly

Publications

• Attys Say 11th Circ. FDCPA Ruling Could Harm Their Practices, Law 360, quoted Rick Perr, 1-25-22

• Countdown to Compliance with Regulation F of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), Nov. 15 – Nov. 19

• Countdown to Compliance with “Regulation F” of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) Nov. 8 – Nov. 12

• 6 Days Remain to Prepare for “Regulation F”: KDV’s Countdown to Compliance Continues

• The Epic Journey of a Pivotal 11th Circuit Debt-Collection Case, The Daily Docket, noted Richard Perr, November 19, 2021

• 11th Circ. Will Rehear Debt Collection Privacy Suit, Law 360, quote by Richard Perr, November 17, 2021

• CFPB Debt Collection Rules Pose Test for Medical, Student Debt, Bloomberg Law, featuring Rick Perr, October 18, 2021

• Copycat Attorneys Come Out: 11th Circuit Ruling Prompts Plaintiffs to Launch New Attack on Debt Collectors, NJSBA Daily Briefing, Sept. 20, 2021

• California Opens DFPI Licensing Application Process; Agencies must Apply by December

• Where will CFPB come down on buy now/pay later loans? American Banker, ft. Richard Perr

• Preferred Collection and ACA Tell 11th Circuit That SCOTUS Opinion in Ramirez Supports Request for Rehearing in Hunstein

• Debt Collector Seeks Rehearing In 11th Circ. Mail Vendor Case, Law360, ft. Rick Perr

• Court Decision Muddies Debt Collector Communications, American Banker, ft. Richard Perr

• Supreme Court Strikes Down Part of TCPA

• High Court FCRA Case Could Shake Up Class Action Standing, Law360, ft. Richard Perr

• Supreme Court will Address whether Each Class Member Must Have an Injury to Establish Standing

• What To Watch As High Court Tackles Robocall Ban’s Scope, Law360, ft. Richard Perr

• KDV Alert: CFPB Releases its Long-Awaited Final Debt Collection Rule

• Debt Collectors Allowed to Text, Email Under New CFPB Rules (1), BloombergLaw, ft. Richard Perr

• Employees of Collection Agencies Working Nevada Accounts are Permitted to Work From Home through December 31, 2020

• Employees of Collection Agencies Working Nevada Accounts Must Work from the Brick and Mortar Location Listed on the License

• Supreme Court Grants Cert to Clarify Autodialer Issue in the Telephone Consumer Protection Act

• Supreme Court: CFPB Single-Director Structure Unconstitutional, Compliance Week, ft. Richard Perr

• INSIGHT: High Court Wary of TCPA Debt Exemption, But Not TCPA, Bloomberg Law

• Amid bipartisan criticism, Treasury Dept. attorneys review bank seizures of $1,200 stimulus checks, Washington Post, ft. Richard Perr

• US Supreme Court Justices Seem Inclined to Preserve Consumer Bureau, Legal Intelligencer

• KDV Alert – Nationwide COVID-19 Update For Consumer Financial Services

• KDV Alert: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Announces New Policy Regarding Abusive Acts

• KDV Alert: U.S. Supreme Court to Weigh In on 2015 TCPA Carve-Out for Government-Backed Debt Collection

• Judge Grants MSJ For Defendant in FDCPA Case Over Disputed Debt, AccountsRecovery.net, ft. Richard Perr

Selected Publications

• Preferred Collection and ACA Tell 11th Circuit That SCOTUS Opinion in Ramirez Supports Request for Rehearing in Hunstein , Association Collectors Connection Newsletter, June 2021

• Fourth Circuit Holds Multiple Prerecorded Calls to Obtain Location Information Do Not Violate the FDCPA, Mid-Atlantic Collectors Association Collectors Connection Newsletter, January 2013

• Five Simple Steps to Reduce Lawsuits , July 2010

• Much Ado Over Generic Concept of God, New Jersey Law Journal, October 3, 2005

• Primary Concerns, New Jersey Law Journal, August 26, 2005

• The Federal Credit and Collection Law Handbook

News

• KDV Alert: Text Messages May Not Be Subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”)