Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently signed legislation making it clear that debt collection emails sent between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. do not violate Florida law.
Those are the hours that debt collectors are prohibited from communicating with debtors. Now, emails are excluded from that prohibition.
"The bill includes preamble clauses that acknowledge emails were not commonly used or explicitly contemplated when the Florida Legislature prohibited the practice of communicating with a consumer at night," a Florida Legislature memo explaining the bill states. "The preamble clauses also identify the Legislative intent of the bill is to update the law and clarify that emails are not prohibited between such hours because they are less invasive and less disruptive" than telephone calls.
Before the law was enacted, a debtor could file a civil action against a consumer collection company or any person attempting to collect a debt during prohibited hours within two years of the date the alleged violation occurred.
"Without statutory clarification, Florida courts are open to litigation over debt collection e-mails received and read after 9 p.m. and before 8 a.m.," the legislative memo states.
And people have sued under the old Florida statute.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida recently interpreted what it means to communicate with a consumer under Florida law, according to the legislative memo. In that case, a consumer filed a class action against a debt collector for sending an email at 8:23 p.m., which was delivered at 10:14 p.m., but was not read until 11:44 a.m.
The plaintiff in the case argued that the communication violated Florida law. However, without legal precedent, Judge David S. Leibowitz of the Southern District of Florida, said "Simply put, if a debt collector 'sends' an email but the consumer never 'receives' it, the debt collector has not "shared information' or 'communicated with' anyone."
Judge Leibowitz ruled that the debt collector communicated with the consumer at 11:44 a.m.
"Thus, the uncontroverted record evidence is that [the debt collector] communicated with [the consumer] during hours that are presumptively allowed" under state and federal law.
However, the legislative memo points out that without the law, Florida courts or other federal courts could have adopted a different position.
The State Senator who sponsored the legislation said it properly takes into account newer technology.
"By clarifying that emails sent between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. are permissible, SB 232 ensures that contact remains respectful, non-intrusive, and less disruptive than phone calls," said Republican State Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez. "As communication evolves, our laws must, too—and this bill is a step toward making our statutes smarter and more in tune with modern life."
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