Beauvoir v. Israel, 2015 U.S. App. LEXIS 12535

Plaintiffs Gary and Husbene Beauvoir received a letter from attorney David Israel stating National Grid had referred collection for the amount owed for “consumption of unmetered gas.”
The letter failed to state the amount of the alleged debt and did not explicitly notify the Beauvoirs of their 30‑day dispute right under 15 U.S.C. § 1692g(a).
National Grid separately sued in state court alleging the Beauvoirs tampered with the gas meter and consumed unmetered gas (i.e., theft).
The Beauvoirs filed a putative class action under the FDCPA, claiming the collection letter violated §§ 1692g(a), 1692e(5), and 1692e(10).
The district court dismissed, holding that money arising from alleged theft is not a “debt” under the FDCPA; the Second Circuit affirmed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether money owed from alleged theft of unmetered gas is a “debt” under the FDCPA	The letter sought to collect an obligation and thus triggers FDCPA protections; framing alone shouldn’t defeat FDCPA coverage	Money owed from theft/tort does not arise from a consensual transaction and thus is not a “debt” under 15 U.S.C. § 1692a(5)	Money owed as a result of theft is not a “debt” under the FDCPA; dismissal affirmed

Beggs v. Rossi, 145 F.3d 511 (2d Cir. 1998) (statute contemplates debt arising from rendition of service or purchase)
Fleming v. Pickard, 581 F.3d 922 (9th Cir. 2009) (conversion/liability from theft not a debt under FDCPA)
Hawthorne v. Mac Adjustment, Inc., 140 F.3d 1367 (11th Cir. 1998) (obligation from tort/damages not a ‘transaction’ for FDCPA)
Bass v. Stolper, Koritzinsky, Brewster & Neider, S.C., 111 F.3d 1322 (7th Cir. 1997) (FDCPA limited to obligations from consensual transactions)
Zimmerman v. HBO Affiliate Grp., 834 F.2d 1163 (3d Cir. 1987) (Congress did not equate tort liability with consumer debt)
Ashcroft v. Iqbal, 556 U.S. 662 (U.S. 2009) (pleading standard: conclusory allegations insufficient)