div class=entrydiv class=articlepA North Dakota law firm accused of trying to collect a $3,800 debt after the statute of limitations expired is now the one that owes a lot of money./ppAn appellate court has upheld a $311,000 jury award to a Montana man who sued the firm in 2007 over a violation of the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act./ppJohnson, Rodenburg amp; Lauinger appealed the April 2009 summary judgment and damages awarded to Timothy McCollough of Laurel. The case was heard in July by a special panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Billings, including retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor./ppThe panel issued a decision Friday upholding the damages. They include $1,000 statutory maximum for violating the debt collection law, $60,000 in punitive damages and $250,000 for emotional distress./ppI'm just so giddy it's all over. We're finally able to take a deep breath, McCullough told The Billings Gazette on Friday. We knew we had a good case, but it just went on forever./ppMcCullough said he hoped the case showed debt collectors that people are going to know they don't have to take the garbage. They can fight back./pp
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