ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 36
(By Senators Anderson, Claypole, Dittmar, Grubb, Holliday,
Macnaughtan, Miller, Plymale, Ross, Wagner, Wiedebusch, Wooton
and Yoder)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported January 14, 1994.]
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A BILL to amend article two, chapter forty-six-a of the code of
West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, by adding thereto a new section, designated section
one hundred twenty-nine-a; and to amend article five of said
chapter by adding thereto three new sections, designated
sections one hundred four, one hundred five and one hundred
six, all relating to consumer credit protection; prohibiting
use of deception in telephone collection activities;
awarding attorney fees to certain prevailing consumers and
assessing court costs to certain creditors; changing
penalties for willful violations; and providing for the
adjustment of penalties to consider inflation.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That article two, chapter forty-six-a of the code of West
Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated section onehundred twenty-nine-a; and that article five of said chapter be
amended by adding thereto three new sections, designated section
one hundred four, one hundred five and one hundred six, all to
read as follows:
ARTICLE 2. CONSUMER CREDIT PROTECTION.
§46A-2-129a. Deceptive or oppressive telephone calls.
No debt collector shall place a telephone call or otherwise
communicate by telephone with a consumer or third party, at any
place, including a place of employment, stating that the call is
"urgent" or an "emergency" or make a misrepresentation of the
nature of the call to deceive the consumer into accepting a
telephone call.
ARTICLE 5. CIVIL LIABILITY AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES.
§46A-5-104. Attorney fees.
In any claim brought under this chapter applying to illegal,
fraudulent or unconscionable conduct or any prohibited debt
collection practice, the court may award all or a portion of the
costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney fees, court
costs and fees, to the consumer. On a finding by the court that
an action brought under this chapter applying to illegal,
fraudulent or unconscionable conduct or any prohibited debt
collection practice was brought in bad faith and for the purposes
of harassment, the court may award to the defendant reasonable
attorney fees.
§46A-5-105. Willful violations.
If a creditor has willfully violated the provisions of thischapter applying to illegal, fraudulent or unconscionable conduct
or any prohibited debt collection practice, in addition to the
remedy provided in section one hundred one of this article, the
court may cancel the debt when the debt is not secured by a
security interest.
§46A-5-106. Adjustment of damages for inflation.
In any claim brought under this chapter applying to illegal,
fraudulent or unconscionable conduct or any prohibited debt
collection practice, the court may adjust the damages awarded
pursuant to section one hundred one to account for inflation from
the time that the West Virginia consumer credit and protection
act became operative, specifically 12:01 a.m. on the first day of
September, one thousand nine hundred seventy-four, to the time of
the award of damages in an amount equal to the consumer price
index. Consumer price index means the last consumer price index
for all consumers published by the United States department of
labor.
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