SECTIONS 1788.30-1788.33 - California Statutes

CIVIL CODE

SECTION 1788.30-1788.33

1788.30. (a) Any debt collector who violates this title with
respect to any debtor shall be liable to that debtor only in an
individual action, and his liability therein to that debtor shall be
in an amount equal to the sum of any actual damages sustained by the
debtor as a result of the violation.
(b) Any debt collector who willfully and knowingly violates this
title with respect to any debtor shall, in addition to actual damages
sustained by the debtor as a result of the violation, also be liable
to the debtor only in an individual action, and his additional
liability therein to that debtor shall be for a penalty in such
amount as the court may allow, which shall not be less than one
hundred dollars ($100) nor greater than one thousand dollars
($1,000).
(c) In the case of any action to enforce any liability under this
title, the prevailing party shall be entitled to costs of the action.
Reasonable attorney's fees, which shall be based on time necessarily
expended to enforce the liability, shall be awarded to a prevailing
debtor; reasonable attorney's fees may be awarded to a prevailing
creditor upon a finding by the court that the debtor's prosecution or
defense of the action was not in good faith.
(d) A debt collector shall have no civil liability under this
title if, within 15 days either after discovering a violation which
is able to be cured, or after the receipt of a written notice of such
violation, the debt collector notifies the debtor of the violation,
and makes whatever adjustments or corrections are necessary to cure
the violation with respect to the debtor.
(e) A debt collector shall have no civil liability to which such
debt collector might otherwise be subject for a violation of this
title, if the debt collector shows by a preponderance of evidence
that the violation was not intentional and resulted notwithstanding
the maintenance of procedures reasonably adapted to avoid any such
violation.
(f) Any action under this section may be brought in any
appropriate court of competent jurisdiction in an individual capacity
only, within one year from the date of the occurrence of the
violation.
(g) Any intentional violation of the provisions of this title by
the debtor may be raised as a defense by the debt collector, if such
violation is pertinent or relevant to any claim or action brought
against the debt collector by or on behalf of the debtor.

1788.31. If any provision of this title, or the application thereof
to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the remaining
provisions of this title, or the application of such provisions to
other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected thereby.

1788.32. The remedies provided herein are intended to be cumulative
and are in addition to any other procedures, rights, or remedies
under any other provision of law. The enactment of this title shall
not supersede existing administrative regulations of the Director of
Consumer Affairs except to the extent that those regulations are
inconsistent with the provisions of this title.

1788.33. Any waiver of the provisions of this title is contrary to
public policy, and is void and unenforceable.