Yancy Harrier was a former customer of Verizon and in July of 2010, Harrier filed a Chapter 7 petition for bankruptcy. Harrier's bankruptcy schedules listed Verizon as a creditor in the amount of $834.00. In October of 2010, the bankruptcy court entered a discharge order in Harrier's bankruptcy proceedings providing Verizon with notice of the discharge.
Harrier contended that despite the bankruptcy discharge, Verizon called him regarding the alleged debt on two occasions and e-mailed him regarding the alleged debt on one occasion. Harrier contended that these communications violated the FCCPA and the TCPA and filed suit based upon those statutes.
Verizon moved to compel arbitration and stay the proceedings based on arbitration clauses contained in the agreements between Harrier and Verizon. The Court denied Verizon's motion.
The Court ruled that it would be inappropriate to compel arbitration under an agreement that was discharged in bankruptcy and that "a holder of a claim and the debtor" is enforceable only to the extent that certain conditions, such as reaffirmation of the agreement, are met. The Court was also persuaded by the fact that Harrier was not suing on the basis of the agreement.
Harrier v. Verizon Wireless Personal Communs. LP, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142428 (M.D. Fla. Oct. 2, 2012).
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