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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

TANYA M. KELLER

: : v. : CIVIL NO. CCB-09-800 : AMERICAN EXPRESS TRAVEL RELATED : SERVICES COMPANY, INC., et al. ...o0o... MEMORANDUM Now pending before the court is a motion to dismiss filed by one of the defendants in this case, Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC ("Cavalry"), against the plaintiff, Tanya M. Keller ("Keller"). Keller alleges that Cavalry, a collection agency, violated federal and state law in attempting to collect a debt that Keller never owed. The issues have been fully briefed and no hearing is necessary. For the following reasons, the motion to dismiss will be denied as to all but one conceded count.

BACKGROUND Because the court is considering a motion to dismiss filed by one of several defendants, the factual background of the case is taken entirely from Keller's complaint and focuses on the facts relevant to that defendant. Cavalry, the defendant, is licensed in Maryland as a collection agency. Beginning in or around March 2004, Cavalry attempted to collect a debt from Keller involving a Sprint telephone account by reporting the account as $1553 past due on Keller's credit reports. Keller has never owned a Sprint phone and was not responsible for the account in question. By 2005, Cavalry representatives were calling Keller's mother two to three times per day in the early morning, at 1

night, and on weekends, stating that they knew she was Keller's mother and threatening to seize Keller's assets. Keller's mother received approximately 100 such calls. Cavalry also communicated directly with Keller. On September 16 and December 24, 2007, Cavalry sent Keller collection letters informing her of the outstanding balance on the Sprint account and offering her discounted amounts to pay off the debt. In September 2007, Cavalry representatives began calling Keller at her unpublished home number. During the first call, Keller told the representative that the Sprint account was not hers and that she never had a Sprint phone, and she requested that Cavalry not call her again. The caller threatened to keep calling, and, through December 2007, Cavalry placed approximately 25 unanswered calls to Keller's unpublished home number, never leaving messages on Keller's home answering machine. On February 20 and April 14, 2008, Calvary sent Keller collection letters offering her different discounted amounts to settle the debt. At around the time the April letter was sent, a Cavalry representative called Keller at her unpublished home number ("the April 2008 call"), "was very nasty, aggressive and fast talking, and tried to force Keller into a $600 settlement, but when Keller refused, the caller threatened to call Keller again, and hung up on Keller after the call had lasted about two minutes." (Compl.

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