Colorado § 5-16-111 - Legal actions by collection agencies.

§ 5-16-111. Legal actions by collection agencies.

(1) Any debt collector or collection agency who brings any legal action on a debt against any consumer shall:

(a) In the case of an action to enforce an interest in real property securing the consumer's obligation, bring the action only in a judicial district or similar legal entity in which the real property is located; or

(b) In the case of an action not described in subsection (1)(a) of this section, bring the action only in the judicial district or similar legal entity in which:

(I) The consumer signed the contract sued upon;

(II) The consumer resides at the commencement of the action; or

(III) The action may be brought pursuant to article 13 or 13.5 of title 26, section 14-14-104, or article 4 or 6 of title 19, if the action is by a private collection agency acting on behalf of a delegate child support enforcement unit.

(1.5) A debt collector or collection agency that is not a creditor or debt buyer shall not be the named plaintiff in a legal action or take any legal action on a debt against a consumer unless the debt collector or collection agency:

(a) Ensures that the name of the original creditor or assignor and the name of the debt collector or collection agency are included in the case caption of the complaint, in that order; and

(b) Has a complete and effective assignment, including complete settlement authority and authority to resolve the litigation.

(2) A debt collector or collection agency who brings a legal action on a debt owned by a debt buyer shall attach the following materials to the complaint or form:

(a) (I) A copy of the contract, account-holder agreement, or other writing from the original creditor or the consumer evidencing the consumer's agreement to the original debt;

(II) In the case of a medical debt, a copy of a redacted itemization of charges incurred;

(III) If a signed writing evidencing the original debt does not exist, a copy of the document provided to the consumer while the account was active, demonstrating that the debt was incurred by the consumer; or, for a credit card debt, the most recent monthly statement recording a purchase transaction, payment, or balance transfer; or

(IV) If a claim is based on an electronic transaction for which a signed writing evidencing the original debt never existed, a copy of the records created during the transaction evidencing the consumer's agreement to the debt and recording the date and terms of the transaction and information provided by the consumer during the transaction; and

(b) A copy of the assignment or other writing establishing that the debt buyer is the owner of the debt. If the debt was assigned more than once, each assignment or other writing evidencing transfer of ownership must be attached to establish an unbroken chain of ownership, beginning with the original creditor to the first debt buyer and each subsequent sale.

(3) Prior to entry of a default judgment against a consumer in a legal action on a debt owned by a debt buyer, the plaintiff shall file with the court evidence that satisfies the requirements of rules 803(6) and 902(11) of the Colorado rules of evidence or is otherwise authorized by law or rule that establishes the amount and nature of the debt and include:

(a) The original account number at charge-off;

(b) The original creditor at charge-off;

(c) The amount due at charge-off or, if the balance has not been charged off, an itemization of the amount claimed to be owed, including the principal, interest, fees, and other charges or reductions from payment made or other credits;

(d) An itemization of post charge-off additions, if any;

(e) (I) The date of the last payment, if applicable; or

(II) The date of the last transaction; and

(f) If the account is not a revolving credit account, the date the debt was incurred.

(4) In the absence of evidence required by subsections (2)(a) or (2)(b) and (3) of this section, an affidavit does not satisfy the requirements of these subsections.

(5) A creditor, or a debt collector or collection agency operating on behalf of the creditor, that brings a legal action on a medical debt shall attach to the complaint or applicable form a copy of a redacted itemization of the charges that are the basis for the medical debt.

(6) (a) Prior to entry of a default judgment against a consumer in a legal action on a medical debt, the plaintiff shall file with the court evidence that satisfies the requirements of rules 803 (6) and 902 (11) of the Colorado rules of evidence or that otherwise, as authorized by law or rule, establishes the amount and nature of the medical debt and includes:

(I) The original account number at charge-off;

(II) The original creditor at charge-off;

(III) The amount due at charge-off or, if the balance has not been charged off, an itemization of the amount claimed to be owed, including the principal, interest, fees, and other charges or reductions from payment made or other credits;

(IV) An itemization of post charge-off additions, if any;

(V) The date of the last payment, if applicable, or the date of the last transaction; and

(VI) The date the debt was incurred.

(b) If an affidavit does not include the evidence required in subsection (5) of this section and this subsection (6), the affidavit does not satisfy the requirements of said subsections.

Source: L. 2017: Entire article added with relocations, (HB 17-1238), ch. 260, p. 1089, § 1, effective August 9; (2), (3), and (4) added, (SB 17-216), ch. 285, p. 1578, § 4, effective January 1, 2018. L. 2023: (5) and (6) added, (SB 23-093), ch. 152, p. 646, § 5, effective May 4. L. 2024: (1.5) added, (HB 24-1380), ch. 463, p. 3220, § 1, effective August 7.

Editor's note: (1) This section is similar to former § 12-14-111 as it existed prior to 2017.

(2) Subsections (2), (3), and (4) were numbered as § 12-14-111 (2), (3), and (4), respectively, in SB 17-216 (see L. 2017, p. 1578). Those provisions were harmonized with this section as it appears in HB 17-1238, effective January 1, 2018.