North Dakota man successfully sues debt collection agency

A man from North Dakota recently won a case against a debt collection agency and was awarded $311,000 from a federal jury.

 The Billings Gazette reports that the finding in favor of Timothy McCollough was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals after he took the law firm Johnson, Rodenburg & Lauinger, based in Billings, to court for abusive practices. The special panel of appellate judges, which included Retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, found that the law firm had violated the Montana Unfair Trade Practices Act and was "malicious." "It was a complete victory for Tim. I'm just absolutely tickled," said McCollough's attorney, John Heenan of Billings, upon hearing the news of the favorable ruling. "I'm very proud of Tim for hanging in there for as long as he has," he said. Others in the debt collection field have gotten into legal trouble as of late. KTRE-TV reports that police in Lufkin, Texas, arrested Leanna Jean for stealing the identity of someone she was collecting debt from.