Spilman lawyers were successful in winning an appeal at the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia on the issue of whether non-consumers can assert claims under the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act. Spilman represented a collection agency that made collection calls to the plaintiff's home, which she shared with two other people, one of whom owed the debt our client was trying to collect. Plaintiff assumed the calls were meant for her and brought suit under the WVCCPA, arguing that even though she did not owe the debt, she met the criteria for being a "consumer" entitled to sue. Spilman moved for summary judgment, arguing that the plaintiff was required to owe the debt at issue to assert a WVCCPA claim, relying on the 2006 decision from a West Virginia federal district court, in which we had successfully represented another client in a similar matter. The trial court agreed with our client and granted summary judgment. The plaintiff appealed, and Spilman prevailed on appeal. The state Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision affirming the trial court's order granting our client summary judgment, which should stop non-consumers from seeking to assert WVCCPA claims in state courts in West Virginia in the future.

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