Opinion
No. 13-17585
12-14-2015
ALWIN CARPENTER, Plaintiff - Appellant, v. ALESSI & KOENIG, LLC, Defendant - Appellee.
NOT FOR PUBLICATION
D.C. No. 2:11-cv-01495-PMP-GWF MEMORANDUM Appeal from the United States District Court for the District of Nevada
Philip M. Pro, Senior District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted December 9, 2015 San Francisco, California Before: KOZINSKI, BYBEE, and CHRISTEN, Circuit Judges.
This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by Ninth Circuit Rule 36-3.
The district court abused its discretion by awarding Alessi & Koenig, LLC ("Alessi") $5,843.75 in attorney's fees.
1. Alessi constitutes a law firm retained by its clients to collect debts in the usual course of its practice. See Nev. Rev. Stat. § 649.020(2)(g). As such, it is exempted from the requirement that it obtain a license from the State of Nevada before collecting claims on behalf of its clients. Id. § 649.075; see also Nev. Dep't of Bus. & Indus., Fin. Insts. Div., Advisory Opinion Regarding Attorneys Acting as Collection Agencies (2012).
Available at http://fid.state.nv.us/AdvisoryOpinion/2012/2012-03-22_OPINION_AttorneyActingAsCollectionAgency.pdf. --------
2. However, given the ambiguity of the "conducting collection agencies" language in § 649.020(2) and that clarifying guidance from the State was not available until several months after Carpenter filed suit against Alessi, Carpenter's claim was not brought "Without reasonable ground." Nev. Rev. Stat. § 18.010(2)(b).
3. Additionally, the district court's order awarding fees to Alessi did not contain the mandated "find[ings]" necessary to support its decision. Id.; see also Rivero v. Rivero, 216 P.3d 213, 234 (Nev. 2009).
REVERSED.