Felicia Wright, Petitioner: v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC.

── Felicia Wright, Petitioner: v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC. ── Court: Supreme Court of Colorado Date: May 26, 2026 Category: General 1 2026 CO 36 Felicia Wright, Petitioner: v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC. Respondent No. 24SC585 Supreme Court of Colorado, En Banc May 26, 2026           Certiorari to the District Court Boulder County District Court Case No. 22CV30158 Honorable J. Keith Collins, Judge           Attorneys for Petitioner:           The Law Offices of Gary Merenstein, P.C.           Gary Merenstein           Lafayette, Colorado           Anne Whalen Gill, L.L.C.           Anne Whalen Gill           Castle Rock, Colorado           Attorneys for Respondent:           Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell LLP           Frederick R. Yarger           Meghan Frei Berglind           William P. Sowers Jr.           Denver, Colorado 2           Attorneys for Amicus Curiae ACA International:           Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP           Sarah J. Auchterlonie           Courtney E. Bartkus           Denver, Colorado           Attorney for Amici Curiae Center for Responsible Lending, National Association of Consumer Advocates, National Consumer Law Center, Public Justice, and Towards Justice:           Rachel Dempsey           Denver, Colorado           Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Colorado Legal Services:           Jose Vasquez           Alexa Child           Joel Minor           Denver, Colorado           Karin Troendle           Fort Collins, Colorado           Craig Carmean           Colorado Springs, Colorado           Attorneys for Amicus Curiae National Creditors Bar Association: Barron &Newburger, P.C. Kevin T. Crocker           Littleton, Colorado           Attorneys for Amicus Curiae Receivables Management Association International, Inc.:           Bowlin & Schall, LLC           John M. Bowlin           Greenwood Village, Colorado           Maurice Wutscher, LLP           Donald S. Maurice, Jr.           Flemington, New Jersey Maurice Wutscher, LLP 3           Erin McCampbell Paris           Buffalo, New York           JUSTICE BLANCO delivered the Opinion of the Court, in which CHIEF JUSTICE MARQUEZ, JUSTICE BOATRIGHT, JUSTICE HOOD, JUSTICE GABRIEL, JUSTICE SAMOUR, and JUSTICE BERKENKOTTER joined. 4           OPINION           BLANCO, JUSTICE.          ¶1 The General Assembly enacted the Colorado Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (the "Act"), §§ 5-16-101 to -135, C.R.S. (2025), to protect consumers from abusive debt collection practices. See Flood v. Mercantile Adjustment Bureau, LLC, 176 P.3d 769, 776 (Colo. 2008). As pertinent here, the Act mandates that debt buyers append certain attachments to each complaint that they file against alleged debtors. § 5-16-111(2), C.R.S. (2025). It also allows debtors who prove that a debt buyer has violated the requirements of the Act to recover damages, costs, and attorney fees. § 5-16-113, C.R.S. (2025).          ¶2 Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC ("PRA") is a debt buyer seeking to recover a debt that Felicia Wright incurred when using a credit card issued by Comenity Bank. The complaint that PRA filed against Wright did not comply with the Act's requirements. Specifically, the complaint lacked a non-affidavit attachment establishing that PRA owned Wright's debt from Comenity Bank. Accordingly, we hold that the district court erred as a matter of law by upholding the county court's ruling that PRA complied with the Act. Because PRA violated one of the Act's requirements, we hold that the district court erred in upholding the county court's ruling that Wright did not prove her counterclaim against PRA under the Act. 5          I. Facts and Procedural History          ¶3 PRA filed a complaint in county court against Wright