Missouri Jury Assesses $82M Verdict Against Debt Collection Firm

A Jackson County, Mo. jury has assessed about $82 million in damages against a debt collection firm that demanded payment from the wrong woman.

The jury awarded $251,000 in damages to Maria Guadalupe Mejia Alcantara and assessed $82 million in punitive damages against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, a debt collection firm.

The Kansas City Star reported the case began two years ago when Alcantara learned she was being sued by the company for not paying a credit card debt of about $1,130 that wasn’t her debt.

Her lawyers filed a counter-claim, alleging violation of a federal fair debt collection act. The jury returned the award Monday.

Company spokesman Michael McKeon says PRA will ask the judge to set aside what McKeon calls an “outlandish” verdict that “defies all common sense.”