Case Explained: FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION V. HOSKINS, ET AL.

Court: United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Filed: 2026-08-04 Docket: 2:11-cv-00283- The ninth-circuit reversed the district court’s orders blocking the Federal Trade Commission’s efforts to collect on a money judgment obtained against Benjamin Hoskins and Leanne Rodgers for their involvement in a telemarketing scam, and remanded the case for further proceedings. The panel held that the Federal Debt Collection Procedure Act (FDCPA) preempts Nevada’s six-year statute of limitations for enforcing judgments because the FDCPA contains no time limit for collecting debts owed to the federal government by writ of execution. The court rejected the argument that the judgment was not a “debt” under the FDCPA simply because the proceeds would ultimately be disbursed to victims, reasoning that the judgment was entered in favor of the FTC and thus constitutes an amount owing to the United States. Additionally, the panel reversed the district court’s quashing of the writ of execution, holding that the FTC need not establish alter ego liability under Nevada law to levy on property held in a trust. Under the FDCPA, the agency may levy any property in which the judgment debtor has a substantial nonexempt interest, however held; because Hoskins and Rodgers were trustees and beneficiaries of the trust holding their Las Vegas home, they possessed such an interest subject to levy. Do It For The Case Law is a news reporting service. Nothing in this episode constitutes legal advice.