Karen L. Jerman v. Carlisle, McNellie, Rini, Kramer & Ulrich Lpa, et al.

Decided April 21, 2010. Sonia Sotomayor delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 08-1200 · 559 U.S. 573 (2010) · Cited 701 times

Holding

The bona fide error defense in § 1692k(c) does not apply to a violation resulting from a debt collector’s mistaken interpretation of the legal requirements of the FDCPA.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court — read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 7–2.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. Source: the Supreme Court Database (Spaeth et al.), Washington University.

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Heintz v. Jenkins · 514 U.S. 291 (1995)
• Safeco Insurance Co. of America v. Burr · 551 U.S. 47 (2007)
• United States v. International Minerals & Chemical Corp. · 402 U.S. 558 (1971)
• Cheek v. United States · 498 U.S. 192 (1991)
• Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Thurston · 469 U.S. 111 (1985)
• Liparota v. United States · 471 U.S. 419 (1985)
• Bryan v. United States · 524 U.S. 184 (1998)
• National Cable & Telecommunications Assn. v. Brand X Internet Services · 545 U.S. 967 (2005)
• Bragdon v. Abbott · 524 U.S. 624 (1998)
• McLaughlin v. Richland Shoe Co. · 486 U.S. 128 (1988)
• Ratzlaf v. United States · 510 U.S. 135 (1994)
• Kolstad v. American Dental Assn. · 527 U.S. 526 (1999)
• Ford Motor Credit Co. v. Milhollin · 444 U.S. 555 (1980)
• Legal Services Corp. v. Velazquez · 531 U.S. 533 (2001)
• Hensley v. Eckerhart · 461 U.S. 424 (1983)
• Central Bank of Denver, N. A. v. First Interstate Bank of Denver, N. A. · 511 U.S. 164 (1994)
• Cutter v. Wilkinson · 544 U.S. 709 (2005)
• Herman & MacLean v. Huddleston · 459 U.S. 375 (1983)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• Edward J. DeBartolo Corp. v. Florida Gulf Coast Building & Construction Trades Council · 485 U.S. 568 (1988)
• Nix v. Whiteside · 475 U.S. 157 (1986)
• Corley v. United States · 556 U.S. 303 (2009)
• Boyce Motor Lines, Inc. v. United States · 342 U.S. 337 (1952)
• Montejo v. Louisiana · 556 U.S. 778 (2009)
• Armour Packing Co. v. United States · 209 U.S. 56 (1908)
• Kosak v. United States · 465 U.S. 848 (1984)
• Rowe v. New Hampshire Motor Transport Ass'n · 552 U.S. 364 (2008)
• Dada v. Mukasey · 554 U.S. 1 (2008)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Commil United States, LLC v. Cisco Sys., Inc. · 575 U.S. 632 (2015)
• United States v. Davis · 588 U.S. 445 (2019)
• Marx v. General Revenue Corp. · 568 U.S. 371 (2013)
• United States ex rel. Schutte v. Supervalu Inc. · 598 U.S. 739 (2023)
• Unicolors, Inc. v. H&M Hennes & Mauritz, L. P. · 595 U.S. 178 (2022)

Official text

Read the official opinion (U.S. Reports, govinfo.gov)

Explore from here

Sonia Sotomayor’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2010). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-07-03. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).