Massa, J.
Consumer Attorney Services, P.A., The McCann Law Group, LLP, and Brenda McCann (collectively “Defendants”) appeal the trial court’s denial of their motion for summary judgment, claiming they are all expressly or impliedly exempt from liability under each of the four statutes cited by the State in this civil suit. Finding that none of the Defendants properly fit within these statutory exemptions, we affirm.
Facts and Procedural History
[Consumer Attorney Services] is a Florida corporation that purports to specialize in foreclosure- and mortgage related legal defense work, requiring non-refundable retainers and monthly fees up front to be automatically deducted from bank accounts. [Footnote omitted.]…
Indiana homeowners quickly began to register complaints with the Office of the Indiana Attorney General regarding CAS’s treatment of their foreclosure and loan-modification cases.…
The State then brought this civil suit against Defendants, alleging their conduct violated four Indiana consumer protection statutes: (1) the Credit Services Organizations Act (CSOA), Indiana Code chapter 24-5-15 (2016); (2) the Mortgage Rescue Protection Fraud Act (MRPFA), Indiana Code article 24-5.5 (2016); (3) the Home Loan Practices Act (HLPA), Indiana Code article 24-9 (2016); and (4) the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act (DCSA), Indiana Code chapter 24-5-0.5 (2016). Defendants moved for summary judgment, claiming they were all statutorily exempted from liability. The trial court denied the motion, but certified its order for interlocutory appeal. Our Court of Appeals affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded, finding that CAS was exempt from liability under everything but a portion of the DCSA claim, while McCann was not exempt under any of the four statutes. Consumer Attorney Servs., P.A. v. State, 53 N.E.3d 599, 612 (Ind. Ct. App. 2016), reh’g denied. We hereby grant the State’s petition to transfer and vacate the Court of Appeals’ decision below. Ind. Appellate Rule 58(A).
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Neither the CSOA, the MRPFA, the HLPA, Nor the DCSA Provides an Exemption for Law Firms.
The CSOA protects Hoosiers from exploitative tactics regarding debt or credit management, by mandating that “credit services organizations” provide their potential customers with certain written disclosures, obtain appropriate surety bonding, and refrain from engaging in “deceptive acts,” including charging up-front for their services before performance has been completed. Ind. Code §§ 24-5-15-2 through -8. Defendants claim that both CAS and McCann were exempt from the CSOA, however, because it excludes liability for any “person admitted to the practice of law in Indiana if the person is acting within the course and scope of the person’s practice as an attorney,” Ind. Code § 24-5-15-2(b)(6), and further defines “person” as “an individual, a corporation, a partnership, a joint venture, or any other entity.” Ind. Code § 24-5-15-4…..
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… Thus in reading the statute as a whole, it seems clear that the General Assembly’s expansive definition of “person” in Indiana Code section 24-5-15-4 was not intended to apply to every usage of that word in the CSOA, but rather each usage should be read in context, and only the practicable definitions should apply. This supports that only individuals were intended to be exempted under Indiana Code section 24-5-15-2(b)(6).
We also find it pertinent to examine the similar exemption contained in the MRPFA. The MRPFA applies to foreclosure proceedings, preventing a “foreclosure consultant” from engaging in the acts prohibited under the CSOA, and also, among other things, from gaining any personal interest in real property that is the subject of the client’s foreclosure, or from gaining power of attorney over the homeowner. Ind. Code § 24-5.5-5-2. The MRPFA also contains a relevant exemption, but unlike the CSOA, it is very limited in scope, to “[a]n attorney licensed to practice law in Indiana who is representing a mortgagor.” Ind. Code § 24-5.5-1-1(6)….
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Accordingly, we find the CSOA exemption contained in Indiana Code section 24-5-15-2(b)(6) should be read as grammatically structured: the “person” in question must be both “admitted to the practice of law in Indiana” and “acting within the course and scope of the person’s practice as an attorney.” Therefore, although a law firm may qualify as a “person” with respect to other provisions of the CSOA, it does not qualify for an exemption under Indiana Code section 24-5-15-2(b)(6).
Finally, CAS claims it is also exempt from liability under the HLPA and the DCSA. The HLPA prohibits “deceptive act[s] in connection with a mortgage transaction or a real estate transaction,” Ind. Code § 24-9-3-7(c)(3), and further defines “deceptive act” to include MRPFA violations, Ind. Code § 24-9-2-7(a)(2). The DCSA is broader in scope, barring an “unfair, abusive, or deceptive act, omission, or practice in connection with a consumer transaction,” Ind. Code § 24-5-0.5-3(a); however, “deceptive act” is further defined to specifically include CSOA and MRPFA violations, Ind. Code §§ 24-5-0.5-3(b)(28), (35). Neither the HLPA nor the DCSA contains an express attorney exemption of any kind, but CAS still sought exemption, on the grounds that the underlying alleged violation of the HLPA and the DCSA falls within the scope of the MRPFA and the CSOA. However, since we find no available law firm exemption under either of the principal statutes, there is no exemption to extend to these ancillary claims. And since McCann was never licensed as an attorney in the State of Indiana, she too cannot claim the exemptions contained in the CSOA or the MRPFA, nor can she extend them to the HLPA and the DCSA.
Conclusion
For the foregoing reasons, we affirm the trial court’s denial of Defendants’ motion for summary judgment.
Rush, C.J., and Rucker, David, and Slaughter, JJ., concur.