Judge dials d-i-s-m-i-s-s-e-d in phone call case

DETROIT (AP) -- Don't want to hear a ringing phone? There's an app for that. But it may not help you win a lawsuit. A Detroit federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit by a woman who says she was called 85 times in a six-week period and illegally harassed by a debt collector. Yolanda Riggs accused I.C. System of violating a law called the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Riggs used an app that notified her of certain calls without having the phone actually ring. She says she suffered emotional distress. Judge Bernard Friedman wasn't swayed last Thursday, saying Riggs turned off the calls at a time when her husband owed money. The judge says it's one of those cases that make people wonder why it's in federal court. Published: Mon, Mar 11, 2013