An estimated 782 different collection agencies and creditors were sued in January under consumer statutes, including the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
TCPA cases climbed to 208 in January, a 20.2 percent jump from December's 173 total. TCPA cases also were up 30 percent compared to January 2013. FDCPA cases totaled 709 in January, down 7.6 percent from 767 in December and down 26 percent from January 2013. FCRA cases totaled 191 in January, a 13.6 percent drop from 221 in December but up 19 percent from 161 in January 2013. WebRecon, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based data firm, pulled the cases from U.S. district courts.
Of the combined actions filed in January, there were an estimated 940 unique plaintiffs, including 299 (or 31.8 percent) who previously sued under one of the consumer statutes. Combined, the plaintiffs have filed an estimated 1,595 lawsuits since 2001.
Sergei Lemberg represented 55 consumers in the legal actions in January, the largest number among attorneys. David Michael Larson represented 27 consumers and Matthew Jon Militzok represented 20.
