The total number of consumer statute lawsuits filed in the Oct. 16-31 period reached 503, a slight increase from 497 in the first half of October and bringing the month's total to 1,000, according to data from U.S. District Courts.
October's total includes 917 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuits, up from 831 FDCPA cases filed in September. Consumers also filed 124 Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) lawsuits in October. Other statutes commonly cited include the Truth-in-Lending Act and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act.
Between Oct. 16-31, a total of 464 different collection and creditors were sued, down from 482 in the first half of October, according to WebRecon LLC, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based research firm that compiles the totals from the courts.
Year-to-date, plaintiffs have filed 9,564 lawsuits, including 8,953 FDCPA cases, 1,069 FCRA cases and 457 Truth-in-Lending lawsuits. Jack Dennis Card is the most active consumer attorney this year, having represented 316 consumers. Sergei Lemberg has represented 294 consumers in 2010.
In June, Lemberg criticized the collection industry in a statement to the press,
