Lawsuits Against Collection Agencies, Creditors Jump

The estimated number of collection agencies and creditors that were sued in the April 16-30 period jumped to 540 compared with 504 in the first half of April, according to data from U.S. District Courts.

Consumers filed an estimated 532 lawsuits under various collection-related statutes between April 16-30. The breakdown includes 489 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) cases, 52 Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) lawsuits and 35 cases citing violations of the Truth-in-Lending Act (TILA), according to WebRecon LLC, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based research firm that compiles the data from the courts. Some lawsuits listed more than one statute violation.

Between April 16-30, an estimated 555 unique plaintiffs filed lawsuits. Of those, approximately 134 previously had sued under consumer statutes. Combined, those plaintiffs have filed an estimated 881 lawsuits since 2001.

Year-to-date there have been 4,740 total lawsuits filed against collection agencies and creditors, including 3,760 citing an FDCPA violation.

Sergei Lemberg was the  most active attorney in the recent reporting period, representing 18 consumers. Craig T. Kimmel is the most active attorney in 2011, having represented 115 consumers.

To comment, contact Darren Waggoner at 815.463.9008 or darren.waggoner@sourcemedia.com.

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