Consumers sued a total of 498 different collection agencies and creditors in the Oct. 16-31 period, down from 597 in the first half of October, according to data from U.S. District Courts.
Total lawsuits this year citing alleged Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violations reached 9,917 through October, tracking nearly one full month ahead of last year's pace when the 10,000 mark was reached on Dec. 1. WebRecon LLC, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company, tracks the data from the courts. CEO Jack Gordon expects the year-end FDCPA total will reach 12,000.
In the Oct. 16-31 period, consumers filed 492 FDCPA lawsuits, 83 Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuits, 23 Truth-in-Lending Act lawsuits and 21 Telephone Consumer Protection Act lawsuits. There were an estimated 552 total lawsuits in the period, with many citing more than one statute violation. Of the cases in the recent reporting period, there were an estimated 561 unique plaintiffs, with 168 of them having previously sued under consumer statutes. Combined, the plaintiffs have filed about 979 lawsuits since 2001.
David M. Larson was the most active consumer attorney in the Oct. 16-31 period, representing 21 consumers. For the year, Larson has represented 293 consumers, trailing only Feng Li (299). Craig T. Kimmel has represented 218 consumers in 2011, followed by Sergei Lemberg (204).
The top courts where lawsuits were filed in the Oct. 16-31 period include: California Central District Court - Western Division - Los Angeles (40 lawsuits); Illinois Northern District Court - Chicago (31); and Colorado District Court - Denver (30).
