An estimated 426 different collection agencies and creditors were sued under consumer statutes in the first half of January, up from 392 in the second half of December but down from 510 in the fist half of December, according to data from U.S. district courts.
The Jan. 1-15 period includes 431 Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) lawsuits, up from 393 in the Dec. 16-31 period but down from 516 in the Dec. 1-15 period, according to WebRecon LLC, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based research firm that compiles the data from the courts. The first half of January also saw 57 Fair Credit Reporting Act cases, 38 Truth-in-Lending cases and 27 Telephone Consumer Protection Act cases.
There were 482 unique plaintiffs in the Jan. 1-15 period. Of those plaintiffs, an estimated 153 had sued under consumer statutes before. Combined, those plaintiffs have filed an estimated 880 lawsuits since 2001.
Craig T. Kimmel of Kimmel & Silverman, based in Ambler, Pa., represented 21 consumers and was the most active consumer attorney in the reporting period.
Last year, consumers filed an estimated 13,901 lawsuits against collection agencies and creditors last year, including 10,914 FDCPA cases. Both numbers shattered the previous records set in 2009.
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