Lawsuits citing Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) violations reached 11,359 this year through Dec. 15, exceeding last year's record of 10,914, according to WebRecon LLC, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based company that tracks the data from the courts.
FDCPA lawsuits in the most recent reporting period of Dec. 1-15 totaled 571, including 168 plaintiffs in one lawsuit. "Bonne v. Encore Capital Group" was filed Dec. 8 by attorney Dale Wood Pittman, more than doubling the number of consumers Pittman has represented this year to 309.
Through Dec. 15, there were 12,029 consumer statute lawsuits filed. The total includes the FDCPA numbers as well as Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) cases (1,762), and Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) cases (616).
For the Dec. 1-15 reporting period, consumers sued an estimated 497 different collection agencies and creditors, up from 427 in the Nov. 16-30 period and up from 474 in the Nov. 1-15 period.
Year-to-date, attorney David M. Larson has represented 345 consumers in cases against agencies and creditors, followed by Pittman (309), Feng Li (299), Craig T. Kimmel (248) and Sergei Lemberg (235).
The top courts for lawsuits in the first half of December include: Colorado District Court - Denver (33 lawsuits); Illinois Northern District Court - Chicago (26) and Minnesota District Court (26).
