FDCPA Lawsuits Fall Off in June; Down 3.2 percent on Year

The number of lawsuits filed against accounts receivable management firms claiming violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) decreased in the first half of June after a sharp increase in the second half of May.

From June 1 to June 15, FDCPA lawsuits filed by consumers decreased more than 10 percent from the previous 15-day period, but were up more nearly nine percent compared to the same period in 2011.

Even though the gap closed between 2011 and 2012 on year-over-year FDCPA litigation, the suit totals continue to show an overall decline from 2011′s record numbers, now standing at 3.2 percent below the level seen at the same time last year.

“FDCPA litigation filings dipped a little from the second half of May, but otherwise continue to almost match 2011’s record numbers, while not quite showing any momentum at this point to surpass them,” said Jack Gordon, CEO of WebRecon LLC. “Meanwhile, FCRA and TCPA continue to show strong growth over 2011 numbers, each on track to blaze impressive new records for 2012.”

FDCPA and Other Consumer Lawsuit Statistics, June 1-15, 2012

Full Statistics

There were about 560 lawsuits filed under consumer statutes in the first half of June 2012. Here is an approximate breakdown:

• 480 FDCPA
• 91 FCRA
• 59 TCPA
• 34 TILA

Summary:

• Of those cases, there were about 622 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 191, or 31%, had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 992 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 128 different US District Court branches.
• About 586 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 39 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 29 Lawsuits: Colorado District Court – Denver
• 22 Lawsuits: Michigan Eastern District Court – Detroit
• 21 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
• 19 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
• 19 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 18 Lawsuits: New York Southern District Court – Foley Square
• 16 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 15 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 14 Lawsuits: Wisconsin Eastern District Court – Milwaukee

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 18 Consumers: Gary D Nitzkin
• Representing 17 Consumers: Craig T Kimmel
• Representing 14 Consumers: David M Larson
• Representing 12 Consumers: David J Syrios
• Representing 10 Consumers: Jacob R Cox
• Representing 9 Consumers: Aryeh L Pomerantz
• Representing 8 Consumers: Daniel A Edelman
• Representing 8 Consumers: Mark L Vavreck
• Representing 8 Consumers: Dennis R Kurz
• Representing 8 Consumers: Ronald S Weiss

Statistics Year to Date

5913 total lawsuits for 2012, including:

• 5223 FDCPA
• 1120 FCRA
• 487 TCPA
• 452 TILA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs: 6048 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 154 Consumers: Craig T Kimmel
• Representing 154 Consumers: David M Larson
• Representing 143 Consumers: Sergei Lemberg
• Representing 99 Consumers: Gary D Nitzkin
• Representing 95 Consumers: David J Philipps