According to the October debt collection litigation and complaint statistics report from WebRecon, consumer litigation in October under the FDCPA, TCPA, and FCRA marked the first time since September 2011 that an increase from both the prior month and year-to-date occurred. “For the first time in several years, overall consumer litigation is up dramatically,”
Federal Court in Illinois Holds That Display of Debtor’s Account Number on Envelope Violates FDCPA
On September 30, Judge Joan B. Gottschall of the Northern District of Illinois issued a decision stating that the display of a debtor’s account number through an envelope window violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
In Adkins v. Financial Recovery Services, Inc., the plaintiff filed a class action suit in Illinois on behalf
Federal Court in Illinois Holds That “Nonsensical” String of Letters and Numbers on Debt Collection Envelope Does Not Violate FDCPA
On September 3, Judge Edmond E. Chang of the Northern District of Illinois issued a decision stating that the display of a series of letters and numbers – in which the debtor’s account number was allegedly embedded – through an envelope window does not violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
In Schmid v. Transworld
Rhode Island Federal Court Holds that Use of Local Area Code Phone Numbers by Out-of-State Debt Collector Does Not Violate the FDCPA
On September 21, the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island held that an out-of-state debt collector did not violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act when it called the debtor using two phone numbers with a local area code.
In Bien v. Stellar Recovery, Inc., Plaintiff argued that Stellar’s practice
Illinois Federal Court Holds Statements in Legal Pleadings Can Potentially Violate FDCPA
On August 4, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois held that legal pleadings can violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
In Marquez, et al. v. Weinstein, Pinson, P.S., et al., the plaintiffs argued that a law firm and its client violated § 1692e of the FDCPA by including
CFPB and FTC File Joint Amicus Brief in FDCPA Case Challenging Level of “Attorney Review” Required Before Filing Debt Collection Complaint
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Trade Commission jointly filed an amicus brief with the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Bock v. Pressler & Pressler, LLP. In the case, a U.S. district court previously ruled that a debt collection law firm violated the Fair Debt Collection
District Courts in New York Reject FDCPA Claims Based on Account Numbers Appearing on Envelope
Over the past two weeks, two separate federal district courts in New York held that having a consumer’s account number visible on the outside of an envelope containing letters from debt collection agencies does not, by itself, violate the FDCPA. In these cases, both Judge Colleen McMahon and Judge John Curtin, of the Southern
Missouri Federal Court Finds FDCPA’s Limitations Period is Jurisdictional and Rejects Credit Reporting Claims Against Debt Collector
On July 14, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri granted United Collection Bureau’s motion for summary judgment in an individual action brought under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Troutman Sanders served as counsel for UCB in this matter. See Martin v. United Collection Bureau, Inc., No. 4:14cv804-JAR, 2015 U.S.
Federal Court in Pennsylvania Holds Quick Response and Bar Codes Appearing on Envelope Violate FDCPA
District Judge William J. Nealon of the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued two recent decisions holding that both a Quick Response (“QR”) code and a bar code appearing through the glassine window of an envelope containing a collection letter violate section 1692f(8) of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, which prohibits “using any language or
Debt Collection and Credit Reporting Litigation and Related Complaints to CFPB Continue to Increase; TCPA Lawsuits Decline
Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits increased 16 percent from June 2014 to June 2015, according to a report issued by WebRecon. The report also noted that FDCPA lawsuits increased from 885 to 1,129 from May to June this year. According to the report, Fair Credit Reporting Act lawsuits also increased 22.7 percent from