FDCPA and Other Consumer Lawsuit Statistics, Full Year 2011 Recap
2011 ended with another record year in consumer litigation. Notably, FCRA, TCPA and Truth-in-Lending lawsuits were all up very significantly over 2010, each setting new records. FCRA litigation had a big jump after several years of relatively flat numbers, TCPA litigation more than doubled, and TILA nearly tripled over the previous year.
FDCPA litigation set a record as well, but fell just short of our projected 12,000 cases, with 11,811 cases filed in 2011. The growth rate of FDCPA litigation has plummeted over the last two years, though it is important to note that the number of FDCPA lawsuits filed does continue to grow each year, just on a shrinking trajectory. FDCPA litigation hit its peak growth in 2009, when it rose 52% over previous year numbers. That dropped to 19% in 2010, and is just 8% in 2011.
Despite some aggressive challenges from others late in the year, Colorado Springs attorney David M Larson represented 357 consumers in 2011 – more than anyone else in consumer litigation, followed by Petersburg VA attorney Dale Wood Pittman with 309, and Parsippany NJ attorney Feng Li with 299, primarily from one giant lawsuit in September.
Led by Larson’s charge, the Denver Colorado district court saw the most suits filed in it, totaling 658. Philadelphia was 2nd with 634 suits, Los Angeles was 3rd with 623, followed by Chicago with 592 and Newark with 486.
Statewide, California led with 1654 lawsuits in 2011. Florida was next with 1146 lawsuits, followed by New York with 1128, Pennsylvania with 940 and New Jersey with 711.
For your convenience, we are providing annual comparisons of FDCPA, FCRA, TCPA and TILA litigation. Missing data indicates years we do not have reliable data for. Please note, these statistics are for cases filed in federal U.S. District Courts only.
Annual comparisons:
2011: 11,811 FDCPA Cases, 1838 FCRA Cases, 660 TCPA Cases, 1462 TILA Cases
2010: 10,859 FDCPA Cases, 1295 FCRA Cases, 272 TCPA Cases, 529 TILA Cases
2009: 9135 FDCPA Cases, 1174 FCRA Cases
2008: 6025 FDCPA Cases, 1164 FCRA Cases
2007: 4372 FDCPA Cases, 1347 FCRA Cases
2006: 3710 FDCPA Cases, 955 FCRA Cases
2005: 3215 FDCPA Cases