Blog/ Litigation Stats
Quick analysis: WebRecon Stats Dec ’22 & Year in Review
Litigation activity picked up a bit for an end-of-year rally as FDCPA complaints (+11.2%) hit double digits over last month and FCRA complaints (+8%) were also up more than usual. TCPA complaints (-32.4%) were still down though, by a lot.
For the full year 2022, FDCPA (-31.3%) and TCPA (-10.8%) were both down significantly over 2021, while FCRA (+3.5%) eked out another year increase – ironically by exactly the same percentage as 2022 over 2021. TCPA’s rate of decrease slowed considerably to about 1/5 of last year’s full year decrease of -48.3% while FDCPA’s rate of decrease significantly accelerated (more than seven-fold) over last year’s full year decrease of -4.4%.
CFPB complaints were up +6.8% for the month but down -16.4% for the year over 2021.
In other news, putative class actions represented 11.8% of FDCPA, 55.3% of TCPA and 4.5% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 39% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, San Diego attorney Ahren Tiller took the top spot for representing the most consumers in December (12) while Florida attorney Jibrael Jarallah Said Hindi was the most active consumer attorney of the year with 237 consumers represented in all of 2022.
Current Month: | Previous Month: | Previous Year: |
Year to Date: | Year to Date Comp: |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec 01, 2022 Dec 31, 2022 |
Nov 01, 2022 Nov 30, 2022 |
Dec 01, 2021 Dec 31, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2022 Dec 31, 2022 |
Jan 01, 2021 Dec 31, 2021 |
|||||
CFPB | 4695 | 4389 | 7.0% | 4995 | -6.0% | 60188 | 72009 | -16.4% | |
FDCPA | 297 | 267 | 11.2% | 459 | -35.3% | 4525 | 6584 | -31.3% | |
FCRA | 447 | 414 | 8.0% | 459 | -2.6% | 5597 | 5407 | 3.5% | |
TCPA | 94 | 139 | -32.4% | 97 | -3.1% | 1531 | 1716 | -10.8% |
Complaint Statistics:
4695 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 736 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Dec 01, 2022 to Dec 31, 2022.
- 4695 CFPB Complaints
- 297 FDCPA, 35 Class Action (11.8%)
- 94 TCPA, 52 Class Action (55.3%)
- 447 FCRA, 20 Class Action (4.5%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 736 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 290, or (39%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 1532 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 133 different US District Court branches.
- About 487 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 41 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 39 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 35 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 31 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 24 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
- 24 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
- 23 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
- 20 Lawsuits: Arizona District Court – Phoenix
- 19 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
- 17 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 12 Consumers: AHREN A TILLER
- Representing 11 Consumers: CATRINA EOM SMITH
- Representing 11 Consumers: GEORGE HAINES
- Representing 10 Consumers: GERARDO AVALOS
- Representing 9 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 9 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
- Representing 9 Consumers: BRIDGET LYNN SCARANGELLA
- Representing 9 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
- Representing 8 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 8 Consumers: YAAKOV SAKS
Statistics Year to Date:
10743 total lawsuits for 2022, including:
- 4525 FDCPA
- 5597 FCRA
- 1531 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2022: 9385 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 237 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
- Representing 225 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 206 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 143 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 140 Consumers: CATRINA EOM SMITH
- Representing 136 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 133 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 132 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
- Representing 131 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 124 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 4695 complaints filed against debt collectors from Dec 01, 2022 to Dec 31, 2022.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 751
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 1414 Other debt (30%)
- 1254 I do not know (27%)
- 977 Credit card debt (21%)
- 662 Medical debt (14%)
- 209 Auto debt (4%)
- 69 Payday loan debt (1%)
- 52 Mortgage debt (1%)
- 31 Private student loan debt (1%)
- 27 Federal student loan debt (1%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 2566 Attempts to collect debt not owed (55%)
- 813 Written notification about debt (17%)
- 443 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (9%)
- 408 False statements or representation (9%)
- 377 Communication tactics (8%)
- 88 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)
The top five subissues were:
- 1404 Debt is not yours (30%)
- 759 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
- 525 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (11%)
- 332 Debt was paid (7%)
- 306 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 535 Complaints: FL
- 483 Complaints: TX
- 472 Complaints: GA
- 401 Complaints: CA
- 224 Complaints: NY
- 199 Complaints: PA
- 183 Complaints: IL
- 180 Complaints: OH
- 177 Complaints: MI
- 164 Complaints: NC
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 3634 Closed with explanation (77%)
- 593 In progress (13%)
- 391 Closed with non-monetary relief (8%)
- 56 Untimely response (1%)
- 21 Closed with monetary relief (0%)
This includes 4541 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 154 (3%) untimely responses.
Quick analysis: Two Turtle Doves and a Lump of Coal
Happy holidays to you and yours!
November 2022 was a mixed bag for litigation. FDCPA (-10.4%) and FCRA (-2.4%) lawsuits were both down for the month, but TCPA (+4.5%) lawsuits had a mini (and relatively uncharacteristic) surge. Year-to-date, FDCPA (-31%!) and TCPA (-11.2%) continued year-over-year declines, while FCRA (+4.1%) is still trending up. CFPB complaints were down both for the month (-10.4%) and for the year (-17.4%).
In other news, putative class actions represented 13.9% of FDCPA, 43.2% of TCPA and 1.7% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 44% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Minnesota attorney Catrina Eom Smith continued her dominant debut for a third consecutive month on this list for representing the most consumers in November (25) while Florida attorney Jibrael S Hindi has still represented the most consumers for the year so far (235).
Current Month: | Previous Month: | Previous Year: |
Year to Date: | Year to Date Comp: |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nov 01, 2022 Nov 30, 2022 |
Oct 01, 2022 Oct 31, 2022 |
Nov 01, 2021 Nov 30, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2022 Nov 30, 2022 |
Jan 01, 2021 Nov 30, 2021 |
|||||
CFPB | 4285 | 4782 | -10.4% | 5790 | -26.0% | 55386 | 67014 | -17.4% | |
FDCPA | 267 | 284 | -6.0% | 471 | -43.3% | 4228 | 6125 | -31.0% | |
FCRA | 413 | 423 | -2.4% | 407 | 1.5% | 5149 | 4948 | 4.1% | |
TCPA | 139 | 133 | 4.5% | 107 | 29.9% | 1437 | 1619 | -11.2% |
Complaint Statistics:
4285 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 723 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Nov 01, 2022 to Nov 30, 2022.
- 4285 CFPB Complaints
- 267 FDCPA, 37 Class Action (13.9%)
- 139 TCPA, 60 Class Action (43.2%)
- 413 FCRA, 7 Class Action (1.7%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 723 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 319, or (44%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2455 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 142 different US District Court branches.
- About 503 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 45 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
- 43 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 41 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 34 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 33 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 27 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
- 25 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
- 21 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
- 19 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Miami
- 16 Lawsuits: Texas Southern District Court – Houston
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 25 Consumers: CATRINA EOM SMITH
- Representing 19 Consumers: YAAKOV SAKS
- Representing 14 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 12 Consumers: AHREN A TILLER
- Representing 11 Consumers: TIMOTHY S ANDERSON
- Representing 10 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
- Representing 9 Consumers: ALLEN EDGAR ROBERTSON
- Representing 9 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
- Representing 8 Consumers: GLORIA CHI-KI LAM
- Representing 8 Consumers: GERARDO AVALOS
Statistics Year to Date:
9987 total lawsuits for 2022, including:
- 4228 FDCPA
- 5149 FCRA
- 1437 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2022: 8735 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 235 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
- Representing 216 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 205 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 143 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 133 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 129 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 129 Consumers: CATRINA EOM SMITH
- Representing 128 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 125 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
- Representing 119 Consumers: DREW DAVID SARRETT
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 4285 complaints filed against debt collectors from Nov 01, 2022 to Nov 30, 2022.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 748
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 1247 Other debt (29%)
- 1025 I do not know (24%)
- 957 Credit card debt (22%)
- 651 Medical debt (15%)
- 210 Auto debt (5%)
- 73 Mortgage debt (2%)
- 68 Payday loan debt (2%)
- 30 Private student loan debt (1%)
- 24 Federal student loan debt (1%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 2295 Attempts to collect debt not owed (54%)
- 694 Written notification about debt (16%)
- 505 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (12%)
- 388 False statements or representation (9%)
- 323 Communication tactics (8%)
- 80 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)
The top five subissues were:
- 1188 Debt is not yours (28%)
- 692 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
- 441 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (10%)
- 356 Debt was paid (8%)
- 286 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 489 Complaints: TX
- 470 Complaints: FL
- 386 Complaints: CA
- 337 Complaints: GA
- 236 Complaints: IL
- 215 Complaints: NY
- 201 Complaints: NC
- 138 Complaints: MI
- 130 Complaints: PA
- 125 Complaints: OH
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 3285 Closed with explanation (77%)
- 647 In progress (15%)
- 293 Closed with non-monetary relief (7%)
- 49 Untimely response (1%)
- 11 Closed with monetary relief (0%)
This includes 4160 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 125 (3%) untimely responses.
Quick analysis: Halloween Treat: Lawsuits Continue Slide
For the second month is a row, TCPA, FDCPA and FCRA lawsuits were all down from the previous month. While the September drop was steeper, October’s continued slide was nothing to boo at with TCPA down -2.2%, FDCPA down -7.2% and even FCRA down by -9.2%. Unlike September, October’s CFPB complaints rose a bit, +2.8% over the previous month.
YTD looked pretty similar, with FCRA (+4.3%) being the only statute still up over 2021. TCPA (-14.2%) and FDCPA (-30%) are both down quite a bit, and CFPB complaints are also down by -16.7% from 2021.
In other news, putative class actions represented 11.7% of FDCPA, 47% of TCPA and 1.7% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 45% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Minnesota attorney Catrina Eom Smith continued her dominance of this list for representing the most consumers in October (30) while Florida attorney Jibrael S Hindi has still represented the most consumers for the year so far (232).
Current Month: | Previous Month: | Previous Year: |
Year to Date: | Year to Date Comp: |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Oct 01, 2022 Oct 31, 2022 |
Sep 01, 2022 Sep 30, 2022 |
Oct 01, 2021 Oct 31, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2022 Oct 31, 2022 |
Jan 01, 2021 Oct 31, 2021 |
|||||
CFPB | 4705 | 4578 | 2.8% | 5824 | -19.2% | 51017 | 61224 | -16.7% | |
FDCPA | 283 | 305 | -7.2% | 611 | -53.7% | 3960 | 5654 | -30.0% | |
FCRA | 422 | 465 | -9.2% | 474 | -11.0% | 4735 | 4541 | 4.3% | |
TCPA | 132 | 135 | -2.2% | 117 | 12.8% | 1297 | 1512 | -14.2% |
Complaint Statistics:
4705 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 724 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Oct 01, 2022 to Oct 31, 2022.
- 4705 CFPB Complaints
- 283 FDCPA, 33 Class Action (11.7%)
- 132 TCPA, 62 Class Action (47.0%)
- 422 FCRA, 7 Class Action (1.7%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 724 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 324, or (45%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2655 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 140 different US District Court branches.
- About 546 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 65 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
- 38 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 30 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 29 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 26 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
- 24 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
- 24 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 22 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Orlando
- 17 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
- 17 Lawsuits: Texas Northern District Court – Dallas
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 30 Consumers: CATRINA EOM SMITH
- Representing 15 Consumers: TIMOTHY S ANDERSON
- Representing 12 Consumers: GEORGE HAINES
- Representing 12 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 12 Consumers: GERARDO AVALOS
- Representing 11 Consumers: THOMAS J LYONS
- Representing 9 Consumers: JEFFREY SAND
- Representing 8 Consumers: SIOBHAN MCGREAL
- Representing 8 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
- Representing 8 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
Statistics Year to Date:
9189 total lawsuits for 2022, including:
- 3960 FDCPA
- 4735 FCRA
- 1297 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2022: 8109 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 232 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
- Representing 202 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 201 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 140 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 131 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 126 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 122 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 119 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
- Representing 118 Consumers: DREW DAVID SARRETT
- Representing 105 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 4705 complaints filed against debt collectors from Oct 01, 2022 to Oct 31, 2022.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 775
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 1426 Other debt (30%)
- 1141 Credit card debt (24%)
- 972 I do not know (21%)
- 678 Medical debt (14%)
- 240 Auto debt (5%)
- 100 Payday loan debt (2%)
- 90 Mortgage debt (2%)
- 35 Private student loan debt (1%)
- 23 Federal student loan debt (0%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 2468 Attempts to collect debt not owed (52%)
- 847 Written notification about debt (18%)
- 499 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (11%)
- 430 False statements or representation (9%)
- 373 Communication tactics (8%)
- 88 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)
The top five subissues were:
- 1249 Debt is not yours (27%)
- 763 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
- 533 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (11%)
- 382 Debt was paid (8%)
- 323 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 621 Complaints: FL
- 523 Complaints: TX
- 420 Complaints: CA
- 370 Complaints: GA
- 196 Complaints: NC
- 187 Complaints: NY
- 168 Complaints: MI
- 167 Complaints: PA
- 159 Complaints: IL
- 154 Complaints: NJ
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 3539 Closed with explanation (75%)
- 699 In progress (15%)
- 398 Closed with non-monetary relief (8%)
- 50 Untimely response (1%)
- 19 Closed with monetary relief (0%)
This includes 4574 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 131 (3%) untimely responses.
Quick analysis: Last Month Was So Last Month.
In August, all of the rows were green, meaning CFPB complaints, TCPA, FDCPA and FCRA lawsuits were all up over July.
However, in September all of the rows are red, meaning, well you know. Everything went boom in comparison to August. And all by double-digits, except for FCRA which “only” dropped by -6.4%. CFPB complaints fell -11.1%, FDCPA fell -18% and TCPA was down -20.2% for the month.
Most are down YTD as well, again except for FCRA which is still up YTD by +5.6%. CFPB complaints are down YTD -16.6%, FDCPA is down -27.3% and TCPA is down -16.7% for the year.
In other news, putative class actions represented 9.2% of FDCPA, 47% of TCPA and 1.9% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 46% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Minnesota attorney Catrina Eom Smith makes her debut at the top of this list for representing the most consumers in August (38) while Florida attorney Jibrael S Hindi has still represented the most consumers for the year so far (229).
Current Month: | Previous Month: | Previous Year: |
Year to Date: | Year to Date Comp: |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sep 01, 2022 Sep 30, 2022 |
Aug 01, 2022 Aug 31, 2022 |
Sep 01, 2021 Sep 30, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2022 Sep 30, 2022 |
Jan 01, 2021 Sep 30, 2021 |
|||||
CFPB | 4479 | 5040 | -11.1% | 6022 | -25.6% | 46210 | 55400 | -16.6% | |
FDCPA | 305 | 372 | -18.0% | 533 | -42.8% | 3664 | 5043 | -27.3% | |
FCRA | 465 | 497 | -6.4% | 392 | 18.6% | 4295 | 4066 | 5.6% | |
TCPA | 134 | 168 | -20.2% | 112 | 19.6% | 1162 | 1395 | -16.7% |
Complaint Statistics:
4479 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 804 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Sep 01, 2022 to Sep 30, 2022.
- 4479 CFPB Complaints
- 305 FDCPA, 28 Class Action (9.2%)
- 134 TCPA, 63 Class Action (47.0%)
- 465 FCRA, 9 Class Action (1.9%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 804 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 368, or (46%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2257 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 145 different US District Court branches.
- About 594 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 69 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
- 53 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 39 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 37 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
- 30 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 27 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 21 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
- 21 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
- 20 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Miami
- 19 Lawsuits: Texas Southern District Court – Houston
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 38 Consumers: CATRINA EOM SMITH
- Representing 16 Consumers: TIMOTHY S ANDERSON
- Representing 13 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 13 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
- Representing 13 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
- Representing 12 Consumers: GEORGE HAINES
- Representing 12 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
- Representing 11 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 11 Consumers: GERARDO AVALOS
- Representing 11 Consumers: YITZCHAK ZELMAN
Statistics Year to Date:
8372 total lawsuits for 2022, including:
- 3664 FDCPA
- 4295 FCRA
- 1162 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2022: 7488 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 197 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 190 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 140 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
- Representing 135 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 129 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 119 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 117 Consumers: DREW DAVID SARRETT
- Representing 115 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 112 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
- Representing 98 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 4479 complaints filed against debt collectors from Sep 01, 2022 to Sep 30, 2022.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 754
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 1343 Other debt (30%)
- 1058 Credit card debt (24%)
- 896 I do not know (20%)
- 701 Medical debt (16%)
- 268 Auto debt (6%)
- 79 Payday loan debt (2%)
- 78 Mortgage debt (2%)
- 30 Federal student loan debt (1%)
- 26 Private student loan debt (1%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 2345 Attempts to collect debt not owed (52%)
- 826 Written notification about debt (18%)
- 453 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
- 444 False statements or representation (10%)
- 349 Communication tactics (8%)
- 62 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (1%)
The top five subissues were:
- 1142 Debt is not yours (25%)
- 724 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
- 543 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (12%)
- 409 Debt was paid (9%)
- 366 Attempted to collect wrong amount (8%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 574 Complaints: TX
- 531 Complaints: FL
- 471 Complaints: CA
- 364 Complaints: GA
- 205 Complaints: NY
- 175 Complaints: NC
- 173 Complaints: IL
- 146 Complaints: PA
- 137 Complaints: NJ
- 121 Complaints: VA
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 3374 Closed with explanation (75%)
- 644 In progress (14%)
- 388 Closed with non-monetary relief (9%)
- 54 Untimely response (1%)
- 19 Closed with monetary relief (0%)
This includes 4366 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 113 (3%) untimely responses.
Quick analysis: Summer Vacations are Over
After a summer season where most litigation was either consistently down or only marginally increasing, August litigation and consumer complaints rebounded with double-digit increases across the board.
TCPA (+33.3%) led the month with the stongest increase, followed by FDCPA (+15.5%) and FCRA (+11.9%). FCRA is still the only statute ahead of last year in the YTD column (+4.2%) whole TCPA (-20%) and FDCPA (-25.5%) are still in the negatives. A few more months like August, and that could easily change.
CFPB complaints against collectors and creditors were also up strong for the month (+12.5%), but are still down for the year (-15.6%).
In other news, putative class actions represented 9.9% of FDCPA, 48.8% of TCPA and 3.2% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 42% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Las Vegas attorney Michael Kind make his debut at the top of this list for representing the most consumers in August (26)* while Florida attorney Jibrael S Hindi has still represented the most consumers for the year so far (228).
* Technically Shireen Hormozdi Bowman represented 30 consumers, but 27 of them were in one lawsuit so we are giving the title to Michael Kind.
Current Month: | Previous Month: | Previous Year: |
Year to Date: | Year to Date Comp: |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aug 01, 2022 Aug 31, 2022 |
Jul 01, 2022 Jul 31, 2022 |
Aug 01, 2021 Aug 31, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2022 Aug 31, 2022 |
Jan 01, 2021 Aug 31, 2021 |
|||||
CFPB | 4984 | 4431 | 12.5% | 6190 | -19.5% | 41668 | 49371 | -15.6% | |
FDCPA | 372 | 322 | 15.5% | 601 | -38.1% | 3358 | 4510 | -25.5% | |
FCRA | 497 | 444 | 11.9% | 473 | 5.1% | 3830 | 3674 | 4.2% | |
TCPA | 168 | 126 | 33.3% | 120 | 40.0% | 1027 | 1283 | -20.0% |
Complaint Statistics:
4984 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 919 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Aug 01, 2022 to Aug 31, 2022.
- 4984 CFPB Complaints
- 372 FDCPA, 37 Class Action (9.9%)
- 168 TCPA, 82 Class Action (48.8%)
- 497 FCRA, 16 Class Action (3.2%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 919 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 389, or (42%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2846 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 147 different US District Court branches.
- About 672 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 62 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 53 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 46 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 38 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
- 30 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
- 29 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
- 25 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 25 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Orlando
- 24 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
- 22 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 30 Consumers: SHIREEN HORMOZDI BOWMAN
- Representing 26 Consumers: MICHAEL KIND
- Representing 26 Consumers: GERARDO AVALOS
- Representing 26 Consumers: GEORGE HAINES
- Representing 26 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 17 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 16 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
- Representing 16 Consumers: CATRINA EOM SMITH
- Representing 15 Consumers: JOHN W KAUFFMAN
- Representing 10 Consumers: CARL SCHWARTZ
Statistics Year to Date:
7511 total lawsuits for 2022, including:
- 3358 FDCPA
- 3830 FCRA
- 1027 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2022: 6796 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 228 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
- Representing 195 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 179 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 134 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 127 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 116 Consumers: DREW DAVID SARRETT
- Representing 107 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 106 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 99 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
- Representing 85 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 4984 complaints filed against debt collectors from Aug 01, 2022 to Aug 31, 2022.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 818
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 1415 Other debt (28%)
- 1176 I do not know (24%)
- 1135 Credit card debt (23%)
- 718 Medical debt (14%)
- 247 Auto debt (5%)
- 141 Payday loan debt (3%)
- 91 Mortgage debt (2%)
- 40 Private student loan debt (1%)
- 21 Federal student loan debt (0%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 2680 Attempts to collect debt not owed (54%)
- 903 Written notification about debt (18%)
- 506 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
- 471 False statements or representation (9%)
- 347 Communication tactics (7%)
- 77 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)
The top five subissues were:
- 1423 Debt is not yours (29%)
- 775 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
- 592 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (12%)
- 402 Debt was paid (8%)
- 381 Attempted to collect wrong amount (8%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 585 Complaints: FL
- 583 Complaints: TX
- 487 Complaints: CA
- 404 Complaints: GA
- 252 Complaints: IL
- 227 Complaints: PA
- 210 Complaints: NY
- 157 Complaints: NJ
- 143 Complaints: NC
- 137 Complaints: MI
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 3785 Closed with explanation (76%)
- 671 In progress (13%)
- 450 Closed with non-monetary relief (9%)
- 58 Untimely response (1%)
- 20 Closed with monetary relief (0%)
This includes 4838 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 146 (3%) untimely responses.
Quick analysis: From a slog to a slump.
Last month we talked about the “June Litigation Slog” – and now we are extending it to the “Dog Days Slump”.
Consumer litigation is down across the board again from last month (TCPA -3.8%, FDCPA -18.7%, FCRA -5.1%), and YTD too (TCPA -26.1%, FDCPA -23.6%) with the exception of FCRA filings – which only ticked up a meager +1.6%.
CFPB complaints also declined -4.6% for the month and are down -15.1% YTD – it seems like that decline is getting steeper as the year goes on.
In other news, putative class actions represented 11.5% of FDCPA, 65.1% of TCPA and 1.4% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 41% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Nevada attorneys Shawn Wayne Miller and David H Krieger took the top spot for representing the most consumers in July (22) while Florida attorney Jibrael S Hindi has still represented the most consumers for the year so far (214).
Current Month: | Previous Month: | Previous Year: |
Year to Date: | Year to Date Comp: |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jul 01, 2022 Jul 31, 2022 |
Jun 01, 2022 Jun 30, 2022 |
Jul 01, 2021 Jul 31, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2022 Jul 31, 2022 |
Jan 01, 2021 Jul 31, 2021 |
|||||
CFPB | 4393 | 4605 | -4.6% | 7361 | -40.3% | 36641 | 43181 | -15.1% | |
FDCPA | 321 | 395 | -18.7% | 561 | -42.8% | 2985 | 3909 | -23.6% | |
FCRA | 443 | 467 | -5.1% | 436 | 1.6% | 3332 | 3201 | 4.1% | |
TCPA | 126 | 131 | -3.8% | 132 | -4.5% | 859 | 1162 | -26.1% |
Complaint Statistics:
4393 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 781 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Jul 01, 2022 to Jul 31, 2022.
- 4393 CFPB Complaints
- 321 FDCPA, 37 Class Action (11.5%)
- 126 TCPA, 82 Class Action (65.1%)
- 443 FCRA, 6 Class Action (1.4%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 781 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 322, or (41%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2023 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 131 different US District Court branches.
- About 528 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 38 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 37 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 35 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 31 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 28 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
- 26 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
- 25 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
- 24 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Miami
- 19 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
- 17 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Orlando
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 22 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
- Representing 22 Consumers: SHAWN WAYNE MILLER
- Representing 16 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 16 Consumers: CATRINA EOM SMITH
- Representing 14 Consumers: ANDREW JOHN SHAMIS
- Representing 13 Consumers: SCOTT ADAM EDELSBERG
- Representing 11 Consumers: GARRETT O BERG
- Representing 11 Consumers: JENNIFER GOMES SIMIL
- Representing 11 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
- Representing 9 Consumers: NICOLA CARLENE RICHARDS
Statistics Year to Date:
6590 total lawsuits for 2022, including:
- 2985 FDCPA
- 3332 FCRA
- 859 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2022: 5982 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 214 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
- Representing 192 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 153 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 129 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 122 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 113 Consumers: DREW DAVID SARRETT
- Representing 100 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 90 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 83 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 4393 complaints filed against debt collectors from Jul 01, 2022 to Jul 31, 2022.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 734
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 1305 Other debt (30%)
- 1010 Credit card debt (23%)
- 980 I do not know (22%)
- 648 Medical debt (15%)
- 209 Auto debt (5%)
- 112 Payday loan debt (3%)
- 68 Mortgage debt (2%)
- 46 Private student loan debt (1%)
- 15 Federal student loan debt (0%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 2272 Attempts to collect debt not owed (52%)
- 972 Written notification about debt (22%)
- 401 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (9%)
- 350 Communication tactics (8%)
- 327 False statements or representation (7%)
- 71 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)
The top five subissues were:
- 1085 Debt is not yours (25%)
- 723 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
- 587 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (13%)
- 387 Debt was paid (9%)
- 349 Didnt receive notice of right to dispute (8%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 537 Complaints: FL
- 516 Complaints: TX
- 408 Complaints: CA
- 365 Complaints: GA
- 191 Complaints: IL
- 188 Complaints: NY
- 179 Complaints: PA
- 152 Complaints: NC
- 139 Complaints: VA
- 138 Complaints: MD
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 3316 Closed with explanation (75%)
- 596 In progress (14%)
- 399 Closed with non-monetary relief (9%)
- 51 Untimely response (1%)
- 31 Closed with monetary relief (1%)
This includes 4250 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 143 (3%) untimely responses.
Quick analysis: June Litigation Slog
June 2022 wasn’t particularly robust, nor lackluster, nor surprising. FDCPA lawsuits were down a bit (-3.7%) while TCPA and FCRA lawsuits were up a bit (+4.8% and +.9% respectively). FDCPA and TCPA suits are still down double digits YTD (-20.7% and -28.8% respectively) while FCRA suits are still up YTD (+4.4%). CFPB complaints against debt collectors were down a bit (-1.3%) for the month and down a bit more YTD (-10.1%).
In other news, putative class actions represented 11.1% of FDCPA, 54.2% of TCPA and 3.9% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 39% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Georgia attorney Matthew Thomas Berry again took the top spot for representing the most consumers in June (24) while Florida attorney Jibrael S Hindi has still represented the most consumers for the year so far (207).
Current Month: | Previous Month: | Previous Year: |
Year to Date: | Year to Date Comp: |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jun 01, 2022 Jun 30, 2022 |
May 01, 2022 May 31, 2022 |
Jun 01, 2021 Jun 30, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2022 Jun 30, 2022 |
Jan 01, 2021 Jun 30, 2021 |
|||||
CFPB | 4553 | 4612 | -1.3% | 6796 | -33.0% | 32188 | 35820 | -10.1% | |
FDCPA | 395 | 410 | -3.7% | 623 | -36.6% | 2656 | 3348 | -20.7% | |
FCRA | 467 | 463 | 0.9% | 503 | -7.2% | 2887 | 2765 | 4.4% | |
TCPA | 131 | 125 | 4.8% | 182 | -28.0% | 733 | 1030 | -28.8% |
Complaint Statistics:
4553 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 872 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Jun 01, 2022 to Jun 30, 2022.
- 4553 CFPB Complaints
- 395 FDCPA, 44 Class Action (11.1%)
- 131 TCPA, 71 Class Action (54.2%)
- 467 FCRA, 18 Class Action (3.9%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 872 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 336, or (39%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2175 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 154 different US District Court branches.
- About 564 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 55 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 49 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 41 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
- 39 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 28 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
- 25 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
- 24 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
- 22 Lawsuits: New York Southern District Court – Foley Square
- 22 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
- 22 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 24 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 14 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
- Representing 14 Consumers: JOEL SPENCER HALVORSEN
- Representing 14 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
- Representing 13 Consumers: ERIC DONALD COLEMAN
- Representing 13 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 12 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
- Representing 11 Consumers: ALAIN CESAR
- Representing 10 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
- Representing 9 Consumers: JAMES R MCKENZIE
Statistics Year to Date:
5762 total lawsuits for 2022, including:
- 2656 FDCPA
- 2887 FCRA
- 733 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2022: 5265 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 207 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
- Representing 187 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 146 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 125 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 120 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 112 Consumers: DREW DAVID SARRETT
- Representing 87 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 84 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 74 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 4553 complaints filed against debt collectors from Jun 01, 2022 to Jun 30, 2022.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 800
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 1203 Other debt (26%)
- 1100 I do not know (24%)
- 1058 Credit card debt (23%)
- 771 Medical debt (17%)
- 179 Auto debt (4%)
- 107 Payday loan debt (2%)
- 69 Mortgage debt (2%)
- 41 Private student loan debt (1%)
- 25 Federal student loan debt (1%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 2264 Attempts to collect debt not owed (50%)
- 990 Written notification about debt (22%)
- 449 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
- 409 False statements or representation (9%)
- 350 Communication tactics (8%)
- 91 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)
The top five subissues were:
- 1047 Debt is not yours (23%)
- 715 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
- 619 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (14%)
- 446 Debt was paid (10%)
- 341 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 612 Complaints: FL
- 523 Complaints: TX
- 457 Complaints: CA
- 347 Complaints: GA
- 221 Complaints: NY
- 172 Complaints: PA
- 161 Complaints: IL
- 157 Complaints: SC
- 153 Complaints: NJ
- 124 Complaints: NC
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 3508 Closed with explanation (77%)
- 518 In progress (11%)
- 436 Closed with non-monetary relief (10%)
- 67 Untimely response (1%)
- 24 Closed with monetary relief (1%)
This includes 4418 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 135 (3%) untimely responses.
Quick analysis: It’s Opposite Month!
May 2022 has defied every trendline in the consumer complaint and litigation spheres. TCPA and FDCPA lawsuits have been pretty consistently trending downward, while FCRA lawsuits and CFPB complaints have been trending upward. Not so this month. Turn it all around, you have TCPA (+6.8%) and FDCPA (+7.9%) both up over the previous month, and FCRA (-10.3%) and CFPB complaints (-25.3%) both down from the previous month. Having said that, one month of backwards numbers isn’t enough to significantly throw off the YTD trends, which still show FDCPA (-17.1%) and TCPA (-29%) down and FCRA (+7.0%) up. YTD CFPB complaints are in the negative, but that is almost certainly temporary.
In other news, putative class actions represented 10.2% of FDCPA, 55.2% of TCPA and 3.0% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 42% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Georgia attorney Matthew Thomas Berry took the top spot for representing the most consumers in April (21) while Florida attorney Jibrael S Hindi has represented the most consumers for the year so far (206).
Current Month: | Previous Month: | Previous Year: |
Year to Date: | Year to Date Comp: |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
May 01, 2022 May 31, 2022 |
Apr 01, 2022 Apr 30, 2022 |
May 01, 2021 May 31, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2022 May 31, 2022 |
Jan 01, 2021 May 31, 2021 |
|||||
CFPB | 4495 | 6014 | -25.3% | 5432 | -17.2% | 27210 | 28235 | -3.6% | |
FDCPA | 410 | 380 | 7.9% | 615 | -33.3% | 2260 | 2725 | -17.1% | |
FCRA | 463 | 516 | -10.3% | 428 | 8.2% | 2420 | 2262 | 7.0% | |
TCPA | 125 | 117 | 6.8% | 112 | 11.6% | 602 | 848 | -29.0% |
Complaint Statistics:
4495 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 891 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from May 01, 2022 to May 31, 2022.
- 4495 CFPB Complaints
- 410 FDCPA, 42 Class Action (10.2%)
- 125 TCPA, 69 Class Action (55.2%)
- 463 FCRA, 14 Class Action (3.0%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 891 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 374, or (42%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 3820 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 147 different US District Court branches.
- About 600 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 57 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 54 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 46 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 33 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
- 32 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
- 27 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
- 25 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 24 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
- 23 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
- 21 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 21 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 18 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 16 Consumers: MANUEL SANTIAGO HIRALDO
- Representing 15 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
- Representing 15 Consumers: YAAKOV SAKS
- Representing 14 Consumers: GEORGE HAINES
- Representing 14 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
- Representing 14 Consumers: MICHAEL KIND
- Representing 14 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 14 Consumers: GERARDO AVALOS
Statistics Year to Date:
4861 total lawsuits for 2022, including:
- 2260 FDCPA
- 2420 FCRA
- 602 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2022: 4462 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 206 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
- Representing 181 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 122 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 122 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 117 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 110 Consumers: DREW DAVID SARRETT
- Representing 79 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 74 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 60 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 4495 complaints filed against debt collectors from May 01, 2022 to May 31, 2022.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 770
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 1158 Other debt (26%)
- 1083 I do not know (24%)
- 1077 Credit card debt (24%)
- 731 Medical debt (16%)
- 213 Auto debt (5%)
- 99 Payday loan debt (2%)
- 72 Mortgage debt (2%)
- 32 Federal student loan debt (1%)
- 30 Private student loan debt (1%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 2353 Attempts to collect debt not owed (52%)
- 876 Written notification about debt (19%)
- 453 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
- 420 False statements or representation (9%)
- 313 Communication tactics (7%)
- 80 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)
The top five subissues were:
- 1176 Debt is not yours (26%)
- 708 Debt was result of identity theft (16%)
- 564 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (13%)
- 390 Debt was paid (9%)
- 318 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 612 Complaints: FL
- 503 Complaints: TX
- 425 Complaints: GA
- 420 Complaints: CA
- 252 Complaints: NY
- 174 Complaints: IL
- 155 Complaints: PA
- 141 Complaints: VA
- 139 Complaints: SC
- 130 Complaints: NJ
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 3474 Closed with explanation (77%)
- 560 In progress (12%)
- 379 Closed with non-monetary relief (8%)
- 46 Untimely response (1%)
- 36 Closed with monetary relief (1%)
This includes 4372 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 123 (3%) untimely responses.
WebRecon is the Inventor of the “Litigious Consumer Scrub” or “Litigator Scrub” (depending on which industry you are coming to us from)
While there are some imitators out there, none can deliver all of the benefits of WebRecon. We have been at this since the beginning of 2009 and have developed the most advanced tools and most comprehensive database of consumer litigation. So what are some of the things that set WebRecon apart from all of the others?
Non-Federal Litigation: Anyone can offer Federal TCPA, FDCPA or FCRA litigator data, that’s relatively easy. WebRecon is the only company that is also able to bring in hundreds of non-Federal cases (city, state, county, even small claims cases) from all over the country each month, giving you better protection against the people who look at you as an easy mark. If you are not scrubbing for non-Federal data, you are missing a huge piece of the puzzle!
TCPA Name/Zip Search: The other guys offer a TCPA phone scrub, and that may be all you think you need. But WebRecon goes so much further. We have the name and zip code of every litigator in our database, and are able to offer a scrub using that data (in addition to phones) for better protection against the highest risk consumers. You will always catch more litigators with a name/zip combo than with just a phone.
Broader Litigation Search: Again, many our competitors focus only on TCPA, but many TCPA litigators get their start suing under other, related consumer statutes (like FDCPA and FCRA) and only come to TCPA later in the game. We know who they are, and our competitors don’t. Only WebRecon tracks the broad spectrum of consumer litigation that can tell you not only who the past litigators are, but also who the high-risk future TCPA litigators are.
Acquire Litigator Phone Data: Scrub through our API, use our batch process, or buy the data and do it on your end. We can provide the entire WebRecon phone database on-demand for you to use internally. We add new phones twice weekly to keep you as current as possible. WebRecon gives you a choice of the best way to interact with us.
Prices Starting at $199/Month: The other guys will gouge you for this data if you let them. WebRecon originated the Litigator Scrub in 2009 and serves many hundreds of clients who utilize the service to protect themselves every single day. WebRecon is considered the gold standard for this type of service, and we have the confidence of consumer advocate organizations and federal regulators. Our reputation is solid and our pricing is transparent.
If you are using one of the “other guys” for a Litigator Scrub, we strongly encourage you to run an “apple-to-apple” test with our free 30-day trial to see all of the hits you are currently missing!
Quick analysis: Lawsuits & Complaints Mostly Down
In April, CFPB complaints (-2.4%) and consumer lawsuits (TCPA -2.5%, FDCPA -24.2%) were mostly down, with the exception being FCRA litigation (+4.0%) which was up. This closely follows the YTD trend so far, with TCPA (-35.2%) and FDCPA (12.4%) down and FCRA (+6.7%) up, while CFPB complaints (-.7%) are down a sliver.
In other news, putative class actions represented 9.2% of FDCPA, 51.3% of TCPA and 1.7% of FCRA lawsuits filed last month. About 43% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. And finally, Virginia attorneys Leonard Anthony Bennett, Craig Carley Marchiando, Drew David Sarrett shared the top spot for representing the most consumers in April (an explosive 107) while Florida attorney Jibrael S. Hindi has represented the most consumers for the year so far (199).
Current Month: | Previous Month: | Previous Year: |
Year to Date: | Year to Date Comp: |
|||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apr 01, 2022 Apr 30, 2022 |
Mar 01, 2022 Mar 31, 2022 |
Apr 01, 2021 Apr 30, 2021 |
Jan 01, 2022 Apr 30, 2022 |
Jan 01, 2021 Apr 30, 2021 |
|||||
CFPB | 5953 | 6102 | -2.4% | 5738 | 3.7% | 22643 | 22803 | -0.7% | |
FDCPA | 379 | 500 | -24.2% | 585 | -35.2% | 1849 | 2110 | -12.4% | |
FCRA | 515 | 495 | 4.0% | 446 | 15.5% | 1956 | 1834 | 6.7% | |
TCPA | 117 | 120 | -2.5% | 138 | -15.2% | 477 | 736 | -35.2% |
Complaint Statistics:
5953 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 903 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Apr 01, 2022 to Apr 30, 2022.
- 5953 CFPB Complaints
- 379 FDCPA, 35 Class Action (9.2%)
- 117 TCPA, 60 Class Action (51.3%)
- 515 FCRA, 9 Class Action (1.7%)
Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):
- Of those cases, there were about 903 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
- Of those plaintiffs, about 392, or (43%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
- Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 3172 lawsuits since 2001
- Actions were filed in 138 different US District Court branches.
- About 570 different collection firms and creditors were sued.
The top courts where lawsuits were filed:
- 113 Lawsuits: Virginia Eastern District Court – Richmond
- 51 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
- 44 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
- 41 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
- 35 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
- 32 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
- 27 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
- 24 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
- 21 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
- 20 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
The most active consumer attorneys were:
- Representing 107 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 107 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 106 Consumers: DREW DAVID SARRETT
- Representing 19 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 17 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
- Representing 16 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
- Representing 15 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 14 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 13 Consumers: GLORIA CHI-KI LAM
- Representing 13 Consumers: KYLE W SCHUMACHER
Statistics Year to Date:
3965 total lawsuits for 2022, including:
- 1849 FDCPA
- 1956 FCRA
- 477 TCPA
Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2022: 3637 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)
The most active consumer attorneys of the year:
- Representing 199 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
- Representing 180 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
- Representing 116 Consumers: CRAIG CARLEY MARCHIANDO
- Representing 113 Consumers: LEONARD ANTHONY BENNETT
- Representing 106 Consumers: DREW DAVID SARRETT
- Representing 101 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
- Representing 61 Consumers: MICHAEL FREDERICK CARDOZA
- Representing 60 Consumers: CHRISTOPHER NEIL ARMOR
- Representing 52 Consumers: SYED HASEEB HUSSAIN
——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:
There were 5953 complaints filed against debt collectors from Apr 01, 2022 to Apr 30, 2022.
Total number of debt collectors complained about: 854
The types of debt behind the complaints were:
- 1535 Other debt (26%)
- 1446 I do not know (24%)
- 1438 Credit card debt (24%)
- 958 Medical debt (16%)
- 265 Auto debt (4%)
- 149 Payday loan debt (3%)
- 72 Mortgage debt (1%)
- 45 Private student loan debt (1%)
- 45 Federal student loan debt (1%)
Here is a breakdown of complaints:
- 3077 Attempts to collect debt not owed (52%)
- 1334 Written notification about debt (22%)
- 528 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (9%)
- 491 False statements or representation (8%)
- 433 Communication tactics (7%)
- 90 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)
The top five subissues were:
- 1552 Debt is not yours (26%)
- 913 Debt was result of identity theft (15%)
- 749 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (13%)
- 548 Didnt receive notice of right to dispute (9%)
- 528 Debt was paid (9%)
The top states complaints were filed from are:
- 871 Complaints: FL
- 609 Complaints: TX
- 496 Complaints: CA
- 468 Complaints: GA
- 312 Complaints: PA
- 281 Complaints: NY
- 220 Complaints: IL
- 175 Complaints: NJ
- 173 Complaints: NC
- 173 Complaints: OH
The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:
- 4620 Closed with explanation (78%)
- 637 In progress (11%)
- 602 Closed with non-monetary relief (10%)
- 53 Untimely response (1%)
- 41 Closed with monetary relief (1%)
This includes 5790 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 163 (3%) untimely responses.