Blog/ Litigation Stats

Quick analysis: 2019 Plays out exactly as expected…

Well, 2019 is officially over, and with the end comes no real surprises. Everything was down for the month of December: FDCPA -.3%, TCPA -12.4%, FCRA -6.7% and CFPB complaints -6.6%.

None of that is particularly surprising, but it isn’t all that important in the grand scheme either. Here is something that is more relevant: Full year 2019 numbers appear to have cemented in some long standing trends in consumer litigation filings.

• FDPCA is down -7.7% for the year (compare to -7.8% for 2018 over 2017, and -5.8% for 2017 over 2016)
• TCPA is down -14.2% (compare to -13.2% for 2018 over 2017, and -9.3% for 2017 over 2016)
• FCRA is up +8.9% (compare to +4.3% for 2018 over 2017, and +9.9% for 2017 over 2016)

In other words, FDCPA and TCPA are continuing their trajectories of slow descent almost exactly on pace from the last couple of years, yet at the same time the growth in FCRA litigation has doubled in intensity from last year (but is on pace from the year before). That tells us something about where consumer litigation filings are headed in 2020.

Incidentally, CFPB complaints did reverse course this year from last. While complaints are down -9.5% from 2018, in full year 2018 they were up +5.9% over 2017, and in 2017 they were up +18.5% from 2016.

Here are some longer term trends for you:

In other news, putative class actions were a bit high last month with 25.3% of FDCPA, 26.5% of TCPA and 7.8% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 32% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, in what I believe is his first time at the top, Kentucky attorney James McKenzie represented more consumers than anyone else in December (38) while New York attorney Craig Sanders has represented more consumers than any other attorney all year (432), retaining the title of most active consumer attorney of the year.

Complaint Statistics:

3320 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1084 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Dec 01, 2019 to Dec 31, 2019.

• 3320 CFPB Complaints
• 637 FDCPA, 161 Class Action (25.3%)
• 234 TCPA, 62 Class Action (26.5%)
• 374 FCRA, 29 Class Action (7.8%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1084 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 350, or (32%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 4278 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 155 different US District Court branches.
• About 687 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 65 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 58 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 54 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 41 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 39 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 35 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 33 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 28 Lawsuits: New York Southern District Court – Foley Square
• 28 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 26 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 38 Consumers: JAMES R MCKENZIE
• Representing 38 Consumers: JAMES H LAWSON
• Representing 26 Consumers: EDWARD Y KROUB
• Representing 26 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 24 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 23 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 22 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 21 Consumers: JOSEPH LEWIS ERKENBRACK
• Representing 21 Consumers: JOSEPH SCOTT DAVIDSON
• Representing 18 Consumers: MOHAMMED OMAR BADWAN

Statistics Year to Date:
14107 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 8315 FDCPA
• 4938 FCRA
• 3267 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 13336 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 432 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 399 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 347 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 327 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 294 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 265 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 255 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 250 Consumers: JONATHAN FORREST RABURN
• Representing 235 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 231 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3320 complaints filed against debt collectors from Dec 01, 2019 to Dec 31, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 747

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 887 Other debt (27%)
• 781 I do not know (24%)
• 778 Credit card debt (23%)
• 521 Medical debt (16%)
• 119 Auto debt (4%)
• 78 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 58 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 53 Federal student loan debt (2%)
• 45 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1727 Attempts to collect debt not owed (52%)
• 623 Written notification about debt (19%)
• 303 Communication tactics (9%)
• 298 False statements or representation (9%)
• 284 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (9%)
• 85 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (3%)

The top five subissues were:

• 786 Debt is not yours (24%)
• 566 Debt was result of identity theft (17%)
• 436 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (13%)
• 320 Debt was paid (10%)
• 240 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 389 Complaints: CA
• 363 Complaints: TX
• 344 Complaints: FL
• 242 Complaints: GA
• 221 Complaints: NY
• 110 Complaints: PA
• 103 Complaints: SC
• 100 Complaints: NJ
• 98 Complaints: IL
• 93 Complaints: NC

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 2719 Closed with explanation (82%)
• 272 Closed with non-monetary relief (8%)
• 243 In progress (7%)
• 67 Untimely response (2%)
• 19 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 3195 (96%) timely responses to complaints, and 125 (4%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: November was a mixed bag…

On the one hand, FDCPA and FCRA litigation were both down from October, -5.2% and -8% respectively. And FDCPA litigation was also down 5.9% over the month of October 2018 *and* down -9% YTD. TCPA was down -6.3% over the month of Oct 2018 and down -15.3% YTD. All good news for businesses in the crosshairs.

On the other hand, TCPA litigation was up 8.5% over October, defying the years-long trend of slow downward movement. And FCRA was up 5.5% over the month of Oct 2018 and still up 8.4% YTD.

Next month, we’ll have our 2019 year in review stats newsletter!

In other news, putative class actions were typical last month with 19.9% of FDCPA, 19.9% of TCPA and 5.7% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 31% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, Connecticut attorney Sergei Lemberg reclaimed the top spot for consumer attorneys, representing way more consumers (96) than anyone else last month. New York attorney Craig B. Sanders is at the top of the list YTD with 417 consumers represented in 2019 so far.

Complaint Statistics:

3511 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1205 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Nov 01, 2019 to Nov 30, 2019.

• 3511 CFPB Complaints
• 639 FDCPA, 127 Class Action (19.9%)
• 267 TCPA, 53 Class Action (19.9%)
• 401 FCRA, 23 Class Action (5.7%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1205 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 371, or (31%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 1828 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 147 different US District Court branches.
• About 718 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 75 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 59 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 51 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 38 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 31 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 30 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 27 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 27 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 27 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
• 26 Lawsuits: Texas Eastern District Court – Sherman

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 96 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 38 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 36 Consumers: EDWARD Y KROUB
• Representing 34 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 30 Consumers: THOMAS JOHN PATTI
• Representing 29 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 27 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
• Representing 23 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 22 Consumers: PAUL AARON HERMAN
• Representing 22 Consumers: JOEL ADRIAN BROWN

Statistics Year to Date:
13035 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 7678 FDCPA
• 4564 FCRA
• 3034 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 12387 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 417 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 382 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 331 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 301 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 272 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 254 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 250 Consumers: JONATHAN FORREST RABURN
• Representing 241 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 223 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 207 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3511 complaints filed against debt collectors from Nov 01, 2019 to Nov 30, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 764

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 885 Other debt (25%)
• 822 Credit card debt (23%)
• 798 I do not know (23%)
• 589 Medical debt (17%)
• 131 Auto debt (4%)
• 97 Payday loan debt (3%)
• 76 Federal student loan debt (2%)
• 73 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 40 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1876 Attempts to collect debt not owed (53%)
• 671 Written notification about debt (19%)
• 322 Communication tactics (9%)
• 294 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (8%)
• 259 False statements or representation (7%)
• 89 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (3%)

The top five subissues were:

• 864 Debt is not yours (25%)
• 624 Debt was result of identity theft (18%)
• 447 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (13%)
• 330 Debt was paid (9%)
• 207 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 388 Complaints: FL
• 365 Complaints: TX
• 359 Complaints: CA
• 302 Complaints: GA
• 202 Complaints: NY
• 149 Complaints: SC
• 110 Complaints: NC
• 99 Complaints: IL
• 96 Complaints: PA
• 92 Complaints: NJ

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 2774 Closed with explanation (79%)
• 325 In progress (9%)
• 285 Closed with non-monetary relief (8%)
• 108 Untimely response (3%)
• 19 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 3359 (96%) timely responses to complaints, and 152 (4%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: Litigation Up Across the Board: FCRA Weakest in October, but Strongest in 2019

FDCPA, TCPA and FCRA litigation were all up in October over the previous month, though what has consistently been the strongest statute in filing strength (FCRA) was far weaker than the two that have been traditionally dropping (FDCPA and TCPA). YTD trends stayed on track though, with FCRA posting a strong +8.7% increase so far in 2019, while FDCPA and TCPA were both down, -9.3% and -16% respectively.

In other news, putative class actions were typical last month with 17.4% of FDCPA, 30.5% of TCPA and 6.2% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 34% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, New York attorney Craig B. Sanders reclaimed the top spot for consumer attorneys, representing more consumers (49) than anyone else last month. Sanders is also at the top of the list YTD (by far) with 379 consumers represented in 2019 so far. Connecticut attorney Sergei Lemberg, who filed the most lawsuits last month was not even in the top ten this month.

Complaint Statistics:

3999 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1230 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Oct 01, 2019 to Oct 31, 2019.

• 3999 CFPB Complaints
• 674 FDCPA, 117 Class Action (17.4%)
• 246 TCPA, 75 Class Action (30.5%)
• 436 FCRA, 27 Class Action (6.2%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1230 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 424, or (34%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 5019 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 173 different US District Court branches.
• About 798 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 65 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 61 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 54 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 54 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 32 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 30 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
• 27 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 27 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 25 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Orlando
• 25 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 49 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 43 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 35 Consumers: MILES N CLARK
• Representing 35 Consumers: MATTHEW I KNEPPER
• Representing 34 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 33 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 31 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 29 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 25 Consumers: DAVID M MARCO
• Representing 22 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM

Statistics Year to Date:
11965 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 7039 FDCPA
• 4163 FCRA
• 2767 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 11324 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 379 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 317 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 286 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 282 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 254 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 237 Consumers: JONATHAN FORREST RABURN
• Representing 220 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 218 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 210 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 181 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3999 complaints filed against debt collectors from Oct 01, 2019 to Oct 31, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 790

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1014 Other debt (25%)
• 990 I do not know (25%)
• 892 Credit card debt (22%)
• 658 Medical debt (16%)
• 133 Auto debt (3%)
• 105 Payday loan debt (3%)
• 77 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 72 Federal student loan debt (2%)
• 58 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1979 Attempts to collect debt not owed (49%)
• 811 Written notification about debt (20%)
• 404 Communication tactics (10%)
• 367 False statements or representation (9%)
• 340 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (9%)
• 98 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)

The top five subissues were:

• 914 Debt is not yours (23%)
• 617 Debt was result of identity theft (15%)
• 557 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (14%)
• 378 Debt was paid (9%)
• 257 Attempted to collect wrong amount (6%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 431 Complaints: TX
• 406 Complaints: FL
• 394 Complaints: CA
• 269 Complaints: NY
• 207 Complaints: GA
• 177 Complaints: SC
• 146 Complaints: IL
• 129 Complaints: NJ
• 117 Complaints: MI
• 110 Complaints: VA

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3188 Closed with explanation (80%)
• 364 In progress (9%)
• 327 Closed with non-monetary relief (8%)
• 93 Untimely response (2%)
• 27 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 3860 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 139 (3%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: 3rd Quarter Results, FDCPA Ekes One Out

The 3rd quarter has officially wrapped, and for the most part the years’ trends have solidified. CFPB complaints and FDCPA/TCPA lawsuits are down by significant margins while FCRA lawsuits are up.

Not statistically important… but like a sprout pushing through the crack in a sidewalk, FDCPA litigation in September did manage to eke out a small victory over the August number, beating it by three filings for the month. With FDCPA litigation taking a bit of a beating over the last few years, I thought this was a moment worth sharing.

In other news, putative class actions were typical last month with 17.1% of FDCPA, 33% of TCPA and 3% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 35% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, Connecticut attorney Sergei Lemberg reclaimed the top spot for consumer attorneys, representing more consumers (35) than anyone else last month. New York attorney Craig B. Sanders is still at the top of the list YTD with 330 consumers represented.

Complaint Statistics:

3995 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1135 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Sep 01, 2019 to Sep 30, 2019.

• 3995 CFPB Complaints
• 637 FDCPA, 109 Class Action (17.1%)
• 221 TCPA, 73 Class Action (33.0%)
• 430 FCRA, 13 Class Action (3.0%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1135 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 395, or (35%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2821 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 155 different US District Court branches.
• About 729 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 59 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 54 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 48 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 38 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 38 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 36 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 35 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 29 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 25 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 23 Lawsuits: New York Southern District Court – Foley Square

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 35 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 29 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 29 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 29 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 25 Consumers: JONATHAN LAWRENCE HILTON
• Representing 24 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 23 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 23 Consumers: JONATHAN FORREST RABURN
• Representing 23 Consumers: DENNIS DEAN MCCARTY
• Representing 22 Consumers: EDWARD Y KROUB

Statistics Year to Date:
10735 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 6365 FDCPA
• 3727 FCRA
• 2521 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 10256 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 330 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 299 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 266 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 260 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 236 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 226 Consumers: JONATHAN FORREST RABURN
• Representing 191 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 187 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 186 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 172 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3995 complaints filed against debt collectors from Sep 01, 2019 to Sep 30, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 762

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1087 Other debt (27%)
• 984 Credit card debt (25%)
• 869 I do not know (22%)
• 647 Medical debt (16%)
• 136 Auto debt (3%)
• 104 Payday loan debt (3%)
• 70 Federal student loan debt (2%)
• 64 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 34 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1978 Attempts to collect debt not owed (50%)
• 790 Written notification about debt (20%)
• 409 Communication tactics (10%)
• 384 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 342 False statements or representation (9%)
• 92 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)

The top five subissues were:

• 854 Debt is not yours (21%)
• 668 Debt was result of identity theft (17%)
• 546 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (14%)
• 366 Debt was paid (9%)
• 276 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 536 Complaints: TX
• 422 Complaints: FL
• 398 Complaints: CA
• 225 Complaints: GA
• 224 Complaints: NY
• 191 Complaints: SC
• 132 Complaints: PA
• 118 Complaints: NC
• 115 Complaints: OH
• 114 Complaints: NJ

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3137 Closed with explanation (79%)
• 394 Closed with non-monetary relief (10%)
• 364 In progress (9%)
• 76 Untimely response (2%)
• 24 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 3863 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 132 (3%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: They don’t call it “Fall” for nuthin’…

After everything (FDCPA, TCPA, FCRA) was up by double-digit percentages last month, everything is down by double-digit percentages this month. Well, almost. FDCPA had to be difficult and mess up my sweeping allegory by keeping its toe just under the line at 9.9%. But with that one exception, everything is double digits.

CFPB complaints, on the other hand, were down last month and up this month – exactly opposite of consumer litigation. Go figure.

Even after a precipitous drop of 19.3% last month, FCRA litigation is still up 5.1% YTD. But that is the only one, with FDCPA down 10.3% and TCPA down 15% from this time last year. At this point, it is tough to see how either of those recover to top last year’s number by the end of 2019, but one never knows.

In other news, putative class actions were a bit high last month with 21.1% of FDCPA, 41.5% of TCPA and 7.7% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

Over 40% of TCPA lawsuits being filed as putative class actions should be terrifying to companies that dial for a living.

About 39% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before. That number is really high as well.

And finally, Texas FCRA attorneys Jonathan Forrest Raburn and Dennis Dean McCarty stayed in the top spot, representing more consumers (32) than anyone else last month, all of them multi-plaintiff FCRA cases. New York attorney Craig B. Sanders is still at the top of the list YTD with 307 consumers represented.

Complaint Statistics:

4265 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1225 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Aug 01, 2019 to Aug 31, 2019.

• 4265 CFPB Complaints
• 634 FDCPA, 134 Class Action (21.1%)
• 246 TCPA, 102 Class Action (41.5%)
• 413 FCRA, 32 Class Action (7.7%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1225 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 472, or (39%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 4103 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 165 different US District Court branches.
• About 781 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 61 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 49 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 43 Lawsuits: New Jersey District Court – Newark
• 42 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 41 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 39 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 36 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 36 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 30 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 26 Lawsuits: Delaware District Court – Wilmington

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 32 Consumers: JONATHAN FORREST RABURN
• Representing 32 Consumers: DENNIS DEAN MCCARTY
• Representing 29 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 28 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 27 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 24 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 23 Consumers: MATTHEW THOMAS BERRY
• Representing 21 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 21 Consumers: PAUL JONATHAN SIEG
• Representing 21 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS

Statistics Year to Date:
9624 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 5728 FDCPA
• 3297 FCRA
• 2300 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 9259 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 307 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 280 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 231 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 231 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 207 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 203 Consumers: JONATHAN FORREST RABURN
• Representing 170 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 166 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 166 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN
• Representing 163 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 4265 complaints filed against debt collectors from Aug 01, 2019 to Aug 31, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 813

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1174 Other debt (28%)
• 1000 Credit card debt (23%)
• 935 I do not know (22%)
• 718 Medical debt (17%)
• 134 Auto debt (3%)
• 99 Payday loan debt (2%)
• 83 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 68 Federal student loan debt (2%)
• 54 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 2058 Attempts to collect debt not owed (48%)
• 849 Written notification about debt (20%)
• 436 Communication tactics (10%)
• 408 False statements or representation (10%)
• 406 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 108 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (3%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1017 Debt is not yours (24%)
• 604 Debt was result of identity theft (14%)
• 596 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (14%)
• 360 Debt was paid (8%)
• 340 Attempted to collect wrong amount (8%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 543 Complaints: TX
• 525 Complaints: CA
• 443 Complaints: FL
• 247 Complaints: NY
• 236 Complaints: GA
• 147 Complaints: PA
• 140 Complaints: OH
• 140 Complaints: NJ
• 130 Complaints: IL
• 126 Complaints: NC

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3355 Closed with explanation (79%)
• 414 In progress (10%)
• 363 Closed with non-monetary relief (9%)
• 109 Untimely response (3%)
• 24 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 4094 (96%) timely responses to complaints, and 171 (4%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: Everything litigation-related moved up in July for the first time since January. FDCPA, TCPA and FCRA were all up between 11%-16% over the previous month. YTD, all three either increased their percentages over 2018 (FCRA from from +2% to +6.5%) or decreased their negative percentages (FDCPA from -7.5% to -7% and TCPA from -12.7% to -12.4%). Even CFPB complaints, which did decrease from June (-8.6% at the moment, but those numbers are not settled yet) decreased their YTD percentage from -18.1% in June to -16.7% in July.

Here’s a fun new chart. Tracking FDCPA, FCRA and TCPA litigation through the years, but only for the first seven months of each year (Jan 1-July 31). Looking at this, it is easy to see where the momentum is now and where it has been in the past.

In other news, putative class actions were typical last month with 22.3% of FDCPA, 33% of TCPA and 3.7% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 35% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, Texas attorney Jonathan Forrest Raburn surged back into the top spot eleven months after his first showing there, representing more consumers (107) than anyone else last month (by far), all of them multi-plaintiff FCRA cases. New York attorney Craig B. Sanders is still at the top of the list YTD with 279 consumers represented.

Complaint Statistics:

3741 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1264 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Jul 01, 2019 to Jul 31, 2019.

• 3741 CFPB Complaints
• 700 FDCPA, 156 Class Action (22.3%)
• 285 TCPA, 94 Class Action (33.0%)
• 510 FCRA, 19 Class Action (3.7%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1264 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 444, or (35%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2899 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 168 different US District Court branches.
• About 745 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 65 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 64 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 54 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 45 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 43 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 42 Lawsuits: Delaware District Court – Wilmington
• 33 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 30 Lawsuits: Kentucky Western District Court – Louisville
• 29 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Miami
• 28 Lawsuits: Texas Eastern District Court – Sherman

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 107 Consumers: JONATHAN FORREST RABURN
• Representing 54 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 41 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 37 Consumers: DENNIS DEAN MCCARTY
• Representing 37 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 26 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN
• Representing 25 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 24 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 23 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 21 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG

Statistics Year to Date:
8473 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 5090 FDCPA
• 2882 FCRA
• 2053 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 8181 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 279 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 253 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 206 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 202 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 185 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 171 Consumers: JONATHAN FORREST RABURN
• Representing 156 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 152 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN
• Representing 145 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 142 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3741 complaints filed against debt collectors from Jul 01, 2019 to Jul 31, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 775

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1025 Other debt (27%)
• 904 Credit card debt (24%)
• 808 I do not know (22%)
• 601 Medical debt (16%)
• 126 Auto debt (3%)
• 106 Payday loan debt (3%)
• 74 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 51 Federal student loan debt (1%)
• 46 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1822 Attempts to collect debt not owed (49%)
• 757 Written notification about debt (20%)
• 411 Communication tactics (11%)
• 336 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (9%)
• 298 False statements or representation (8%)
• 117 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (3%)

The top five subissues were:

• 926 Debt is not yours (25%)
• 502 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (13%)
• 490 Debt was result of identity theft (13%)
• 342 Debt was paid (9%)
• 249 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 509 Complaints: TX
• 463 Complaints: CA
• 386 Complaints: FL
• 281 Complaints: GA
• 214 Complaints: NY
• 111 Complaints: NJ
• 108 Complaints: NC
• 105 Complaints: IL
• 103 Complaints: VA
• 95 Complaints: OH

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 2896 Closed with explanation (77%)
• 425 In progress (11%)
• 307 Closed with non-monetary relief (8%)
• 96 Untimely response (3%)
• 17 Closed with monetary relief (0%)

This includes 3600 (96%) timely responses to complaints, and 141 (4%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: Litigation for June 2019 followed a now-familiar path, with FDCPA and TCPA dipping significantly down from the previous month (-29.2% and -26.4% respectively) while FCRA increased +8.4%. Year-to-date shows the same trends, but more moderated with FDCPA -7.5%, FCRA +2% and TCPA -12.7%.

CFPB complaints are also showing a dip, down -2.5% from the previous month and -18.1 YTD.

In other news, putative class actions were a little high last month with 19% of FDCPA, 32.8% of TCPA and 4.5% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 34% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, Connecticut attorney Sergei Lemberg continued his resurgence into the top spot, representing more consumers (45) than anyone else last month. New York attorney Craig B. Sanders is still at the top of the list YTD with 225 consumers represented.

Complaint Statistics:

4070 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1195 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Jun 01, 2019 to Jun 30, 2019.

• 4070 CFPB Complaints
• 605 FDCPA, 115 Class Action (19.0%)
• 256 TCPA, 84 Class Action (32.8%)
• 441 FCRA, 20 Class Action (4.5%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1195 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 403, or (34%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2867 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 161 different US District Court branches.
• About 768 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 71 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 46 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 44 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 44 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 37 Lawsuits: Delaware District Court – Wilmington
• 36 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 35 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 33 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 30 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 30 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 45 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 35 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 30 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 29 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 26 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 26 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 22 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 20 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER
• Representing 16 Consumers: JIBRAEL JARALLAH SAID HINDI
• Representing 15 Consumers: ANDREW JOHN SHAMIS

Statistics Year to Date:
7258 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 4387 FDCPA
• 2371 FCRA
• 1767 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 7065 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 225 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 212 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 183 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 181 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 161 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 131 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 128 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 126 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN
• Representing 108 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 99 Consumers: DAVID H KRIEGER

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 4070 complaints filed against debt collectors from Jun 01, 2019 to Jun 30, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 785

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1073 Other debt (26%)
• 1014 Credit card debt (25%)
• 864 I do not know (21%)
• 656 Medical debt (16%)
• 143 Auto debt (4%)
• 114 Payday loan debt (3%)
• 86 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 64 Federal student loan debt (2%)
• 56 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 2038 Attempts to collect debt not owed (50%)
• 767 Written notification about debt (19%)
• 437 Communication tactics (11%)
• 375 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (9%)
• 337 False statements or representation (8%)
• 116 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (3%)

The top five subissues were:

• 969 Debt is not yours (24%)
• 613 Debt was result of identity theft (15%)
• 539 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (13%)
• 388 Debt was paid (10%)
• 271 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 592 Complaints: TX
• 465 Complaints: CA
• 443 Complaints: FL
• 279 Complaints: GA
• 172 Complaints: NY
• 147 Complaints: OH
• 130 Complaints: NJ
• 126 Complaints: AZ
• 121 Complaints: PA
• 118 Complaints: NC

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3157 Closed with explanation (78%)
• 420 In progress (10%)
• 375 Closed with non-monetary relief (9%)
• 96 Untimely response (2%)
• 22 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 3901 (96%) timely responses to complaints, and 169 (4%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: For the second time in three months, FDCPA and TCPA lawsuit numbers rose (2.8%, 13.4%, respectively) while FCRA dipped (-6.9%) from the previous month. That goes counter to the longer term trends we have been seeing that make a case for the opposite (FCRA up, FDCPA & TCPA down). At least it did until this month, when the weight of FCRA’s decline dragged the YTD number back into negative territory, bringing all three statutes down a bit YTD (FDCPA -4.6%, FCRA -1.0%, TCPA -11.1%).

CFPB complaints were up a bit, 2% over the previous month, but way down YTD at -20.6%.

In other news, putative class actions were typical last month with 24% of FDCPA, 25.6% of TCPA and 4.2% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 34% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, New York attorney Craig B. Sanders represented more consumers (83) than anyone else last month and also YTD (199). Interestingly, Connecticut attorney Sergei Lemberg (who used to dominate the list most months) came roaring back to the #2 position last month after several years of maintaining a lower profile.

Complaint Statistics:

4103 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1338 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from May 01, 2019 to May 31, 2019.

• 4103 CFPB Complaints
• 853 FDCPA, 205 Class Action (24.0%)
• 348 TCPA, 89 Class Action (25.6%)
• 407 FCRA, 17 Class Action (4.2%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1338 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 455, or (34%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 2763 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 175 different US District Court branches.
• About 846 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 83 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 81 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 48 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 46 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 45 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 37 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 36 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 36 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 29 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 28 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 83 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 62 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 42 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 30 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 29 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 23 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 22 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 21 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 19 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN
• Representing 18 Consumers: MARK A ELDRIDGE

Statistics Year to Date:
6122 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 3781 FDCPA
• 1930 FCRA
• 1511 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 5985 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 199 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 177 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 153 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 136 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 135 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 123 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 118 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN
• Representing 102 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 86 Consumers: DAVID M BARSHAY
• Representing 84 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN

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CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 4103 complaints filed against debt collectors from May 01, 2019 to May 31, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 828

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1142 Other debt (28%)
• 940 Credit card debt (23%)
• 873 I do not know (21%)
• 701 Medical debt (17%)
• 141 Payday loan debt (3%)
• 108 Auto debt (3%)
• 84 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 64 Federal student loan debt (2%)
• 50 Private student loan debt (1%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1991 Attempts to collect debt not owed (49%)
• 839 Written notification about debt (20%)
• 419 Communication tactics (10%)
• 392 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 357 False statements or representation (9%)
• 105 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (3%)

The top five subissues were:

• 950 Debt is not yours (23%)
• 571 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (14%)
• 534 Debt was result of identity theft (13%)
• 421 Debt was paid (10%)
• 284 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 498 Complaints: TX
• 497 Complaints: FL
• 489 Complaints: CA
• 267 Complaints: GA
• 217 Complaints: NY
• 156 Complaints: OH
• 119 Complaints: NC
• 113 Complaints: VA
• 110 Complaints: PA
• 107 Complaints: IL

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3145 Closed with explanation (77%)
• 430 In progress (10%)
• 382 Closed with non-monetary relief (9%)
• 118 Untimely response (3%)
• 28 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 3940 (96%) timely responses to complaints, and 163 (4%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: Lawsuits up, YTD trends remain the same.

For the first time since January, all lawsuit categories were up in April (FDCPA +11.5%, FCRA +22.3%, TCPA +1.7%) though CFPB complaints were down (fairly dramatically at -21.3%) from the prior month.

FDCPA (-8.3%) and TCPA (10.9%) are still trending down YTD while FCRA is back trending up YTD (+5.3%) after briefly dipping into negative YTD territory last month.

In other news, putative class actions were pretty normal last month with 22.1% of FDCPA, 33.6% of TCPA and 8.6% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 32% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, after several months off the top of our list, New York attorney Craig B. Sanders has come back and represented more consumers than anyone else last month (49), while Delaware FCRA attorney Antranig Garibian retains the crown for most lawsuits of the year, with 154 consumers represented.

Complaint Statistics:

3358 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1340 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Apr 01, 2019 to Apr 30, 2019.

• 3358 CFPB Complaints
• 812 FDCPA, 178 Class Action (22.1%)
• 294 TCPA, 98 Class Action (33.6%)
• 428 FCRA, 37 Class Action (8.6%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1340 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 430, or (32%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 6320 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 166 different US District Court branches.
• About 870 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 86 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 79 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 56 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 54 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 47 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 47 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 39 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 31 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 30 Lawsuits: Nevada District Court – Las Vegas
• 28 Lawsuits: Delaware District Court – Wilmington

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 49 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 34 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN
• Representing 31 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 27 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 25 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 24 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 23 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 22 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 22 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
• Representing 22 Consumers: DANIEL A EDELMAN

Statistics Year to Date:
4774 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 2904 FDCPA
• 1513 FCRA
• 1147 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 4726 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 154 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 119 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 116 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 103 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 102 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 99 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN
• Representing 80 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 78 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
• Representing 74 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG
• Representing 67 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN

——————————————————————————————————-
CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 3358 complaints filed against debt collectors from Apr 01, 2019 to Apr 30, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 734

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 878 Other debt (26%)
• 779 Credit card debt (23%)
• 715 I do not know (21%)
• 590 Medical debt (18%)
• 115 Auto debt (3%)
• 86 Payday loan debt (3%)
• 70 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 66 Private student loan debt (2%)
• 59 Federal student loan debt (2%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1644 Attempts to collect debt not owed (49%)
• 662 Written notification about debt (20%)
• 355 Communication tactics (11%)
• 324 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 286 False statements or representation (9%)
• 87 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (3%)

The top five subissues were:

• 792 Debt is not yours (24%)
• 451 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (13%)
• 425 Debt was result of identity theft (13%)
• 354 Debt was paid (11%)
• 250 Attempted to collect wrong amount (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 522 Complaints: TX
• 404 Complaints: CA
• 363 Complaints: FL
• 194 Complaints: GA
• 165 Complaints: NY
• 107 Complaints: NJ
• 103 Complaints: MI
• 99 Complaints: OH
• 87 Complaints: PA
• 83 Complaints:

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 2558 Closed with explanation (76%)
• 435 In progress (13%)
• 284 Closed with non-monetary relief (8%)
• 64 Untimely response (2%)
• 17 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 3266 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 92 (3%) untimely responses.

Quick analysis: Upside Down & Inside Out

So, when is the last time FDCPA and TCPA lawsuits were up while FCRA lawsuits were down? (spoiler alert… you have to go back a full year, to March 2018). Defying all trends for the last couple of years, March 2019 did just that… with robust gains in FDCPA (+9.4%) and TCPA (+7.9%) and a significant drop in FCRA (-9.3%).

Totally, completely and utterly unrelated to consumer litigation… but if you want to see a really cool take on “Upside Down & Inside Out” take 3.5 minutes and check this out.

Back to business. A couple of other interesting sidenotes appear in this month’s report. First, in spite of the upticks in FDCPA and TCPA, everything is actually down YTD including FCRA lawsuits which started trending that way last month and whose fate was sealed by this month’s drop, and CFPB complaints which in spite of aggressive growth over the last few years has been crossing back and forth over the line in recent months.

In other news, putative class actions were pretty high last month with 18.4% of FDCPA, 41.8%(!) of TCPA and 8.6% of FCRA lawsuits filed that way.

About 35% of all plaintiffs who filed suit last month had filed at least once before.

And finally, David Scott Klain from Consumer Law Partners in Chicago represented more consumers than anyone else last month (33), while Delaware FCRA attorney Antranig Garibian holds the crown for most lawsuits of the year, with 123 consumers represented.

Complaint Statistics:

4133 consumers filed CFPB complaints, and about 1207 consumers filed lawsuits under consumer statutes from Mar 01, 2019 to Mar 31, 2019.

• 4133 CFPB Complaints
• 722 FDCPA, 133 Class Action (18.4%)
• 287 TCPA, 120 Class Action (41.8%)
• 350 FCRA, 30 Class Action (8.6%)

Litigation Summary (scroll down for CFPB data):

• Of those cases, there were about 1207 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 424, or (35%), had sued under consumer statutes before.
• Combined, those plaintiffs have filed about 3196 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 172 different US District Court branches.
• About 799 different collection firms and creditors were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 79 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 55 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn
• 46 Lawsuits: Florida Middle District Court – Tampa
• 44 Lawsuits: Indiana Southern District Court – Indianapolis
• 43 Lawsuits: Georgia Northern District Court – Atlanta
• 41 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Western Division – Los Angeles
• 40 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 35 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Central Islip
• 33 Lawsuits: Minnesota District Court – Dmn
• 25 Lawsuits: Kentucky Western District Court – Louisville

The most active consumer attorneys were:

• Representing 33 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 31 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 31 Consumers: TODD M FRIEDMAN
• Representing 28 Consumers: DAVID J PHILIPPS
• Representing 27 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 25 Consumers: ADRIAN ROBERT BACON
• Representing 25 Consumers: ANGIE K ROBERTSON
• Representing 25 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 23 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 22 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN

Statistics Year to Date:
3454 total lawsuits for 2019, including:

• 2099 FDCPA
• 1085 FCRA
• 855 TCPA

Number of Unique Plaintiffs for 2019: 3474 (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit)

The most active consumer attorneys of the year:

• Representing 123 Consumers: ANTRANIG N GARIBIAN
• Representing 92 Consumers: NATHAN CHARLES VOLHEIM
• Representing 79 Consumers: TAXIARCHIS HATZIDIMITRIADIS
• Representing 77 Consumers: DAVID SCOTT KLAIN
• Representing 67 Consumers: CRAIG B SANDERS
• Representing 65 Consumers: MITCHELL L PASHKIN
• Representing 57 Consumers: DAVID W HEMMINGER
• Representing 56 Consumers: JOHN THOMAS STEINKAMP
• Representing 55 Consumers: YAAKOV SAKS
• Representing 52 Consumers: SERGEI LEMBERG

——————————————————————————————————-

CFPB Complaint Statistics:

There were 4133 complaints filed against debt collectors from Mar 01, 2019 to Mar 31, 2019.

Total number of debt collectors complained about: 793

The types of debt behind the complaints were:

• 1213 Other debt (29%)
• 936 Credit card debt (23%)
• 850 I do not know (21%)
• 630 Medical debt (15%)
• 132 Payday loan debt (3%)
• 115 Auto debt (3%)
• 94 Federal student loan debt (2%)
• 90 Mortgage debt (2%)
• 73 Private student loan debt (2%)

Here is a breakdown of complaints:

• 1980 Attempts to collect debt not owed (48%)
• 867 Written notification about debt (21%)
• 442 Communication tactics (11%)
• 402 Took or threatened to take negative or legal action (10%)
• 342 False statements or representation (8%)
• 100 Threatened to contact someone or share information improperly (2%)

The top five subissues were:

• 1011 Debt is not yours (24%)
• 540 Didnt receive enough information to verify debt (13%)
• 472 Debt was result of identity theft (11%)
• 411 Debt was paid (10%)
• 299 Didnt receive notice of right to dispute (7%)

The top states complaints were filed from are:

• 555 Complaints: TX
• 445 Complaints: FL
• 419 Complaints: CA
• 224 Complaints: GA
• 220 Complaints: NY
• 158 Complaints: MI
• 145 Complaints: PA
• 135 Complaints: OH
• 123 Complaints: IL
• 110 Complaints: NJ

The status of the month’s complaints are as follows:

• 3069 Closed with explanation (74%)
• 576 In progress (14%)
• 364 Closed with non-monetary relief (9%)
• 99 Untimely response (2%)
• 25 Closed with monetary relief (1%)

This includes 3995 (97%) timely responses to complaints, and 138 (3%) untimely responses.