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WebRecon Stats for May 2019: FCRA Down, Everything Else Up (and the unexpected resurgence of a familiar name)

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June 19, 2019
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Blog/Litigation Stats

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.

Current Month: Previous Month: Previous
Year:		 Year to Date: Year to
Date Comp:
May 01, 2019
May 31, 2019		 Apr 01, 2019
Apr 30, 2019		 May 01, 2018
May 31, 2018		 Jan 01, 2019
May 31, 2019		 Jan 01, 2018
May 31, 2018
CFPB  4103 4023 2.0% 4811 -14.7% 19425 24459 -20.6%
FDCPA  853 830 2.8% 797 7.0% 3781 3964 -4.6%
FCRA  407 437 -6.9% 512 -20.5% 1930 1949 -1.0%
TCPA  348 307 13.4% 412 -15.5% 1511 1699 -11.1%

 

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

——————————————————————————————————-
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.

Previous WebRecon Stats for April 2019: Lawsuits up, YTD trends remain the same Next WebRecon Stats for June 2019: Summer Doldrums?
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