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 |
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| 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
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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.