Challenges faced by debt collectors

His pro bono client’s life had been seized up in such fear that she pawned her wedding ring to feed the maw of a default judgment against her in Los Angeles County Superior Court, obtained by one of the nation’s biggest debt buyers.It was too late to undo the judgment, but Benshoof sued the debt buyer, alleging that its repeated phone calls to the woman were harassing and illegal. The company turned over phone recordings in discovery that showed the calls weren’t as heated as the woman thought.“I still think they crossed a line,” says Benshoof, a partner and big-firm commercial litigator in the Los Angeles office of Alston & Bird.The debt buyer settled, discharging the debt of $5,000, which included interest on the original $3,500 loan, and gave back $2,600 the woman had managed to pay on the judgment.But Benshoof remained curious. His client still insisted she’d never taken out a loan, though she once might have co-signed one. The bank that … [Read more...] about Debt-buying industry and lax court review are burying defendants in defaults

BYU law school is addressing the “debt collection epidemic” in Utah by launching a new online tool.The project, called SoloSuit, is the first designed by LawX, BYU Law’s legal design lab.“Early in the semester, we realized that debt collection was a legal crisis in Utah,” said Kimball Dean Parker, LawX co-founder and class instructor, in a press release. He said that in the last five years, debt collectors filed over 330,000 lawsuits in Utah and that more than 98 percent of those sued did not hire an attorney. In some years, more than 80 percent of those sued failed to respond and lost their cases, regardless of their merits.In an attempt to ameliorate this problem, LawX sought to design a potential online solution.“SoloSuit provides a simple platform for debtors to respond to a lawsuit in as little as 10 minutes,” Parker said.The public-facing web application asks a series of questions about the complaint filed against a self-represented … [Read more...] about BYU Law takes on ‘debt collection epidemic’ with new online tool

Sometimes, even Abraham Lincoln needs a GoFundMe campaign. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, which supports Lincoln's museum in Springfield has found itself $9.7 million in debt on a loan it took out 11 years ago to purchase a collection of rare artifacts from a private collector. Now, hundreds of Lincoln's personal possessions, including a beaver fur stovepipe hat that Lincoln purportedly wore, as well as letters and other artifacts, are at risk of ending up on the auction block if the foundation can't pay off the hulking debt through state funding or private donations. Or even a GoFundMe campaign titled, "Save Lincoln Artifacts. Donate NOW!" On Wednesday, the foundation and its board members agreed to begin hunting for prospective auction houses. The move is a necessary precaution in the event the foundation cannot make the payment deadline in October 2019, the foundation said. As of early Friday morning, the Lincoln Museum's GoFundMe page to help save the … [Read more...] about Abe Lincoln’s library faces so much debt it’s considering selling his stuff

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Over two years ago, we first argued that a pharmacist’s prescription refill reminder calls fell within the emergency purpose exception to the TCPA in Kolinek v. Walgreen Co. (N.D. Ill.).  The TCPA, of course, prohibits many types of autodialed or pre-recorded/artificial voice calls to cell phones if made without the prior express consent of the called party, except where the calls are made “for emergency purposes.” 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A). In Kolinek, the court held at the motion to dismiss stage that further factual development was necessary to evaluate whether the emergency purpose exemption precluded plaintiff’s claims because the complaint did not allege sufficient detail regarding the nature of the calls. Although the case settled before the court had the opportunity to rule on the issue on summary judgment, the court acknowledged the viability of the emergency purposes defense as a basis for approving the class action settlement despite … [Read more...] about FCC and District Court Provide Additional Clarity to the TCPA’s Emergency Purpose Exception