Posts tagged as:

litigation

The New Debtors’ Prison

October 21, 2009

Debtors’ prison was supposedly eliminated in the United States in the 19th century, but in the 21st, people are still being arrested and tossed into jail for debts. It just takes an extra step these days.
This morning, I sat in court and watched a debt collector get six bench warrants for debts under $1,000. I [...]

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Federal Trade Commission Accepting Public Comments on Debt Collection Litigation

August 27, 2009

On Tuesday, the FTC will hold a free roundtable in San Francisco, open to the public, on debt collection litigation and arbitration. The FTC is seeking public comments in advance of the event, and some of the existing public comments are, well, interesting.
Debt buyers Midland Credit Management, Asset Acceptance, and Portfolio Recovery Associates whine that [...]

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More litigants lawyer-less during the recession

April 10, 2009

According to the New York Times, the number of people representing themselves during the recession is way up, and that can cause problems:
Judges complain that people miss deadlines, fail to bring the right documents or evidence and are simply unprepared for legal proceedings. Such mistakes make it more likely they will fare poorly — no [...]

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How not to defend a debt collection lawsuit

March 26, 2009

When I worked as a collection attorney, I would see the same erroneous defenses over and over again. Here are some of the most common:
You don’t have a signed contract
Somewhat surprisingly, creditors are not required to produce a signed contract to prevail in court. There are others case theories, such as account stated, that may [...]

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National Arbitration Forum thinks courts should just rubber stamp arbitration awards

May 29, 2008

National Arbitration Forum basically offers a rubber stamp to debt collectors already, and they argue that courts should turn their awards into court judgments without looking too closely.
Are courts unreasonably tossing out arbitration awards? Nope. NAF is just advocating for its clients, the debt collectors, who have no proof of the debts on which they [...]

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Judge: “Dell Has Engaged In Repeated Misleading, Deceptive And Unlawful Business Conduct”

May 27, 2008

A judge recently said that (PDF link) Dell “has engaged in repeated misleading, deceptive and unlawful business conduct . . . .” The case specifically dealt with Dell’s grandiose promises in its service agreements, on which it did not deliver. Judge: “Dell Has Engaged In Repeated Misleading, Deceptive And Unlawful Business Conduct” | Consumerist

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Costs of litigation in Minnesota

October 19, 2007

In Hennepin County, Minnesota, it costs $252 for both parties in a lawsuit (in other words, the plaintiff pays $252 to file a complaint, and the defendant pays $252 to file an answer).
If either party wants a jury, they must pay an additional $75. (Either a judge or jury may decide questions of fact.)
Filing fees [...]

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Juries bad at judging guilt and innocence?

July 2, 2007

The answer is yes, according to Bruce Spencer, professor of statistics at Northwestern University. Spencer purports to arrive at the accuracy of jury verdicts (PDF link) by comparing the jury verdict to a judge’s opinion of the correct answer. Spencer then does a lot of fancy math and flings about some casual assumptions like juries [...]

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