What is a Debt Buyer?

Hudson Henley has recorded a short video answering what is a debt buyer. If you are being sued by a debt collector or debt buyer in Texas you can call (214) 552-6647 or visit www.henleycreditlaw.com

FDCPA Laws and Lawsuits

Hudson Henley has recorded a short video speaking about FDCPA laws and lawsuits. If you are being harassed by a debt collector Texas you can call (214) 552-6647 or visit www.henleycreditlaw.com

Texas Debt Buyer and Debt Collector Lawsuits

Hudson Henley has recorded a short video explaining Texas debt buyer and debt collector lawsuits. If you are being sued by a debt collector in Texas you can call (214) 552-6647 or visit www.henleycreditlaw.com

Texas Debt Buyer / Debt Collector Lawsuits

What to do when served a lawsuit in Texas

Hudson Henley, a Texas and California attorney, has recorded this video of what to do when you have been served a law suit. If you have any questions, you can contact his office here.

What to do when served a lawsuit

FDCPA Lawsuit Statistics

According to WebRecon LLC, from the period of August 1 – 15, 2009, there were about 354 FDCPA and 49 FCRA Federal lawsuits filed.

The break down of the cases are:

• Of those cases, there were about 403 unique plaintiffs (including multiple plaintiffs in one suit).
• Of those plaintiffs, about 81 had sued under FDCPA, FCRA or TCPA before.
• Combined, those 81 plaintiffs have filed about 198 lawsuits since 2001
• Actions were filed in 93 different US District Court branches.
• About 278 different collection firms were sued.

The top courts where lawsuits were filed:

• 27 Lawsuits: Illinois Northern District Court – Chicago
• 18 Lawsuits: Colorado District Court – Denver
• 15 Lawsuits: California Southern District Court – San Diego
• 15 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Western District Court – Pittsburgh
• 14 Lawsuits: California Central District Court – Los Angeles
• 13 Lawsuits: Arizona District Court – Phoenix
• 13 Lawsuits: Pennsylvania Eastern District Court – Philadelphia
• 12 Lawsuits: California Northern District Court – San Francisco
• 12 Lawsuits: Florida Southern District Court – Fort Lauderdale
• 12 Lawsuits: New York Eastern District Court – Brooklyn

It is encouraging that consumers are not idly standing by and  responding to bad debt collection practices the appropriate way.

If you feel you have been violated by a debt collection agency and would like to discuss your legal options, give us a call at 214-552-6647.

Can an out of state debt collection attorney sue me?

Can an out of state debt collection attorney sue me? This is a common question that I get asked a lot.

In general, it is unlikely.

First, an attorney has to be licensed in the state you are located in (or where the lawsuit will be filed) to sue you. You can check the states he is licensed in by looking at the letterhead. If it does not disclose other states where he is licensed you can deduce that he is only licensed in the state the letter came from. To verify this, you may want to go to your state’s bar page to see if the attorney is licensed in your state. We have links to all the states bar associations here.

Second, there is a cost factor. Most of the time it is not cost effective for an attorney to travel to show up for  a trial. There would have to be a lot of money at stake(think hundreds of thousands and up) .

There are also a couple of caveats to this too. If you incurred the debt in another state and he is licensed there he may be able to sue you where you used to live. Also, it is common now for there to be a common network of collection attorneys that refer business to each other. RCAN is a great example of this.

If you do get served you should seek the advice of an attorney immediately. There are time restrictions on how long you have to respond to a lawsuit. If you do not you face a default judgment in the case and another blemish on your credit report.

If you are located in Texas or California, give us a call.