The Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman are proud to announce that the firm is among the top five US law firms for filing consumer protection lawsuits, according to a report by Lex Machina.
The report covers the trends and data on litigation in the following fields:
- Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA)
- Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA)
- Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
- Data Breach
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC)/Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) Enforcement
- Unfair/Deceptive Trade Practices (UDTP)
- Class actions
According to the report, the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman filed 870 consumer protection lawsuits from 2018 to 2020. The cases filed by the firm included TCPA, FCRA, FDCPA, and class action lawsuits. Nationwide, only four other firms handled more consumer protection cases, none of which are based in California.
The report also covered the trends of increases and decreases in different kinds of litigation. For example, the amount of FCRA litigation has tripled over the past decade. According to the report, consumers appear to be monitoring their credit more closely and pursuing questions of FCRA law that have seen different interpretations in various jurisdictions.
While data breach cases have declined overall since 2017, the state of California has seen a significant portion of these claims. California’s landmark Consumer Protection Act has given consumers a limited private right of action that allows consumers to seek statutory damages. These damages may be up to $750 per violation for data breaches that result from a company’s failure to implement reasonable security procedures.
Meanwhile, FDCPA litigation appears to be decreasing slowly. Despite the decline, FDCPA filings remain the most common consumer protection claims overall. This may be because many consumers find litigation is the only effective method of fighting against unscrupulous debt collectors.
Individual TCPA claims are down, but TCPA class action suits have shown a slight increase. This may be correlated to consumer arbitration clause enforcement; class actions lawsuits are less likely to be held to arbitration. As many people as ever are represented in these TCPA class action lawsuits; they are simply working together to fight for their rights. The Lex Machina report also clarifies that TCPA litigation is more likely to come out in the plaintiffs’ favor than any other type of consumer protection claim.
The Lex Machina report also discussed some unique elements of the period covered by the study. In particular, it identified 552 consumer protection cases directly or indirectly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. These cases included claims such as:
- FCRA claims where deferred payments were reported as late on credit reports
- FDCPA cases in which consumers could not repay debts due to the pandemic
- TCPA cases in which telemarketers sent unsolicited calls and texts related to COVID-19 products
The Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman is one of the foremost firms in the nation for fighting cases like these. If you need an expert consumer protection attorney, you can rest assured that the lawyers at the Law Offices of Todd M. Friedman have the experience and resources necessary to pursue your case to the full extent of the law.
