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Yahoo Finance just ran a story “Dave Ramsey tells homeless, unemployed Ohio man with $14K debt there’s no point declaring bankruptcy.” I just had to read it and give my reaction. A Mr. Toby gave Mr. Ramsey a call. Toby is homeless, unemployed and saddled with $14,000 in debt of which nearly half is a…

Now, if or when the are-text-messages-calls-under-the-tcpa hits the Supreme Court, all bets are off on how that political body will rule. But in the land of facts and reason, district courts are wrestling with the problem. The latest court is Mujahid v. Newity, LLC, No. 25 C 8012, 2025 LX 517816 (N.D. Ill. Nov. 10,…

Have you been blind sided by a default judgment because you didn’t file an Answer? Maybe your wages are being garnished and it’s the first you’ve heard of the lawsuit. Sometimes debt collection lawsuits are for low enough amounts that it doesn’t make sense to hire an attorney to deal with them. This is a…

TCPA defendants love accusing TCPA plaintiffs of manufacturing the claim. Usually there is little downside to doing so, but one judge apparently decided to cut to the chase. The case is ZELMA v. RAM et al in the District of New Jersey, case #2:25-cv-15701-EP-JS. The defendants removed the case from state court, then wrote a…

If you are litigating a telephone consumer protection act, fair debt collection practices act, or fair credit reporting act lawsuit, you probably are no stranger to receiving 20-30 boiler plate affirmative defenses. Western District of Washington federal judge David G. Estudillo just handed you a great opinion on how to either get them struck, or…

TCPA plaintiffs George Moore and Robert Hossfeld are back in the saddle doing god’s work – unraveling the complex relationship the big insurance companies have with telemarketers to benefit from illegal calls while hiding their responsibility in initiating them. The case is Moore v. Farmers Grp., Inc., No. 23-cv-16587, 2025 LX 420508 (N.D. Ill. Oct….

This is another article looking at testimony telemarketer Joe Delfgauw gave where he explains how telemarketing works. Click here for the article on the role statistics play in deciding if an individual opt in is fraudulent or not. Click here for the article on how most unwanted telemarketing calls could be stopped for a single…

A few weeks ago I blogged about how debt collectors often violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act because courts don’t care if illegal collection practices cost you worry and wasted time if you can’t show “damages” they do care about. I gave a list of actions you might take to demonstrate the “concrete” damages…

I’ve posted several articles on the topic of avoiding arbitration when litigating over a fraudulent opt here and here. However not every solicitation is illegal. For example in many cases companies you do business with are exempted from solicitation call regulations for 3 or 18 months because of the business relationship, or until canceled by…

A theme I see with some pro-se plaintiffs is constantly asking for sanctions. Because sometimes I consult with them on their cases maybe I am more sensitive to it, but it drives me a little crazy when I see a pro-se see anything from a small mistake from the other side, to a strategic choice…

The Fair Credit Reporting Act does not require that the furnishers of credit information and the credit reporting agencies themselves report anything, but it does require that the information they do report be accurate. To that end the FCRA allows consumers to dispute inaccurate information. But what duty do the credit reporting agencies have to…

The Fair Debt Collection Practices act is intended to prevent deceptive or abusive collection practices. In theory debt collectors who violate the FDCPA are subject to a $1,000 penalty to discourage dishonest debt collection practices. However the courts are generally anti-consumer and this case will demonstrate why a debt collector breaks the law in demanding…