Debt-collection law firm to pay $3.4M to settle class action
A debt-collection law firm in Texas will pay $3.4 million to settle accusations it practiced law in California without having any lawyers there, according to a settlement approved by a federal judge on Jan. 8.
The Austin-based law firm Linebarger Goggan Blair & Sampson agreed to pay $2 million to class members and $1.4 million for attorney fees, expenses and a possible cy pres award, Texas Lawyer reports. The law firm collects debts on behalf of governmental entities.
The class action was filed by a company that paid $90 to the city of San Francisco after receiving two demand letters from the law firm. According to the amended complaint, Linebarger Goggan had no lawyers in California until September 2013, and that lawyer wasn’t properly supervised.
