Debtor Sues Opposing Law Firm for Filing in Wrong Court
By filing suit in the wrong location, a Chicago law firm violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, a downstate Illinois man contends.
Friedman and Wexler filed suit in Cook County, where the law firm is located, rather than Madison County, where plaintiff Robert Harris and the company to which he owed money were located. Hence, Harris is seeking actual and statutory damages, costs and attorney fees provided for by the FDCPA in his federal court action, reports the Madison Record.
The federal statute requires a debt collector to file suit “in the judicial district where the contract at issue was signed or where the consumer resides at the commencement of the lawsuit,” the complaint states.
Harris also is alleging other violations of the FDCPA by the law firm, which he claims didn’t give him credit for payments made, or recognize the existence of a payment plan.
