Rising Debt Cases Reveal Erratic System

The debt-collection caseload has swollen with consumers' increased use of credit cards and has expanded further in the past 18 months on the rise in home foreclosures, unemployment and household costs. While there aren't any recent state statistics on the lawsuits, attorneys and court officials agree they're seeing the surge.

"We are blamed for clogging the courts with cases, yet at the same time we are not receiving the resources that we are paying for," said Robert Markoff, a creditors' attorney in Chicago at Baker, Miller, Markoff & Krasny who argues that the courts are collecting more filing fees, but aren't reinvesting that money in handling the cases.

Creditors' attorneys mainly want statewide court standards for dealing with the cases, making clear what is required in the way of attorney appearances, documentation and proof for reaching a default judgment, which is the most common outcome for such lawsuits.



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