What Is a Class Action Suit?
Recently there has been a lot of news involving portfolio recovery and lawsuits. One case in point involves a woman who purchased her own mortgage from a junk-mailer in order to finance a house she was going to purchase. The house was never transferred to her, and she did not authorize its transfer. This is one case in which it may be possible for an injured person to file a successful complaint against the entity whose property it is.
Portfolio Recovery Class Action Lawsuit
Plaintiffs in a class action or collective litigation lawsuit must first file a complaint in a court of law before they can proceed with the underlying discovery process. Once the complaint has been filed, discovery is the time in which plaintiffs are allowed to question witnesses and obtain documents related to their case. Discovery is often a time-consuming process, but class action and collective litigation cases are known to drag on for months or even years. If discovery is not carefully handled by the defendant’s attorney, plaintiffs can easily rack up substantial court fees and have very little to show for their efforts. If discovery is handled properly, and a class action or collective litigation is brought against a corporation, individual, or collection agency, the court may order financial or other restitution for the victims of the defendant’s behavior.
When a settlement is reached, and either party is satisfied with the terms of the agreement, then the case is concluded and the defendant either pays the victim a settlement amount, or agrees to undertake measures to mitigate the harm to the victim suffered.
If the defendant agrees to make any monetary payments, the case will be settled without the need for a trial. Such settlements are called ‘admonitions of settlement.’ In many states, a collection agency is required to reimburse the victims for their losses if they are not paid by the defendant. This is often referred to as a ‘frivolous demand of assignment of liability.’
A portfolio recovery case occurs when a firm chooses to pursue litigation to recover monies that are owed to it.
If the case proceeds to trial, the plaintiff (the person filing the lawsuit) would be required to establish its claim, and introduce witnesses to testify about the value of the property involved in the case. It would also be necessary to provide the defendant with discovery relevant to its defense. The role of the recovery attorney becomes important at this point.
The recovery attorney will draft a discovery strategy and perform all sorts of discovery to determine whether or not its client’s complaint has a realistic chance of success.
The case law of the relevant jurisdiction is also important to the recovery attorney. The defendant’s own legal defenses may have been challenged by the discovery. If the defendant fails to mount a proper defense, the plaintiff may be required to conduct discovery even though it is not yet required by law.
A portfolio recovery class action lawsuit occurs only in cases where there is some likelihood that money can be recovered.
The probability of such a recovery usually turns up during the course of the litigation. During the litigation, the plaintiff’s claims and defenses are discussed at length with the help of legal counsel. Finally, at the end of the case, if the plaintiff is satisfied with the result, the case is concluded and the plaintiffs are awarded their judgment as a result of their winnings. This outcome is contingent upon the final outcome of the case. If, for example, a class action settlement develops and is agreed upon by the members of the class, there is a likelihood that a court award will be made.
