Do Not Just Pay The Money You owe the money and there is nothing you can do, right? To the contrary, in many collection actions the consumer will have significant counterclaims. Filing fees and arbitration requirements may be avoided and federal claims stay in state court. The debt collector may be less willing to dismiss its claims and may prosecute the collection case more aggressively in order to vigorously contest the counterclaim. Courts that hear collection cases may not have judges willing to put in the extra time that counterclaims require. A good example of a collection case that raises numerous potential counterclaims is when the collector is seeking to recover a deficiency after a car repossession and repossession sale. The consumer may have counterclaims under Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 and other state laws relating to the repossession and… Read More
