In response to requests from state court policymakers for guidance, the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) and IAALS, the Institute for the Advancement of the American Legal System, published a briefing paper titled, Preventing Whack-a-Mole Management of Consumer Debt Cases.  The paper describes problems associated with consumer debt collection cases and the impact of promising reforms implemented in New York State and elsewhere.  It then proposes that such reforms be expanded to apply to all types of consumer debt collection cases and to prevent problems at each stage of litigation, including post-judgment proceedings.  It is one of several briefing papers, self-assessment tools, and other resources developed under a grant from the State Justice Institute (SJI) (SJI-P-16-231) to implement civil justice reforms endorsed by the Conference of Chief Justices and the Conference of State Court Administrators.

Americans are drowning in debt – an estimated $4 trillion or roughly $13,000 for every man, woman, and child in the United States – large numbers of whom struggle to repay their debts, especially debts incurred to cover routine living expenses, emergency situations, and out-of-pocket medical costs.  Many then find themselves as defendants in consumer debt collection cases filed in state courts.  These cases pose tremendous challenges to state courts due not only to their high volume, but also the distinctive characteristics of defendants, who are overwhelmingly unrepresented, often intimidated by court procedures, and uninformed about their substantive rights or how to assert themselves court.  State and local courts rarely have sufficient resources and expertise to carefully scrutinize claims, and identify and correct errors, before a judgment is entered or post-judgment enforcement proceedings begin.

Over the past decade, state courts have identified key points in the litigation process where problems are likely to occur in consumer debt collection litigation and have begun to take steps to address those problems.  But these solutions have been implemented on a piecemeal basis that focus on discrete types of consumer debt, the litigation posture of the case (contested or uncontested), the stage of litigation, or the court in which the case was filed.  Although preliminary research on these solutions suggests that they can be highly effective, their impact has been limited due to the small number of courts that have implemented reforms, and the limits of the reforms themselves.

The briefing paper and other materials are available at www.ncsc.org/civil.