Bankruptcy

Go Get 'Em, Tiger! Lawyer Sues: Unrelenting Calls on his Overdue Student Loans

By Joseph McDaniel, Esq.

I always like to see somebody going after those folks who make a lot of phone calls.

And student loan lenders are remarkably aggressive in collecting their money.

The ABA Journal recently ran this article:

A Seattle lawyer who says Sallie Mae harassed him with ?unrelenting? automated collection calls is suing for at least $500 in damages for each unwanted contact.

Lawyer Mark Arthur is seeking class action status for the suit, filed in federal district court in Seattle, according to the Puget Sound Business Journal. The alleged calls to his cell phone were made after Arthur fell behind on loans for his education at the Seattle University School of Law.

Arthur claims the calls made on behalf of the SLM Corp., also known as Sallie Mae, violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The suit (PDF posted by the Puget Sound Business Journal) estimates the number of potential class members to be in the tens of thousands. The action seeks damages of $500 for each unwanted call, trebled to $1,500 because the alleged violations were knowing and willful.

?Sallie Mae harassed me with dozens of unwanted calls on my cell phone, including calls that woke me up at all hours of the night and often within hours of each other,? Arthur said in a statement published by the Business Journal. ?These unrelenting calls unfortunately corresponded with a time in my life that required great attention to family issues.?

NOTHING HERE CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE RE A CHAPTER 7, CHAPTER 13, CHAPTER 11, OR CHAPTER 12. FIND AN ARIZONA BANKRUPTCY LAWYER WHO IS BOARD CERTIFIED IN BANKRUPTCY LAW, AV RATED, AVVO 10 RATED, ON SUPERLAWYERS, OR JUST VERY EXPERIENCED AND A FORMER CHAIR OF SOME BANKRUPTCY SECTION OR COMMITTEE. NOTHING HERE MAY BE USED AS LEGAL ADVICE IN CONNECTION WITH ANY BANKRUPTCY, WHETHER THAT BANKRUPTCY IS IN PHOENIX, GLENDALE, TEMPE, MESA, SCOTTSDALE, OR ANYWHERE ELSE.

Full post as published by Arizona Bankruptcy Attorney Blog on February 05, 2010 (boomark / email).