What’s a Judicial District in Virginia for FDCPA Purposes

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Tue, 12/26/2023 - 15:41
Description: 

The FDCPA requires that a debt collector sue you in the right judicial district.
Virginia is divided into Judicial Districts. You can see that map here.
In Northern Virginia, most district are one county. But Loudoun and Fauquier share one district. Stafford is in with Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania. So if you live in Stafford, they can sue you in Spotsy. And if you live in Fauquier, they can sue you in Loudoun. Right?
That’s what we thought.
But the Seventh Circuit just came down with a new rule for FDCPA Venue.
They said basically if there’s a separate courthouse in each county, then they have to sue you in the right county.
Now the Seventh Circuit is over in the mid-west. The Fourth circuit are the judges that oversee the courts in Virginia. So this Seventh Circuit rule does not necessarily apply here. But it might.
I hate it when debt collectors do illegal stuff to my bankruptcy clients. And I sue them when I can.
So I’m keeping an eye on whether other judges agree with the Seventh Circuit on this.