The California Assembly recently passed legislation creating significant new consumer protections against unfair debt collection practices.

A blog post here last month discussed the growing wave of lawsuits by lenders for the balance of mortgage loans left over from foreclosures (and in some cases short sales), known legally as lawsuits for the recovery of "deficiencies."

A blog post here last month discussed the growing wave of lawsuits by lenders for the balance of mortgage loans left over from foreclosures (and in some cases short sales), known legally as lawsuits for the recovery of "deficiencies."

By John Clark
Jefferson County, Alabama, which became the largest municipality to file for bankruptcy in U.S. history, has filed a plan to cut $1.2 billion in debt, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
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And if the bankruptcy plan is approved by a judge, sources expect Jefferson County to exit bankruptcy and continue on its path to financial health within a matter of weeks.

The most common form of debt in the United States is credit card debt.  There are millions in circulation by a number of creditors with Chase bank alone having more than 100 million in 2008.  While most people feel it is not a big deal to have credit card debt, some who find themselves in [...]

In the last couple of weeks, I wrote about how certain debt buyers, like Midland Funding LLC, buy debt from creditors in bulk and then prey on debtors for money even if they cannot prove their case at trial.

The California General Assembly on July 1, 2013 passed the Fair Debt Buying Practices Act by a unanimous vote, ushering in a new set of protections for consumers dealing with debt collectors.
The bill, which becomes effective as of January 1, 2014, will require debt buyers to have in their possession a significant amount of account information before debt collection efforts can begin.

Written by: Robert DeMarco
In the Beginning – Code of Hammurabi
The concept of debt relief, in a very general way, is traceable to the Code of Hammurabi (c. 1795 – 1750 B.C.). King Hammurabi united all of Mesopotamia and ruled for forty-three years in Babylon. The Code of Hammurabi is one of the best preserved legal documents and fairly reflects the social structure of Babylon during Hammurabi’s rule. The Code contains two hundred eighty-two laws.

Written by: Robert DeMarco
In the Beginning – Code of Hammurabi
The concept of debt relief, in a very general way, is traceable to the Code of Hammurabi (c. 1795 – 1750 B.C.). King Hammurabi united all of Mesopotamia and ruled for forty-three years in Babylon. The Code of Hammurabi is one of the best preserved legal documents and fairly reflects the social structure of Babylon during Hammurabi’s rule. The Code contains two hundred eighty-two laws.