Wisconsin Legislature Passes Bill Easing Lawsuit Filing Requirements

Debt buyers and collectors will need to provide less information when filing lawsuits against defaulted debtors, if Scott Walker, the governor of Wisconsin signs a bill on his desk.

Both sides of the debate are ratcheting up the rhetoric, talking about how necessary the bill is and how much damage it will do.

“It is going to be bad, a quicker path to a default judgment the consumer may not even know about,” said Sarah Orr, an assistant professor and director of the Consumer Law Clinic at the UW-Madison Law School.

… said James Johannes, banking and finance expert and professor at the UW School of Business: “This bill is good for all consumers except those who would use loopholes to escape paying their debts, and rewards responsible borrowers by lowering their cost of credit.”

This is the second time that this legislation has been introduced. In 2014, the state banking department took a stand against the legislation; this time it did not do so.

Click here to read a copy of the bill.