The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Orlando Division recently ruled that debtors’ FCCPA and TCPA claims did not arise out of and were not related to their mortgage to fall under the jury waiver provisions in the mortgage where the claims arose out of attempts to enforce a debt that was discharged in bankruptcy.

The Court also ruled the debtors sufficiently stated a claim under FCCPA by alleging the creditor received notice of the debtors’ bankruptcy case to constitute actual knowledge the debtors’ were represented by counsel.

Over the past year, bankruptcy filings have increased. We are projecting 768,000 filings by the end of the 2019 year — 61% of the filings as chapter 7, 37% as chapter 13, and 2% as chapter 11 and 12 filings. This is a 2% increase from the prior year. Commercial filings are at 5,542 filings compared to 5,108 in 2018.

Increased Filings in Commercial Sector, Especially Retail, Medical and Transportation

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court has denied a creditor’s motion for sanctions against a law firm in the Middle District of Florida which the creditor alleged engaged in serial filings.