As this LA Times story explains,
In a lawsuit that echoes the worst abuses of the foreclosure crisis,
[California's] top law enforcement official is suing the nation's largest
bank, accusing it of using aggressive and illegal tactics to collect
credit card debt from thousands of California consumers. Atty. Gen. Kamala D. Harris on Thursday accused JP Morgan Chase
& Co. of operating a "debt collection mill" that flooded courts
with more than 100,000 lawsuits to obtain speedy judgments before
consumers could fight back. Much as banks did during the housing crisis,
JPMorgan used so-called robo-signing to churn out documents without
reviewing them, Harris said.
Harris's suit is part of an effort to reform a debt collection industry that consumer advocates claim is just as beset by
robo-signing and other improper practices as was the mortgage industry. The debt collection reform bill mentioned in the LA Times article, SB 233, is slated for a vote in the California Senate this week.
