Civil Litigation Isn't Worth the Time Today: How the Economy Has Taken a Toll on Court Rooms Across the US

Written by Allison Sima and John Whyte

September 26, 2011

When it comes to the ever popular subject of the current economy, the question is: Is there a light at the end of the tunnel? Optimism dwindles more and more, every single day, if not every hour. Where is the silver lining?

The odds are stacked against corporate America when it comes to collecting past due accounts.

The biggest obstacle is litigation, which moves at a snail’s pace, at best.

Consider this - due to the bad economy, more suits are being filed which has created a back log. Add to this the financial crunch state governments are facing today. There are many more cases, but there are no additional funds to hire more courthouse employees to handle the increased case loads.

The cost of litigation to the government is significant. Due to overwhelming complaints, some states have raised suit fees. Jim Cramer, CNBC host of Mad Money, often states that the cost of civil litigation in the US is 2% of the GNP (Gross National Product), annually.

Court calendars are filling up quickly and court dates are extending out. Because of the back log, courts are requiring mediation and settlement conferences before a trial date can be set.

One California attorney commented on litigation in state of California: recently, in the last round of the state’s budget cuts, the CA legislature reduced a large portion of the court’s operating budget. Next quarter, the city of San Francisco is predicting it will be close to 5 years to get a civil case to trial. Other California jurisdictions are not so ‘crunched’, but trial is taking time……..Valuable time.

Across the country, once you do get to trial, it is taking anywhere from three to five months to obtain a certified copy of the judgment, in most venues, due to the back log. In New York and New Jersey, which are busier states, it can take six months to one year based on what our company, Brown & Joseph, Ltd. is witnessing.

The plaintiff must have the copy of the certified judgment to begin collection efforts on the court order.

Instead of accepting this bad news and asking when will things get better, ask how do you defend your company and your company’s assets? Now is the time to get educated and fight back!

Understanding today’s obstacles and trends when it comes to recouping delinquent accounts is essential to survival.

Don’t pay up front court costs, wait for trial dates, hope for judgments, only to wait for the certified copy of the judgment then attempt to satisfy the judgment. Consider our innovative solution that has no upfront fees and produces faster results. Use our debt collection contingency fee law firm. Our statistics show that a debt collection law firm will increase recoveries over a debt collection agency by 20-25%, or for some clients, even 35-45%.

The Brown & Joseph debt collection law firm works with customers to obtain payments without going to trial. You only pay a fee when our law firm collects.

For more information, contact us today.