Page 22 - Sharp-Hundley 2012

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••
“Respondents in Discovery” Article Available…

An article by Sharp Thinking editor John Hundley exploring the intricacies of Illinois’ Respondents in Discovery Statute
(735 ILCS 5/2-402) has been published by the SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY LAW JOURNAL.

Respondents in Discovery: A Beneficent Statute With Traps for the Unwary, 36 S.I.U.L.J. 335 (2012), provides both a
thorough history of the legislative development of the statute and a comprehensive survey of case decisions in a variety of
areas, including: the nature of the statute, the procedures for invoking it, statute of limitations issues, issues that arise in
attempting to extend its six-month deadline for converting respondents to defendants, issues that arise in actually
attempting to convert respondents into defendants, issues that arise when attempting to discard use of the statute after it
has been invoked, the applicability of the statute in federal cases, and matters of appellate review.

If you would like a copy of the article, email Brenda@lotsharp.com.
••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

► failing to disclose the name under which the collector is engaging in debt collection and which he or
she is legally authorized to use;

► using a form of communication which simulates legal or judicial process or which gives the
appearance of being authorized, issued or approved by a government agency or attorney when it is not;

► unauthorized use of a badge, uniform, or other indicia of a government agency;

► conducting business under a name or in a manner which falsely suggests that a collector is bonded
or is affiliated with any government agency or court if such collector is not;

► failing to disclose, when demanding payment, the name of the person to whom the claim is owed
and, at the request of the debtor, the address where payment is to be made and the address of the
person to whom the claim is owed;

► misrepresenting the amount of the debt; representing that a debt may be increased by attorney or
other fees or charges when such fees or charges may not legally be added;

► representing that the collector is an attorney or an agent for an attorney if he is not;

► attempting to collect interest or other charge or fee in excess of the actual debt unless authorized;

► communicating with a debtor when the collector is informed in writing that an attorney represents
the debtor, unless the attorney authorizes the communication or is unresponsive;

► engaging in dishonorable, unethical or unprofessional conduct of a character likely to deceive,
defraud or harm the public; and

► merely threatening many of the foregoing.

Identity Theft Provisions. The act contains significant provisions limiting collectors’ activities in
cases of identity theft. § 9.4. Upon receipt of specified documentation (which is fairly detailed), the
collector must make a good-faith determination whether the specific debt in question is the result of
identity theft. If the collector determines that all the information available to it establishes that the specific
debt is not the result of identity theft, the collector may recommence collection activity. If it decides not to
recommence activity, but has previously provided adverse information to a credit reporting agency, it is
obligated to correct that information.

John\SharpThinking\#66.doc

●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●●
THE SHARP LAW FIRM, P.C.

1115 Harrison, P.O. Box 906, Mt. Vernon, IL 62864 • Telephone 618-242-0246 • Facsimile 618-242-1170

Business Transactions • Litigation • Financial Law • Problem Finances • Real Estate • Corporate • Commercial Disputes • Creditors’ Rights •
Arbitration • Employment Matters • Estate Planning • Probate

Terry Sharp: Tsharp@lotsharp.com; John T. Hundley: Jhundley@lotsharp.com; Bentley J. Bender: Bbender@lotsharp.com.

Advertising Material