ASSEMBLY REGULATED PROFESSIONS COMMITTEE

STATEMENT TO

ASSEMBLY, No. 5618

with committee amendments

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

DATED:  MAY 15, 2025

      The Assembly Regulated Professions Committee reports favorably and with committee amendments Assembly Bill No. 5618.

     As amended, this bill requires the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) to collect and publish certain statistical information about civil consumer debt collection lawsuits in an annual report to the Governor and the Legislature.  The statistics include:

     (1) number of new consumer debt lawsuits filed, including the number filed in the Law Division, the Special Civil Part, and the Small Claims Section of the Special Civil Part;

     (2) number of consumer debt lawsuits currently pending for three months or more;

     (3) number of consumer debt lawsuits where the defendant is represented by an attorney;

     (4) number of consumer debt lawsuit judgments granted, including the number of default judgments;

     (5) number of consumer debt lawsuit dispositions other than the granting of a judgment; and

     (6)   any other statistics concerning consumer debt lawsuits that the Administrative Director of the Courts deems appropriate.

     Currently, the AOC publishes monthly civil case statistics on the Judiciary’s website.  While the statistics are broken down by certain case types, such as personal injury, landlord/tenant, and insurance, these statistics do not differentiate consumer debt collection cases.  This bill implements Benchmarks 23 and 24 by the National Center for Access to Justice (NCAJ) at Fordham University School of Law, in its March 2024 report, “The Consumer Debt Litigation Index.”  According to the NCAJ, a basic understanding of the consumer debt litigation landscape through statistical reporting is required for court personnel, lawmakers, advocates, and communities to understand the scope of the problems in consumer debt claims litigation, and to solve or ameliorate these problems.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS:

      The committee amended the bill to remove the requirement to consult with the Division of Consumer Affairs and to change the effective date.