Indiana Debt Collection Laws: Start Your Engines

Today, February 22, 2013, The National List of Attorneys published the white paper on debt collection law in Indiana, submitted by Michael L. Starzec, Litigation Manager at the law firm of Blitt and Gaines, PC.

As someone familiar with the Indiana state slogan might say,” Blitt and Gaines PC  “started their engines” in 1991. They offer retail and commercial recovery expertise, as well as creditor bankruptcy services throughout Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin. They are devoted to maintaining the highest standards of compliance with their clients’ requirements, as well as to their responsibilities to provide fair and ethical treatment of consumers under federal, state and local regulations. They pride themselves on a philosophy of treating consumers with dignity, so that the potentially adversarial context of litigation is as much a positive customer experience as possible.

Michael attended DePaul College of Law in Chicago, IL. He has been working in the debt collection industry for 16 years. He lives in Grayslake, IL. He is a member of the Indiana and Illinois Creditors Bars. Over 95 percent of his practice of law is dedicated to debt collection. Typical of Indiana’s reputation for speed, “the fast pace of the litigation and the people with whom I work” are what he enjoys most about his job.

Michael Starzec

Something interesting about Indiana debt collection laws that Michael includes in the paper concerns matters where a plaintiff commenced an action which fails for any reason (other than from negligence in the prosecution of an action, death or reversal on appeal). In such cases, a new action may be brought not later than the later of 3 years after the date the action failed, or the last date an action could have been commenced under the statute of limitations governing the original action. At first blush, this statute may seem immediately applicable to the collections field. However, this provision is based on the common law writ known as a Journey’s Account, where the time to re-file suit was computed with reference to the time required by the plaintiff to travel where court was held. You can read more about this antiquated concept and how it was altered in the paper.

Blitt and Gaines has won numerous client awards. One of the Partners, Fred Blitt, was President of the National Association of Retail Collection Attorneys (NARCA) from 2009 – 2011. Fred also writes a column for Collection Advisor that you can find here. The other partner, Jan Gaines, is Fred’s sister.

For over a decade, their office has had a committee dedicated to charity. They have sponsored a company of soldiers stationed in Afghanistan and have twice-annual food drives. They donate clothing to the Buckles and Buckles Christmas Eve coat drive, thousands of dollars in toys for Toys for Tots and school supplies to needy school districts. They also raise funds for individual employee charity events.

Outside of work, Michael enjoys playing with his children Nate, 8, and Lily, 2, and working outside. He has been married to his wife, Evelyn for 15 years in October.

The National List thanks Michael for submitting this paper and for giving us the chance to get to know him a little better. You can access the paper at http://www.nationallist.com/white_papers/indiana.