Consumer Litigation

For the last ten years, the firm (principally Sarah Siskind) has also represented individual consumers and organizational plaintiffs in class action lawsuits challenging predatory lending practices. These include a series of deceptive practices actions brought in Illinois, California and Massachusetts against Household Finance Corporation, and recently consolidated in In re Household Lending Litigation, Case No. C-02-1240 and Related Cases, N.D. Ca.) and settled for $152 million in benefits and future practice change relief; and two lawsuits (brought in Wisconsin and Pennsylvania) against Rent-A-Center, Inc. and settled in 1999 for a total of $25 million. Ms. Siskind currently represents ACORN (Association of community Organizations for Reform Now) and individual plaintiffs in three deceptive practices actions against Wells Fargo Financial, Inc. in state court class actions pending in California (ACORN v. Wells Fargo and Cortazar v. Wells Fargo) and Illinois (Taylor v. Wells Fargo).