Company Overview of Worldwide Asset Purchasing, LLC

Class-action lawsuit against several collection agencies will have their debts erased and lawsuits against them dropped, according to terms of a settlement. The defendants include a group of collection agencies - Worldwide Asset Purchasing LLC, Worldwide Asset Purchasing II, West Receivable Services Inc. and West Corp. The four collection agencies were pursuing debts that were often beyond the statute of limitations or were previously discharged in bankruptcy. The plaintiffs alleged that the agencies disclosed personal information of consumers, including Social Security numbers. The class, represented by Maryland residents Wilson C. Winemiller Jr., Warren P. Adams and Mickey S. Slaghter, also will receive $575,000 to be distributed among the 3,195 class members, defined as residents of the state sued by the defendants between September 22, 2006 and September 22, 2009. As class representatives, Winemiller will receive $10,000 and Adams and Slaghter each will receive $7,500. After attorneys' fees and other costs of $231,970 are taken out of the fund, the rest will be distributed to the other class members who file claim forms. Class members will receive no more than $500 each, according to the settlement. Judge Richard D. Bennett's final order includes: eliminating each class member's debt, dropping all lawsuits against them with prejudice, satisfying all judgments and releasing judgment liens. The debts also will be removed from the members' credit scores.