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VanderKodde Debt Collection Interest Rate Settlement

Last verified July 13, 2026Source: claimdepotHow ClaimWatch verifies cases

Closed to new claims. Browse open settlements →

Where this case stands

Final approval granted April 13, 2026

Claims closed. Once the time to appeal has run, the administrator pays valid claims; that usually takes three to twelve months after approval.

Before Judge Paul L. Maloney, United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan (No. 1:17-cv-203).

  1. March 3, 2017
    Case filed
  2. January 24, 2019
    Case closed by the court
  3. November 3, 2025
    Preliminary approval

    The court allowed notice of the proposed settlement to go out to the class.

  4. April 13, 2026
    Final approval hearing

    The court hears any objections and decides whether to approve the settlement.

  5. April 13, 2026
    Final approval granted

What happened

The defendants allegedly violated federal and Michigan state law by applying unlawfully high interest rates to debt collection judgments. The defendants deny any wrongdoing. The lawsuit alleges that Mary Jane M. Elliott, P.C. collected judgment balances from debtors by communicating amounts that included interest rates exceeding those allowed by Michigan law.

Do you qualify?

The settlement includes two classes: (1) individuals against whom a money judgment was entered by a Michigan court in favor of Midland Funding, LLC for a debt incurred for personal, family, or household purposes (not on a written instrument or promissory note), and from whom Mary Jane M. Elliott, P.C. collected using unlawfully high interest rates from April 11, 2011 onward; and (2) individuals against whom a similar judgment was entered in favor of LVNV Funding, LLC with the same characteristics.

How to file

To claim benefits, you may do nothing and stay in the class to automatically share in the settlement if approved by the Court. Alternatively, you may submit a claim through the settlement website at vanderkoddeclassaction.com. Specific deadlines for claim submission will be determined after the Court approves the settlement on or about April 13, 2026.

Common questions

What is the status of the VanderKodde Debt Collection Interest Rate Settlement?
Final approval granted April 13, 2026. Claims closed. Once the time to appeal has run, the administrator pays valid claims; that usually takes three to twelve months after approval.
Is the VanderKodde Debt Collection Interest Rate Settlement notice real, or a scam?
Claims are filed only at vanderkoddeclassaction.com. Filing is always free, and no administrator asks for payment or a full Social Security number by email or text.How to tell a real settlement notice from a scam →
Who are the attorneys in the VanderKodde Debt Collection Interest Rate Settlement?
For the plaintiffs: Theodore J. Westbrook (Westbrook Law PLLC); Phillip C. Rogers (Phillip C. Rogers, Attorney at Law); Kevin James Rogers (Secrest Wardle (GR)). For Mary Jane M. Elliott, P.C.; Midland Funding, LLC; Midland Credit Management, Inc.; Encore Capital Group, Inc.; LVNV Funding, LLC: Andrew P. Hussey (Dykema Gossett PLLC (Lansing)); Kyle M. Asher (Dykema Gossett PLLC (Lansing)); Jeffrey Robert Hicks (Collins Einhorn Farrell PC); Michael James Cook (Collins Einhorn Farrell PC). From the public court docket.

Who's involved

Plaintiffs

  • Ritchie Swagerty
  • Anita Beckley
  • Ruby Robinson
  • Susan Buck
  • Daniel VanderKodde

Defendants

  • Encore Capital Group, Inc.
  • Midland Credit Management, Inc.
  • Midland Funding LLC
  • Berndt & Associates, P.C.
  • LVNV Funding LLC
  • Mary Jane M. Elliott, P.C.

Counsel for plaintiffs

Counsel for defendants

Other cases these firms appear in

From the public court docket, contact details as filed; not an endorsement.

Guides:Why is my settlement check so small?How long a settlement takes to pay outIs this settlement notice real, or a scam?

Summarised from public settlement documents; confirm terms on the official settlement website. ClaimWatch is not a law firm, and filing a claim is free.

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