Sykes v. Mel Harris and Associates, LLC

OPINION

CHIN, Circuit Judge:

In this case, eight plaintiffs allege that a debt-buying company, a law firm, a process service company, and others engaged in a “massive scheme” to fraudulently obtain default judgments against them and more than 100,000 other consumers in state court. Plaintiffs allege that defendants did so by engaging in “sewer service” — the practice of failing to serve a summons and complaint and then filing a fraudulent affidavit attesting to service. When the debtors failed to appear in court because they did not have notice of the lawsuits, defendants obtained default…