PHILADELPHIA—The Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas is launching a Consumer Credit Card Collection Diversion Pilot Program to move rising credit card debt lawsuits through a faster, court-managed process within the city’s mandatory arbitration system. Law360 reported the plan is intended to fast-track credit card collection suits as consumer debt filings have increased.
Under General Court Regulation No. 2026-01, all consumer credit card debt collection actions against individual defendants will be automatically scheduled for a conciliation conference, while business or commercial credit card cases are excluded. The court said filings have continued to increase, placing a greater burden on judicial resources.
For cases filed on or after June 1, 2026, plaintiffs must identify the matter as a consumer credit card collection case and attach a certification form. Those cases will enter diversion upon filing, no arbitration date will initially be scheduled, and pleading deadlines will be deferred while the case is in the program. Plaintiffs must also serve the certification form, case management order and notice, and counsel must appear with authority to discuss a possible agreement.
The approach mirrors diversion models already used elsewhere in Pennsylvania. Lancaster County’s credit card diversion program, launched in 2022, uses credit counseling and court-supervised conciliation conferences to resolve credit card collection lawsuits, while Philadelphia’s mortgage foreclosure diversion program similarly requires a conciliation conference before judgment.