Kimball, Tirey & St. John: Who They Are and Your Rights

Type

Collection law firm

Also known as

Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP; KTS

Collects

landlord and property-management debts, judgments for landlords

Phone numbers it lists

(800) 338-6039, (800) 564-6611, (800) 577-4587, (800) 525-1690, (844) 239-7948

Website

kts-law.com

650 debt collection complaints were sent to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP from November 13, 2023 to November 12, 2026. A complaint is a consumer's account, not a finding that the company broke the law. Read the complaints in the CFPB database.

Who Is Kimball, Tirey & St. John?

Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP (KTS) is a California law firm focused on real estate, landlord-tenant and fair housing law. The firm says many of its attorneys are property managers themselves, and it offers seminars, educational materials and a residential lease form for the rental-housing industry. Its contact page lists offices in San Diego, Irvine, Los Angeles, Concord (Bay Area), Elk Grove (Sacramento) and Fresno.

Alongside eviction work, KTS runs a "Collection Division" that handles debt collection, bankruptcy and secured-creditor work for its clients.

Why Kimball, Tirey & St. John May Be Contacting You

KTS's clients are property owners and managers. Its collection page says it handles both "judgment and non-judgment" accounts, collects "no matter where your property is located," and has contacts in all 50 states for cases where "the debtor leaves California." It also offers owners a guide to the eviction and collection process.

So a KTS letter or call usually concerns money a California landlord says you owe: rent left unpaid when a tenancy ended, charges assessed after move-out, or a money judgment entered in an eviction or collection case. If the amount comes from a judgment, the firm's page says it uses formal legal procedures to enforce it.

The phone numbers on the firm's contact page are its office lines. The page directs prospective clients to them; use the number on your letter for questions about a specific account.

How to Check a Debt Kimball, Tirey & St. John Says You Owe

Start by finding out whether there is already a judgment, because that changes what you can still challenge.

• Ask whether a court case exists. If KTS says there is a judgment, ask for the case number and court, then look up the file yourself. If you were never served, talk to a lawyer promptly about whether the judgment can be set aside.
• If there is no judgment, request validation. The notice must name the landlord or owner and itemize the balance from an itemization date (15 U.S.C. § 1692g; 12 C.F.R. § 1006.34). Dispute in writing within the validation period to make the firm pause and send verification.
• Ask for the lease and move-out records. Request the lease, the tenant ledger, the move-out inspection and the security deposit itemization, and check that your deposit was credited.
• Mind the time limits. A judgment is enforced on its own timetable. For a debt with no judgment, Texas generally allows four years to sue (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 16.004) and bars debt buyers from suing on time-barred consumer debt (Tex. Fin. Code § 392.307), but a California lease may be governed by California's limitation periods, which are different.

What Kimball, Tirey & St. John Can and Can't Do

KTS's website stresses that it is "a law firm, not a collection agency." Under the FDCPA, that label does not settle the question: the Supreme Court held in Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995), that lawyers who regularly collect consumer debts, including through litigation, are "debt collectors" (15 U.S.C. § 1692a(6)). Rent on a home is a consumer debt. When the FDCPA applies:

• The firm may not misstate the amount owed or add charges the lease or judgment does not authorize (15 U.S.C. §§ 1692e(2), 1692f(1)).
• It may not contact your new landlord, employer or family about the debt except to locate you (15 U.S.C. §§ 1692b, 1692c(b)).
• It may not call more than seven times in seven days about one debt (12 C.F.R. § 1006.14(b)(2)).
• If you now live in Texas, a California judgment generally must be filed in a Texas court before it can be enforced here (Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code ch. 35), and Texas exemptions apply, including the ban on wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debts (Tex. Const. art. XVI, § 28).

If a collection crossed these lines, see our Texas FDCPA attorneys page.

We Sue Debt Collectors That Break the FDCPA

Texas Debt Law files Fair Debt Collection Practices Act lawsuits against debt collectors in federal court for consumers in Texas, California, Illinois, Georgia and Colorado. If Kimball, Tirey & St. John or anyone collecting for it harassed you, misstated what you owe, threatened action it could not take, or told others about your debt, you may have a claim. A court can order a collector that violated the FDCPA to pay your actual damages, up to $1,000 in additional statutory damages, and your attorney's fees and costs (15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a)). An FDCPA claim generally must be filed within one year of the violation (§ 1692k(d)), so keep your letters, call logs, voicemails and screenshots, and talk to us early. Texas residents may also have claims under the Texas Debt Collection Act. Learn more from our FDCPA attorneys.

Free FDCPA Case Review(214) 851-2250

Or start your free case evaluation online. No lawyer can promise a result; every claim depends on its facts and proof.

Sources

• Kimball, Tirey & St. John: About
• Kimball, Tirey & St. John: Collection Division
• Kimball, Tirey & St. John: Contact (office locations and phone numbers)
• Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995) (Cornell LII)
• CFPB enforcement actions search
• CFPB Consumer Complaint Database: Kimball, Tirey & St. John LLP, debt collection

This profile is general information compiled from public sources, not legal advice, and it does not state or imply that Kimball, Tirey & St. John has violated any law. Company details change; tell us if something here is out of date.