A federal judge has granted class certification in an action against a debt collection company over its business practices, and denied the company’s request to arbitrate the issue because that request came two years into the litigation.

U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, sitting in Newark, granted class status to what her ruling said currently amounts to 1,876 members in New Jersey alone, and said the defendant, GC Services Limited Partnership, has not demonstrated that arbitration was the preferred forum for settling the disputes.