Among other political connections, Salt Lake County Republican Party Chairman James Evans, who is a former state senator from Rose Park, owns several payday loan businesses.

Also, several state officials and regulators have defended the industry. For example, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff has said some national studies have shown that when payday loans are banned, the poor turn to even more expensive options such as bouncing checks — and are more likely to face foreclosures or repossessions.

Shurtleff added that regulators have reported few complaints from payday loan customers themselves, so the loans likely create few problems, and customers receive what they expect.

But Peterson said the high numbers and percentages of payday lender cases among small claims "put the lie to the claim." He said, "If 27,000 cases are filed, it means thousands of families are struggling. ... I feel people don't complain because they don't feel there is an advocate in the state that will take on payday lenders in their behalf."

Laura Pollacheck, a payday loan critic and associate advocacy director for AARP-Utah, added the number of claims "is just an outrageous figure." She added, "To have 50 percent of small claims cases from payday lenders means they can't say there is nothing wrong with the design of this product."

Of note, the state has 447 payday loan stores registered, which is more than the number of 7-Elevens, McDonald's, Burger Kings and Wendy's in Utah — combined.

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E-mail: lee@desnews.com