Some of our clients come to us after they have first tried fighting against a debt collection lawsuit on their own.  Someone representing themselves is known as “pro se” or “in propria persona” from older Latin phrases.  Sometimes they knew the credit card debt or other debt was not theirs, and felt they could convince the debt collector to dismiss their lawsuit.  Unfortunately, this rarely works, because many debt collection lawyers simply assume you are not telling the truth and are trying to avoid a judgment.

Sometimes our clients read something on the internet to educate themselves on how to defend a credit card lawsuit.  This, too, almost never works.  Much of the information on the internet does not address Florida laws on debt collection lawsuits.  Other times, the defenses listed on such websites are simply not valid legal defenses.  In those instances where the information is correct, the defenses must be asserted at the right time and in the right form, or they are invalid.  There is nothing worse than knowing you are “right” and still losing the lawsuit.

Sometimes our clients tried to engage in “discovery” themselves to obtain enough documents to help them win their case.  Unfortunately, this is more difficult than it sounds, since the debt collection law firms are very experienced and know how to stall or thwart discovery altogether.  They will cite statutes, court rules and various Florida legal cases in objecting to your requests and generally obstructing discovery.  Then, if you want to enforce your rights, you have to file the appropriate motion with the Court, cite the relevant legal authorities, schedule a hearing, and attend the oral argument in Court.  This can prove a daunting task for many people representing themselves.

Sometimes our clients tried defending themselves until they were faced with a Motion for Summary Judgment, a Motion for Summary Disposition, or a similar motion.  These motions can have dramatic consequences, and can cause you to lose your lawsuit without a trial.  Also, if you are proceeding under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure, there are very detailed procedural requirements for how and when you must respond.  Even if you have a complete legal defense, if you fail to assert it at the right time and in the proper form, you can still lose the entire lawsuit and have a judgment entered against you.

If you find yourself feeling overwhelmed due to one of these situations, please don’t hesitate to call us.  We have managed to get such lawsuits back on the right track, even when we were retained very late in the litigation.  In fact, we have accepted such cases right up until just before trial, and still managed to beat the debt collectors.  Of course, we don’t recommend that you wait so long; the longer you wait, the more likely it is that you will have waived certain defenses and limited your strategic options.  If you initially tried defending the lawsuit yourself, but now realize you need the help of an experienced and dedicated consumer protection lawyer, please call us for a free consultation.  Or, if it’s easier, simply contact us through our convenient web contact form.  Either way, we can still advise you of your rights and your options.

Our client had been sued by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. in County Court  here in Central Florida to recover on two separate claims from a Cash on Demand Account and a Credit Card Account.  The lawyer for Wells Fargo Bank (formerly known as Wells Fargo Financial Bank) was Enrico Gonzalez from the Temple Terrace, Florida debt collection law firm of Enrico Gonzalez, P.A.

Our client had initially filed a response to the lawsuit herself.  Once we were retained, however, we filed an amended response and asserted several additional defenses that had not previously been filed.  The amendment also allowed us the right to a jury trial, an important right in many credit card cases.

At the same time, we aggressively pursued discovery in this case, and requested the production of numerous documents to which we were entitled.  Wells Fargo was put on a strict deadline to comply with our requests.  Shortly after that, we were able to negotiate an outstasnding settlement for our client, which included the permanent dismissal of the Wells Fargo lawsuit without our client paying them anything at all, as well as removal of the accounts from her credit reports.

If you have been sued by Wells Fargo Bank, or any other debt collector, we may be able to help you even if you have already tried fighting them on your own.  Simply call us toll-free at 1-888-834-5297 or email us through our convenient web contact form to find out about how we can assist you in enforcing your rights.

The U.S. Treasury issued a new regulation set to take effect on May 1, 2011 that would help protect consumers who have had judgments entered against them.  Specifically, the new rule provides automatic protection from garnishment for bank accounts containing certain federal benefits including Social Security, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), VA benefits and similar benefits.

These benefits are already generally exempt from garnishment from judgments entered by the courts of Florida and other jurisdictions.  However, in practice, this garnishment exemption is not strong enough.  That is because judgment creditors often garnish such funds, meaning that the bank removes the money from the consumer’s bank account.  Then, it often takes weeks or months for a consumer to challenge the exemption and get the money back.  This means that the most vulnerable consumers (including the elderly, the disabled and veterans) often lack the money to pay next month’s rent, needed medications or other necessary expenses of daily living.  Sometimes, the process of claiming an exemption and getting the money back through the necessary legal maze and court hearing is too confusing and intimidating, and the consumers simply give up.  This allows debt collectors to keep money they were not entitled to seize in the first place.

The new law changes all that.  Now, the banks in which accounts containing these exempt funds are held must determine whether any of the money is exempt under the new regulation before they even seize the money.  If the source of the money is exempt as Social Security, SSI or VA benefits, then the bank must leave at least two months of the income in the account.  That way, the consumer has enough money to last while he or she challenges the garnishment in court.

Although there are many more ways in which the government can strengthen existing laws against abusive debt collectors, this new regulation is a good start and can mean all the difference in the world to the most vulnerable consumers.  If you are being garnished, these exemptions or many others available under Florida law could protect you.

It’s no surprise that Florida debt collectors are having a field day in this economy.  We often hear stories about how those debt collectors harass and abuse consumers throughout Central Florida.  Consumers have a right to expect that their government will protect them from debt collectors who refuse to follow the law.  However, a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel pointed out how Florida’s regulators of debt collectors are failing to protect Florida consumers.  The key points of the article are almost too incredible to believe:

 Last year, the Federal Trade Commission received more than 11,000 complaints from Floridians about debt collectors.  Based in part on those overwhelming complaints, a new law regulating debt collectors took effect last October.  Since then, the Florida Office of Financial Regulations has received more than 400 complaints about debt collectors.  Yet, incredibly, that Office has not punished or fined a single debt collector!

 It has only “taken administrative action” against one debt collection company, but has not even imposed any penalty yet.  Rather than imposing an appropriate punishment, the Florida agency is apparently negotiating with the debt collector over what the punishment should be. 

When your government won’t protect you, you need a consumer protection attorney to pursue debt collectors who violate the law.  If you find yourself being harassed or abused by a debt collector here in Central Florida, please email us or call us at 1-888-834-5297 for a free consultation regarding your legal rights.

We recently defeated another Florida debt collection lawsuit.  The lawsuit was filed by debt collection lawyer Adam Jeffrey Katz of the law firm Adam Jeffrey Katz, P.A. from Coral Springs, Florida.  The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC who claimed to have been assigned the debt from Cavalry SPV I, LLC, who in turn claimed to have bought the debt from MBNA.

After we were retained, we applied our knowledge of Florida court rules and aggressively pursued discovery, including interrogatories, requests for production, requests for admission and a deposition.  Based on that discovery, we filed a Motion for Summary Judgment seeking to have the case dismissed before trial.  The judge ruled in our client’s favor: this meant that our client had won, and did not have to pay the debt collector any money at all.

If you would like to put our knowledge to work for you in defending a debt collection lawsuit, please feel free to contact us.  We would be honored to provide you with a free consultation to explain your rights and responsibilities.  Please don’t wait until it’s too late.

We recently had the privilege of being retained by consumers in a pair of debt collection lawsuits filed by Mainstreet Acquisition Corporation.  We have noticed a trend of Mainstreet Acquisition filing debt collection lawsuits in Central Florida in the past few months.  They have been active in purchasing debts originally owed to HSBC Bank Nevada, NA.  Their lawsuits have been filed in the Florida County Courts throughout Central Florida.  Often, they are represented by the Law Offices of Erskine and Fleisher out of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

On the surface, their lawsuits appear intimidating.  They often include an official-looking alleged Bill of Sale.  Sometimes they include a purported “Plaintiff’s Affidavit in Support of Claim”.  In some cases, the Complaint or Statement of Claim is prepared in such a way that is very difficult for consumers to understand, including the use of Latin legal phrases.

Despite their appearance, however, our investigation revealed that the debt collection lawsuits filed by Mainstreet Acquisition failed to comply with Florida law.  Using our knowledge of Florida statutes and Court Rules, we were able to get both lawsuits dismissed, without our clients having to pay a penny to Mainstreet Acquisitions.

If you have been sued by Mainstreet Acquisitions Corp. in Central Florida, we would be honored if you would choose us to assist you in defending against this debt collector.  Even if you have a judgment already entered against you by this company, we may still be able to assist you.  There’s never a charge for our initial consultation, so please feel free to call us on our toll-free number, 1-888-834-5297, or contact us through this website by clicking here.  We look forward to hearing from you.