Plaintiff: Midland Funding, LLC

Original Creditor: Citibank

Plaintiff’s Attorneys: Joel Lucoff and Armando Vasquez

Plaintiff’s Law Firm: Pollack and Rosen, P.A.

Case Outcome: Case dismissed without our client paying anything

Our client was sued for Breach of Contract and for Unjust Enrichment by the law firm of Pollack and Rosen, PA. Attorneys Joel Lucoff and Armando Vasquez represented Midland Funding, LLC. Midland Funding claimed that it had purchased the alleged debt from Citibank, and that the records reflected that our client owed them money. Our client disputed these claims, and even provided documentation that he had paid Citibank in full. Our client originally tried to defend this credit card lawsuit himself, but Midland continued to prosecute it. Once we were retained by our client, we filed appropriate motions with the Court and sent out discovery requests that would prove our client was correct. Midland Funding then dismissed the case without our client paying anything to them or their attorneys.

If you have a similar situation, or if the debt collector is refusing to listen to you, contact us now. Let our experience defending debt collection cases work for you. We are located in Lake Mary, Florida in Seminole County and accept such cases throughout Central Florida.

Our client was sued in a debt collection lawsuit by Mainstreet Acquisition Corporation under a Complaint for Equitable Relief under Promissory Estoppel, Equitable Estoppel (Estoppel in Pais), Indebitatus Assumpsit and Unjust Enrichment. Attorney Andrew D. Fleisher from the Law Offices of Erskine and Fleisher represented Mainstreet Acquisition Corporation.

After applying our knowledge of state and federal cases, statutes and court rules, we were able to have the debt collection lawsuit dismissed for our client. While words like Promissory Estoppel or Indebitatus Assumpsit may seem confusing, these are terms our law firm is familiar with and ready to defend. We are here for the people who need assistance in defending their credit card lawsuit.

One of the more frequent questions we get is whether you can be sued for the credit card debts of a family member who has passed away.  Sometimes this question arises because a debt collector has contacted the husband or wife of a person who passed away and has insisted they are responsible for their loved one’s credit card bills. 

In most cases, you are NOT responsible for the credit card debts of your relative who passed away unless you were on the account or were a co-signer for that account.  This usually means that if you were responsible for that debt before they passed away, you may continue to be held responsible.  However, if you were not on the account and were not a co-signer, you are not generally responsible for continuing to make any payments.  In such a case, the debt collector cannot sue you because you did not enter into a contract for that credit card or its terms and conditions.

We have heard of numerous debt collectors telling consumers that they are responsible for their loved one’s credit card debts.  In many cases, they are simply not telling the truth.  In fact, by threatening legal action against you for your relative’s debts when you do not owe them, you may have a valid lawsuit against them for violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

If you are not responsible, then the only way the debt collector can recover its debt is to file a claim against the estate of your loved one who passed away.  If no probate estate has been opened, they will usually need to hire an attorney to open up such an estate.  They rarely do so, for three primary reasons.  First, it costs them money to hire an attorney and to open up a probate estate.  Second, there is no assurance that the probate estate even has any money in it to pay on the alleged debt; if not, they will have wasted their money.  Third, there is no assurance they can win their lawsuit, particularly if the credit card lawsuit is defended by an experienced consumer protection attorney.

The bottom line is this: don’t let the debt collectors prey upon you at a time when you are emotionally and financially vulnerable.  If you receive a phone call claiming you are responsible for the credit card debt of a loved one who passed away, contact a consumer justice attorney experienced in defending credit card lawsuits to determine your rights.

Our client was sued by LVNV Funding, LLC on an alleged credit card debt here in Central Florida.  LVNV Funding, who is a debt buyer and debt collector well-known here in Central Florida, was represented by the law firm of Pollack & Rosen, P.A. out of Coral Gables, Florida.

Using our knowledge of Florida’s court rules and procedures, we were able to get LVNV Funding to take a position that allowed us to file a motion to win the case on summary judgment, even before trial.  As a result, LVNV Funding dismissed their lawsuit against our client.

The Federal Trade Commision (FTC) has released its 2010 annual report on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  That report includes the latest statistics on debt collectors’ abuse, harassement, deceptive tactics and other illegal conduct that violates the FDCPA.  Those numbers shows that debt collection is growing worse, both in terms of how often it occurs, and how bad it is, based on 2009 statistics:

• In 2009, the FTC received a total of 119,364 complaints from consumers about debt collectors, both initial creditors (the banks and companies who initially lent money) and third-party debt collectors (those who were hired by creditors to try to force payment).  This is an increase of nearly 15,000 complaints from 2008.
• Consumers filed 41,028 complaints against debt collectors for abusive debt collection tactics such as repeated or continuous telephone calls.
• The FTC received 14,321 complaints that debt collectors used obscene, profane or other types of abusive debt collection tactics.
• 9,684 cconsumers complained that debt collectors called before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., or at a time they knew was inconvenient for the consumer.
• There were 2,517 complaints of debt collectors using or threatening to use violence to try to force a consumer to pay a debt.
• Consumers registered 27,420 complaints that debt collectors tried to collect a debt that the consumer did not owe, or they tried to collect more than the consumer owed, or they mischaracterized the amount or character of the debt in some other way.
• The FTC received 9,632 complaints that debt collectors were attempting to add on unauthorized charges, such as attorney fees, collection costs or other charges that were not permitted.
• 18,438 complaints addressed debt collectors threatening to take actions that were not permitted by applicable law
• Debt collectors made 11,505 false threats of arrest or seizure of property.
• Consumers complained 11,973 times that debt collectors impermissibly called them at work.
• The FTC received 10,758 complaints that a debt collector illegally notified a third party about the consumer’s alleged debt.
• Consumers complained that in 22,708 instances, the debt collector failed to provide the notice of consumer rights required by the FDCPA.
• 10,158 complaints dealt with the debt collector’s failure to verify the consumer’s debt, despite specifically being requested to do so.
• Consumers complained 7,411 times that the debt collector failed to stop communicating with the consumer, despite the consumer informing the debt collector that all collection activities should cease.

If you have been the victim of any of these types of abusive, harassing or deceptive tactics, please feel free to call me so that I can assist you in obtaining justice against these debt collectors who refuse to follow the law.

In many cases, a consumer may have a legal defense to a lawsuit filed against them that seeks to collect on a credit card debt or other debt.  You may have defenses such as the lawsuit being too old (statute of limitations), the debt collector did not follow proper procedure in filing or pursuing the lawsuit, or others.  The question then is . . . how do you assert those defenses?

Don’t expect to just show up at trial and start talking about those defenses, as it may be too late by then.  The Court can decide that you are prohibited from asserting them at trial if you did not provide adequate notice about them before the trial.

In short, you generally assert those defenses by filing your Affirmative Defenses with the Court where the lawsuit is pending, as well as the debt collection lawyer.  This lets the debt collector and the Court know what your defenses are, and allows you to argue them at trial.  Filing them in writing prevents the debt collector from later arguing that they are unfairly surprised by your “new” claims.  If you properly preserve those defenses, and if you have the evidence to prove them in Court, you may be able to defeat the debt collector’s lawsuit even if they prove all of their allegations.  Don’t lose that right by waiting too long to file your Affirmative Defenses.