We successfully represented our client, and were able to get the lawsuit dismissed without any payment by our client on the alleged credit card debt.  Helping Florida Consumers is what our firm is about.  Please don’t hesitate to call us on our toll-free number (1-888-834-5297) or just click here to go to our “Contact Us” page to submit your information.

After being served with the Summons and Complaint, our client initially reviewed information on the internet about debt collection lawsuits, but instead decided to retain us to defend against Citibank’s lawsuit. We promptly filed the appropriate notices, answer and affirmative defenses with the County Court, and served other legal documents on Citibank’s debt collection lawyers. As in many other cases, we were able to obtain an excellent result for our client: the Citibank (South Dakota), N.A. lawsuit against our client was dismissed without our client paying Citibank or their debt collector lawyers anything at all.

Don’t rely on the information on the internet, as much of it is either outdated, or not applicable to Florida law, or simply wrong. Put our experience and knowledge of Florida statutes, cases and court rules to work for you. While the facts of every case are different, one thing stays the same: the debt collection lawyers are experienced in debt collection. You need a knowledgeable Central Florida consumer protection attorney to represent you when you are sued, because your time, property, money, credit score, and your reputation are all at stake.

Despite staggering losses, some of these banks gave massive bonuses to their executives during the last few years.  Citi provides several examples of such corporate greed.  Its CEO, Vikram Pandit, received total compensation of more than $38 million for 2008-2010.  Its Chief Financial Officer (CFO John Gerspach) received more than $9.7 million for 2009-2010.  Two other Citi executives received more than $20 million for 2009-2010.  Another executive received more than $8 million only for 2010.  During the 2008-2010 time period, however, Citigroup posted a cumulative net loss of more than $15 billion dollars.

One can only wonder how many Citibank consumers in dire financial straits could have benefited from the bailout money provided to Citi by American taxpayers, or how many senior citizens could have used even a small percentage of Citi’s executive compensation to put food on their table.

As a Central Florida Consumer Protection law firm, our mission is Helping Florida Consumers.  We would be honored to put our experience to work for you.

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.

The Court also imposed sanctions against both Arrow Financial Services and Hayt, Hayt and Landau, who then appealed those sanctions. After extensive briefing, the appellate court upheld the sanctions against the debt collectors.  We are very proud that we were able to win the case for our client and provide him and his family with the justice they deserved.

While each case is different, one thing is the same.  We will defend your case 100%.  We are not a debt “negotiation” law office, we completely fight for our clients.  Know your rights and know that your case will be handled by an experienced consumer protection attorney from beginning to end.  Contact us for a free consultation.  We will be happy to defend you in a credit card lawsuit filed in Seminole, Volusia, Orange, Brevard, Flagler or Lake County.

If you are being sued, contact us any time, day or night.  Let our experience work for you.  We devote 100% to our clients and have experience in all aspects of defending credit card lawsuits, including pleadings, pretrial conferences, mediations, discovery, motions to dismiss, motions for summary judgment / motions for summary disposition, numerous other motions, trial and appeals.  We also represent consumers throughout Central Florida (including Orlando / Orange County, Seminole County, Volusia County, Brevard County, Lake County and Flagler County) in auto deficiency actions, debt collection lawsuits, auto repossessions, home improvement scams, auto defects / auto fraud, identity theft, and other consumer protection matters.  And remember, there is never a charge for the initial consultation, so don’t delay and don’t lose valuable rights: contact us today through this website or by calling us toll-free at 1-888-834-5297.

If you were sued by the law firm of Patrick A. Carey, P.A. in Orange County, Flagler County, Seminole County, Lake County, Volusia County or Brevard County, call us for a free consultation.  Remember when you receive a Summons and Complaint for a credit card debt, you have important rights, but you have to respond within the allotted time or you can lose your case.  There is a lot of information on the internet for the people who want to investigate what their lawsuit might mean, their legal rights or to learn more about the law firm suing them.   However, it is best to get the answers to your questions from an experienced attorney.  Call us or email us anytime for a free consultation – we will make ourselves available.

We agressively fought this auto deficiency lawsuit in court using our knowledge of Florida law and Florida court rules.  As a result, Cavalry Portfolio Services dismissed their lawsuit.  Our client did not have to pay anything.

While each case is different, one thing stays the same: the debt buyer’s law firm will be experienced in debt collection.  You need an experienced Central Florida consumer protection attorney to represent you when you are sued, because your money, your property, your credit score and your reputation are all at stake.  As a Florida debt collection defense law firm, we have won other auto deficiency lawsuits and would be honored to defend your lawsuit against these debt collectors and their lawyers.  We are conveniently located in Lake Mary (Seminole County), Florida and accept such cases throughout Central Florida, including Seminole County, Orange County, Volusia County, Brevard County, Lake County and Flagler County.  Please don’t hesitate to contact us by clicking here or call us today for a free consulation.

As in many other cases, we were able to obtain a favorable result for our client.  Even though Equable Ascent Financial had sued our client, our knowledge of Florida statutes, case law and rules of legal procedure, as well as our well-honed legal strategies for defending credit card lawsuits resulted in getting this case against our client dismissed without our client paying the debt collector a penny.

Put our experience as a Florida consumer protection law firm to work for you.  Receiving a Summons and Complaint can be a scary experience, but you don’t have to go through this process by yourself.  Let us defend your credit card lawsuit.  We believe in Helping Florida Consumers.

The Attorney General’s lawsuit focused on “robo-signed” affidavits.  This refers to the practice of signing affidavits under oath claiming a debt is legitimate even though the person signing the affidavit has not verified their accuracy or sometimes even without reading them, in order to quickly obtain a judgment against consumers.  It is referred to as “robo-signing” because the process is similar to robots doing the same thing over and over again without any verification.  As some of you may know, “robo-signing” has been exposed as a huge problem here in Florida in the context of mortgage foreclosure actions.

This lawsuit demonstrates that “robo-signing” is also a huge problem in the area of credit card lawsuits and debt collection lawsuits generally.  For example, the Attorney General indicates that they have sworn testimony from numerous Midland Funding employees that they have signed up to 400 false affidavits per day; those affidavits were then filed in Court as supposed “proof” of the debt.  In my opinion, not only should the signers of the affidavit be held responsible for their actions, but so too should their employer, Midland Funding, and the lawyers who submit those affidavits to Florida Courts.

More information about the Minnesota Attorney General’s lawsuit can be found by clicking here.  If you have been sued by Midland Funding or suspect you are a victim in a case where such a false affidavit was submitted, please contact us through this link or by calling us on our toll-free number at 1-888-834-5297.  As an experienced Florida credit card and debt collection defense lawyer, I am here to help the consumers of Seminole County, Orange County (including Orlando), Volusia County, Brevard County, Lake County and Flagler County.

Let us file the appropriate motions and legal paperwork.  Haven’t you already been through enough?  We will keep you informed every step of the way.  If you are looking for an experienced lawyer to defend you in a credit card lawsuit filed in Seminole, Volusia, Orange, Brevard, Flagler or Lake County, please call us – we are here to help.  We would be honored if you selected our firm to represent you.  Call us toll-free at 1-888-834-5297 or click here to submit a question through our website.

If you are being sued, contact us for a free consultation.  Let us protect your legal rights.  Click here to contact us directly through the internet using a very brief form or call us at 407-323-4949.

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 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.

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.

 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.

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.

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.

An original creditor is typically a bank or finance company that has extended credit to a person or business. For example, credit card companies such as Capital One, Bank of America, Chase / WaMu, Citibank or Citibank (South Dakota) N.A., Target, Discover and American Express are usually original creditors. A debt buyer is simply a company or person who buys the debt from someone else. Examples of debt buyers we have encountered here in Central Florida (including Orlando, Sanford, Oviedo, Deland, Deltona, Orange City, Port Orange, Daytona Beach, Melbourne / Cocoa, Mt. Dora, Tavares, Leesburg, Palm Coast, Bunnell and surrounding areas) include Arrow Financial, Asset Acceptance, CACH, Cavalry Portfolio Services, LVNV, Equable Ascent Financial, LLC, Mainstreet Acquisitions Corp., Portfolio Recovery Associates and Financial Independence Services.

Debt buyers usually pay pennies on the dollar to buy the debt. For example, a large debt buyer’s report indicates that it paid an average of only 3 cents on the dollar for the debt they purchased. This means that if you had a debt of $3,000 purchased by such a debt buyer, it would have paid only about $90 for your debt. However, if they sue you for this debt, they would sue for the entire $3,000, not for the $90 they actually paid for it. So, even if they collect only 10% of your debt ($300), their profit margin could be as high as 333%. No wonder there are so many debt buyers out there trying to squeeze money from consumers.

And, even if the debt buyer does not collect any money on the debt, it can (and often does) resell the debt to another company who can also try to collect the debt. This is one reason some consumers are contacted by multiple companies who try to collect on the same debt. This cycle of debt buying, attempted collection, and reselling can be repeated several times. Each time, the “quality” of the debt is worse: each subsequent debt buyer has less information about the legitimacy and amount of the debt, and the consumer may have additional defenses. These secondary debt buyers are often referred to as “junk debt buyers“, “bottom feeders” or “scavengers”.

If you have been sued by either an original creditor or debt buyer, please don’t ignore the lawsuit. If you do, chances are you will have a default judgment entered against you. That means that you will likely lose the case automatically, without any trial. This is true even if you have potential defenses – and we normally see several potential defenses in most cases we review. So don’t delay, contact us right away for a free, no obligation consultation to learn about your rights and potential defenses.

Based on these facts, we sued the Florida debt collection law firm for its violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.  We were able to quickly obtain justice for our client, including the return of the improperly seized garnishment funds, payment to her of statutory damages of $1,000.00 under the FDCPA, and reimbursement of the additional expenses she was forced to incur when her money was wrongfully seized; all of this was done at no charge to our client.

You too have rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act if your rights have been violated by a debt collector or debt collection attorney, even if a judgment has been entered against you.  If this has happened to you, please feel free to contact us; there is no charge for our review.  Moreover, we do not charge our clients for either our attorney fees or our costs in a case involving the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA); instead, we seek recovery of those from the debt collector who violated the law.  We understand that the wrongful seizure of your money can have immediate consequences and create a “ripple effect” on your finances.  So don’t delay, contact us today to enforce your rights.

In my opinion, this is a shame and simply wrong.  Just remember, all of us taxpayers paid for a bailout that included many of the same banks that are now trying to charge you these very high rates.  So, after we collectively paid to bail out the banks, they now turn around and try to stick to new customers for the sake of their profit.  One can only wonder how many of those credit card companies would have failed if we taxpayers did not pay for the bailout.

Of course, don’t expect the credit card companies to stop filing lawsuits against consumers, even if they dispute the amount or even existence of the alleged debt.  If you have been sued in a credit card lawsuit in Central Florida (Seminole County, Orange County, Lake County, Brevard County, Volusia County or Flagler County), please feel free to contact us for a free consultation and evaluation of your rights.  There are numerous defenses to a credit card lawsuit that may be available to you.  Please also feel free to review Taras Rudnitsky’s background, experience and qualifications, as well as a summary of some of the credit card lawsuits we have defended on behalf of other Florida consumers.

As the old saying goes, “where there’s smoke, there’s fire”.  Attorneys General in half a dozen states have received complaints about National Credit Solutions, and at least one state (Montana) has filed a lawsuit against it.  There are two common complaints.  First, consumers were never provided notice of the alleged late fees, and therefore were not able to dispute them before they were placed on consumers’ credit reports.  Second, National Credit Solutions has tried to impose a $75 collection fee, which some feel is outrageous.  Please click here for more information about filing a complaint against a debt collector.

There is no question that placing a delinquency notice on a consumer’s credit report exerts pressure to pay National Credit Solutions, especially when the consumer is trying to obtain credit for a large purchase such as a home or car.  In all, about a half-million consumers have had their credit report damaged by the notices from National Credit Solutions.  If this has happened to you and you believe you do not owe the charges, make sure to promptly dispute the debt in writing with each credit reporting agency that has placed it on your credit report.

In addition, if National Credit Solutions failed to comply with state or federal debt collection laws, you may be entitled to sue the the debt collector to resolve this issue and recover any damage you may have suffered from their conduct.   If this has happened to you here in Florida, please do not hesitate to contact us to learn how we can assist you in preserving and vindicating your rights.

Rather than produce the documents and information as required  by the Court, Target National Bank instead dismissed their lawsuit without our client having to pay anything on the alleged debt.  Target was represented by Zakheim & Associates out of Plantation, Florida, including attorneys Richard Battaglino, Sasha Haro, Kimberlee Otis and Arturo Arca.

If you are looking for help from a Florida debt lawyer or need help with a Florida debt collection lawsuit filed against you, we would be honored if you were to call us toll-free at 1-888-834-5297 for a free evaluation of your rights (and the debt collector’s responsibilities) in the lawsuit against you.  Or, if it’s easier for you, please click here to contact us directly through the internet using a very brief form.  Please don’t wait until a judgment has been entered against you, as you may lose important rights.  Call us today!

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.

They sued our client for nearly $23,000 under two different theories (Open Account and Account Stated).  We used our knowledge of Florida law and the applicable Rules of Civil Procedure to aggressively defend our client.  We filed interrogatories asking important questions about numerous aspects of the case that were required to be answered by FIA Card Services under oath.  We filed requests for production seeking documents we could use to defend the case.  We also filed requests for admission in an attempt to force the debt collector to narrow the issues in the case.

After reviewing our firm’s aggressive tactics in defending credit card lawsuits, FIA Card Services, through its attorneys Zakheim & Associates, voluntary dismissed their case without any payment at all by our client.

If you have been sued in a credit card lawsuit or other debt collection lawsuit in  Central Florida (including Volusia County, Seminole County, Lake County, Brevard County, Orange County or Flagler County), please feel free to review the information on this website about our experience in defending against such debt collection lawsuits.  We would be honored if you would then contact us for a free consultation about how we can assist you.

This continues Taras Rudnitsky’s contributions to the community.  He is passionate about seeking justice for consumers, particularly those who have been victimized by corporations, banks, insurance companies and debt collectors.  Taras’s contributions to his community have also previously been recognized by the Florida Supreme Court and the Seminole County Bar Association Legal Aid Society.

The deficiency judgment had apparently been sold by the auto finance company to Cavalry, who hired the firm of Wagner & Hunt to collect on the judgment.  Attorney Joanna Evans from Wagner & Hunt represented the plaintiff in this lawsuit.

Once we were able to get the judgment was set aside, we moved forward with vigorously defending the underlying deficiency judgment.  Based on a review of the auto finance paperwork and our knowledge of the automotive industry, we were confident we would prevail on several of our affirmative defenses.  These defenses applied even though the lawsuit was initially filed 17 years ago.  As a result of our hard work, the lawsuit was permanently dismissed without our client having to pay anything.

If you have been sued in an auto deficiency lawsuit, or if you have had a judgment entered against you without even being notified of the lawsuit, we can help.  We would be honored if you selected us for a free, no-obligation consultation about your rights as a consumer.  Just call us toll-free (1-888-834-5297), write to us, fax us, or contact us by email to ensure you do not lose your rights.