Have you ever provided your cell number to a company and it later started to call you incessantly to collect a debt of someone else. I’ve recently had that happen to me. My father was hospitalized with a stroke and I gave my cell phone number to somebody at the…
Mortgage companies in Florida must think money really does grow on trees as they are now suing for deficiency judgments on past foreclosures of homes. July 1, 2014 was the deadline in Florida for lenders to file deficiency lawsuits for foreclosure Judgments issued between July 1, 2009 and July 1,…
The Affordable Care Act has caused millions of people to sign up for Medicaid for the first time. Medicaid is a program of free health insurance provided to low to no income individuals. Although the care itself is free, there is a lien against estate assets for any Medicaid payments…
In a long awaited decision by the Florida Supreme Court, Estate of Michelle Evette McCall v. U.S., No. SC11-1148, the damages cap provided in the Tort Reform law from a few years back was ruled illegal as it violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Florida Constitution. Although this opinion…
Texting + driving = bad things happen. My husband, a twenty year veteran DUI officer in St. Petersburg, Florida shows me gruesome car accident photos now and again that help keep me in line. As a result, I run less red lights that still look orange to me, and I…
On behalf of our Florida clients with BP oil spill claims we are pleased about a recent victory, but the fight is still underway. The well known BP oil spill settlement agreement reached in mid-2012 shortly before trial resulted in a settlement claims procedures and formulas that were intended to…
Just as our Tampa Bay, Florida BP oil spill claims are heading toward the finish line, the rules are changing. We believe the new narrower guidelines will likely have a larger impact on our Florida based claims due to the increased distance from the oil spill than states such as…
The new foreclosure bill that went into effect in Florida July 1, 2013 will be a trap for the unwary once the mortgage companies get their cases together and start to file foreclosure lawsuits under the new law. Thy’ve started trickling in, but not enough yet to gain any real…
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s position is that they will not agree to a principal reduction in a mortgage modification. So our Florida foreclosure defense and bankruptcy clients are out of luck when their home is worth a lot less than the balance owed. This is their position even after…
A three judge panel federal court ruled recently against Dell Computer when Dell continued to use an automated dialing system to make debt collection calls to a consumer. This consumer had written Dell asking it to stop calling her cell phone. Dell ignored the letter. The 3rd Circuit Court of…