Debt Buyer Collection Lawsuits

Published on: September 17, 2012

How long does a judgment last in Florida?

Under Florida law, a creditor has up to twenty years to try and collect a judgment. That’s an intimidating number, two whole decades. Something not to take lightly. To become a lien on real estate, a certified copy of a final judgment must be recorded in the public records in the county in which the real property is located.

Once recorded, Florida law provides that the judgment acts as a lien on non-homestead real property for an initial period of ten years. See Florida Statute Section 55.10. The judgment can be re-recorded and act as a lien for an additional ten years. Prior to 2004, a recorded judgment acted as a lien for only seven years, but could be re-recorded up to two additional times for a total of twenty years.

In comparison, a bankruptcy remains on someone’s credit report for 10 years. However, the last 18 months is the most important time period in anyone’s credit history and often the bankruptcy after it gets old enough is considered irrelevant.

Continue reading →

Published on: September 1, 2012

I’ve just been served, what do I do?

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

In Florida, typically someone who is sued is served with the lawsuit and given 20 or sometimes 30 days to file a response. If the lawsuit was filed in small claims court, you are given a date to appear at a pretrial conference instead of filing a written response.

The most important thing is: Don’t ignore the deadline. It doesn’t matter that you think you might be able to work it out or that you called the attorney’s office who filed the lawsuit. If you don’t file a timely written response with the court, or attend the pretrial conference, a default will be entered against you. A default judgment can last up to 20 years in Florida and is very hard to challenge.

Before the deadline expires, please see an attorney. Many attorneys, including our office offer a free consultation for foreclosure defense or debt collection matters.

Continue reading →

Published on: June 17, 2012

Grieving father struggles to pay deceased son’s student loans

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

What if I’ve co-signed my children’s student loan debt that is now in default?

Here in Tampa, Florida, I just read an outrageous story today in Nation of Change that exemplifies the problems in the world of student loans. Basically, shortly out of college, this man’s son was killed in a car accident. Most of his student loans were private and co-signed by his father who makes $21,000 a year as a gardener. Private loans survive someone’s disability or death.

The debt (over six figures) has changed hands many times and has been wrung through the Wall Street securitization process. He doesn’t know the exact amount or who is owed. But the debt collectors are all over this poor guy.

Continue reading →

Published on: August 20, 2011

Proper Standing and Assignment is Not Only Required for Foreclosures, But Also for Credit Card Lawsuits

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

All this talk about a foreclosure plaintiff needing to have proper standing, chain of title and assignment records reminds us that the same is required, but often overlooked, in credit card lawsuits.

In Florida, debt collectors bringing lawsuits for unpaid credit card balances are required pursuant to Florida Statute Section 559.715 to show that any assignment of consumer debts is done with “written notice of such assignment within 30 days after the assignment”. If the creditor cannot produce evidence of the notice, the case should be dismissed. See LVNV Funding, LLC v. Harris (Fla. Miami Dade Cty. Ct. June 24, 2009). Also the courts regularly require documentation of the assignment by an authorized representative of the original creditor before a third party is allowed to obtain a judgment against the consumer.

Increasingly, evidence has appeared that shows debt buyers do not actually own the debt they are suing to recover. Large portfolios of accounts are divided and subdivided and sold to multiple buyers. Sometimes the debt buyer fails to pay in full for the accounts, and the right to collect is returned to the original creditor. More layers of complexity are added if the debt was pooled as part of a securitization. The debt collector will rarely reveal the existence of the trust even though it is the true owner of the debt.
Continue reading →

Published on: March 13, 2011

Consumer Attorneys Getting Debt Buyer Lawsuits Dismissed due to Lack of Evidence

By Christie D. Arkovich, P.A.

Debt buyers pay pennies on the dollar for the right to collect delinquent credit card balances and other consumer debt, but they do not often pay the creditor for the back-up documentation. After a lawsuit is filed in Florida, if the consumer’s attorney requests that such documentation be produced, and the debt buyer fails to do so, the lawsuit can be dismissed. In Florida, documentation upon which the claim relies must be attached to the initial Complaint but it often is missing. Since most cases go unchallenged, the debt buyer gets a judgment without having proved its case.

However, more consumers are recognizing that hiring an attorney to defend a debt buyer’s lawsuit can help. As a result there is an uptick in dismissals is resulting from the assembly line debt buyer lawsuits. One of the frequent approaches taken by consumer’s counsel is that they ask for the affidavits upon which the debt buyers rely to prove up the debt be stricken when the supporting documentation is not provided. In Florida, all affidavits used in connection with summary judgment must attach the books and records upon which the affiant reviewed and relied. In some cases, the documentation is contracdictory such as in an alleged assignment of the debt where the assignment does not exist or it is faulty. Riddle v. Unifund CCR Partners, 298 S.W. 3d 780 (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Affidavits can also be challenged for admissibility when the business records exception to hearsay is found to not apply. Many counsel skip over challenging the application of the business records exception, but it can be a very valuable tool. For instance a Missouri appellate decision in Asset Acceptance v. Lodge, 2010 WL 3759538 (Mo. Ct. App. Sept. 28, 2010), stated:

Continue reading →