Default judgment lawsuit

According to a press release from New York Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, companies relied on a Long Island company, American Legal Process (ALP), to notify New York consumers that they faced debt-related lawsuits. However, ALP failed to properly serve consumers across the state with legal papers, causing nearly 100,000 consumers to unknowingly default and have costly judgments entered against them without the chance to respond or defend themselves.

The lawsuit asks the court to vacate all default judgments secured against New York consumers in cases in which the firms (1) used ALP to serve legal process in commencing a lawsuit, and (2) the firms are unable to provide the court with any evidence, other than ALP’s affidavit, that proper legal service was made.

The lawsuit seeks to direct that proper restitution be made to any debtor who made payment on an improperly obtained default judgment and order law firms and debt collectors to:

• Inform the New York State Unified Court System of each actions in which they used ALP to serve legal process and in which a default judgment was granted;
• Notify all the parties in those actions of the existence of this lawsuit and their right to be heard; and
• Notify the court of amount of any default judgments taken in any of the relevant actions, as well as whether the debtor paid any amount to satisfy the default judgment.

Shocking debt collection practices captured on CNN video

Debt collectors and debt buyers, companies that purchase debt for pennies on the dollar and then engage in outrageous and sometimes threatening behavior in order to obtain that debt, continually violate the FDCPA – often forcing innocent consumers to pay debts that aren't even theirs. To view a CNN video showing some shocking debt collection practices, please click here.

Who's involved?

The debt collectors and firms named in the Attorney General's lawsuit are:

• Advanced Litigation Services, LLC
• Arnold A. Arpino & Associates
• Cohen & Slamowitz, LLP
• Cooper Erving & Savage, LLP
• Cullen and Dykman LLP
• Eltman Eltman and Cooper
• Eric M. Berman, P.C.
• Eric Ostrager
• Fabiano and Associates
• Fleck, Fleck & Fleck
• Forster & Garbus
• Gerald D. DeSantis
• Goldman & Warshaw, P.C.
• Greater Niagara Holdings, LLC
• Hayt Hayt & Landau
• Houslanger & Associates
• Jaffe & Asher
• Jason L. Cafarella
• Jones Jones Larkin O’Connell
• Kirschenbaum & Phillips, P.C.
• Leschack & Grodesnky
• Mann Bracken, LLC
• McNamee, Lochner Titus & Williams
• Mullen & Iannarone
• Panteris & Panteris, LLP
• Pressler & Pressler
• Relin, Goldstein & Crane
• Robert P. Rothman, P.C
• Rodney A. Giove
• Sharinn and Lipshie
• Smith Carroad Levy & Finkel
• Solomon and Solomon, P.C.
• Stephen Einstein & Associates, P.C.
• Thomas Law Office
• Winston & Winston, P.C.
• Woods Oviatt Gilman
• Zwicker and Associates

What can you do?

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) is a federal law that protects consumers against the illegal practices of creditors. It is a strict liability statute; so if a debt collector violates the statute, they have to pay the debtor a $1,000 penalty. Various states have enacted their own versions of the Act that may provide consumers with even greater protection. If you've been harassed by a debt collector, contact a debtor's rights attorney to discuss your situation and evaluate your options.