Way back in 2005, I wrote about a need to reform our state rules on returns of service. You’ll find that article here. In August of 2006, then Mass. Bar Association President Warren Fitzgerald wrote a column in the Boston Globe also calling for reform based on the failure of small claims defendants to get any meaningful notice of a suit being filed against them. Today we’re learning that in New York, Attorney General Anthony Cuomo has filed suit to vacate over 100,000 judgments that were entered against consumers who were not properly served.
From a statement:
According to the lawsuit filed yesterday in New York State Supreme Court, Erie County, the companies relied on a Long Island company, American Legal Process (ALP), to notify New York consumers that they faced debt-related lawsuits. ALP, however, failed to properly serve consumers across the state with legal papers, causing thousands to unknowingly default and have costly judgments entered against them without the chance to respond or defend themselves. In April of this year, Cuomo’s Office announced criminal and civil cases against ALP and its owner, William Singler, for this fraudulent business scheme.
Today’s lawsuit is an effort to provide relief to the thousands of consumers facing costly default judgments as a result of ALP’s unlawful practices. The suit 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.
“Our legal system is defined by due process and the guarantee that every New Yorker will get the chance to defend his or herself in court,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “ALP’s scheme undermined the foundation of this system and denied thousands of individuals their day in court. Today’s lawsuit is a key step in our efforts to uproot unlawful debt collection practices and undo the considerable harm they inflict on New York consumers.”
New York consumers are not the only ones having their rights trampled on by debt collectors who simply believe that they do not need to obey the law. Attorney General Cuomo’s efforts should be lauded and will be hopefully serve as a model for other states to closely examine the practices of a certain few debt collectors who just don’t want to play by the rules.
Related posts:
- NY AG Sues Debt Collector
- A Loophole in Massachusetts Court Rules and a Call for Reform
- Mass AG Sues Option One
- Cambece Settles with Mass AG
- NY Suit Targets Appraisal Company
Tags: Bad Debt Collectors, Consumer Rights, Credit and Debt, Zwicker & Associates
