“Move fast and break things” might do as a mantra for tech startups, but not so much for law firms, especially when the things that get broken are federal laws. A Columbia law firm now finds itself on the ...

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Anderson v. Hancock (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-078-16, 20 pp.) (Wilkinson, J.) No. 15-1505, April 27, 2016; USDC at Raleigh, N.C. (Flanagan, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: Debtors whose mortgage loan interest rate was increased upon default cannot effect a “cure” under ...

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HAWTHORNE, N.J. (AP) — Ever had a debt collector on your back for money you knew you didn’t owe? Listen to the story of Steven Psaros and take heart. The Great Recession forced Psaros into foreclosure on the house he ...

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A legal battle over the debts allegedly owed by a shuttered law firm that specialized in debt collection is perhaps fated to have a few unusual twists. Earlier this month, a federal judge ruled that the legal services company bringing ...

Tagged with: Debt Collection Fraud

Covert v. LVNV Funding LLC (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-035-15, 16 pp.) (Shedd, J.) No. 14-1016, March 3, 2015; USDC at Greenbelt, Md. (Chasanow, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: Chapter 13 debtors who made payments under their approved plans to a lender ...

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Powell v. Palisades Acquisition XVI LLC (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-004-15, 23 pp.) (Niemeyer, J.) No. 14-1171, Dec. 18, 2014; USDC at Baltimore, Md. (Bennett, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: Filing of an assignment of judgment in a debt collection action qualifies ...

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Russell v. Absolute Collection Services Inc. (Lawyers Weekly No. 001-162-14, 30 pp.) (Floyd, J.) No. 12-2357, Aug. 15, 2014; USDC at Greensboro, N.C (Osteen, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: A debtor who told defendant collection agency she paid her $501 medical ...

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Raleigh-based debt collection agency Optimum Outcomes experienced less-than-optimum results after losing its 4th Circuit fight with a debtor who scored a jury verdict worth more than $37,000.

Tagged with: 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Debt Collection

A debt collection operation that involved text messages and collectors allegedly posing as attorneys has led to a $1 million settlement with the federal government.

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Vieira v. CertusBank, N.A. (In re Ladd) The plaintiff-trustee alleges that the defendant-bank’s loan documents were forged. If the defendant-law firm knew the loan documents were forged when the law firm filed suit to collect on the loan, the court could not conclude that the law firm was entitled to immunity under Gaar v. North Myrtle Beach Realty Co., 339 S.E.2d 887 (S.C. App. 1986). Moreover, the firm may have breached an independent duty to a third person because all persons seemingly have a duty not to make fraudulent statements to others. The plaintiff-trustee may amend her complaint to allege whether the law firm knew the bank documents were forged when it filed the collection action and whether the law firm was involved in the issuance of the loan.

Tagged with: Debt Collection