Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California

sued by a law firm who bought an account that was included in bankruptcy

I filed for BK in 04 and it was discharged in Sept. 04.On 5/14/07 I received a phone call from a law firm in Cleveland, Ohio saying that civil and felony charges are being formalized against me, that I will be served (summoned)and if I dont show up in court I will be picked up on a warrant. After several phone calls to them I was able to find out that they purchased this loan from a different agency but wont say what agency. At first they told me Household bank hired them but I found out from the bank that it is not true.The bank sold the account to an agency prior to me filling for BK and I did not know about that. In the beggining the law firm told that the bank filled a petition to discharge the account from BK, but is not true, then they said it was a different account but there is no record of it at the bank (the account last four digit does not match neither the amount of money), then their special investigator told me that the account was sold to them.On 5/16/07 I was told by the law firm that I will be served in the next 48 hours by the sheriff but nothing happened yet. The law firm said that I have 2 choices either pay a settlement voluntarily or go to court involuntarily. I have recorded their messages and my conversatio


Asked on 5/18/07, 2:40 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Bryan Becker Stutz Artiano Shinoff & Holtz

Re: sued by a law firm who bought an account that was included in bankruptcy

Cutting straight to the chase- this appears to be a flagrant case of multiple violations of state and federal fair debt collection law. The debt collector can not threaten legal action if you they have no current intention of actually filing suit. Or they can not threaten legal action if this debt has been discharged through BK.

Threatening to take legal action when they are not entitled to- is an actionable offense under the FDCPA, which may enable you to recover $1000 per violation plus an award for other damages.

I would be willing to discuss some of the issues concerning your experience to see if there may be legal justification to pursue your case.

I offer prospective clients an initial consultation of 30 minutes for free.

I look forward to speaking with you.

Yours truly,

Bryan

Bryan C. Becker, Esq.

Principal

Law Office of Bryan C. Becker

The Koll Center

501 W. Broadway, Suite 800

San Diego, CA 92101

Toll Free: 877*201*8728

Direct: 619*400*4929

Fax: 619*400*4810

Member, National Association of Consumer Advocates

www.naca.net

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Answered on 5/18/07, 3:36 pm
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Re: sued by a law firm who bought an account that was included in bankruptcy

You probably want them to go away, and not get involved in any lawsuit. Right? I would tell them never to call again, and they are required by law to stop. If you receive the suit, you or even your bankruptcy (or any other) lawyer can prepare a notice to the relevant court of a "Notice of Bankruptcy Discharge of Underlying Debt" and attach the BK court's notice of discharge. Then they'll have to do some fancy footwork to explain to the court why they haven't dismissed the case.

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Answered on 5/18/07, 3:50 pm
Robert Mccoy Law Office Of Robert McCoy

Re: sued by a law firm who bought an account that was included in bankruptcy

It appears the "attorney" is in blatant violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Law. If he really is an attorney, which I doubt, he could potentially be disbarred. These actions are so flagrantly illegal I doubt that the collector has any concern of a lawsuit. This sounds like a scam. You might want to ask the collector, next time he calls, for the name of his office, his State Bar Number, his physical address and a return phone number. Then check with the State Bar of Ohio to verify the information.

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Answered on 5/18/07, 8:07 pm


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