Andrew M. Milz

Andy Milz was raised in a union household in Northeastern Pennsylvania, where he was taught by his parents' example to never stop pursuing economic fairness and social justice. He has dedicated his career as a trial lawyer to fighting for American consumers and workers who have been victimized by corporate greed.

Mr. Milz represents people harmed by consumer finance fraud, debt collection harassment, improper repossessions, and inaccurate credit reporting. He has also helped folks with a variety of other issues, including auto fraud, abusive robocalls, solar panel scams, product defects, data security and identity theft, invasion of consumer privacy, civil rights abuses, securities fraud, and employee benefit plans.

Andy attended local colleges and is active in state and national organizations that fight to advance consumer rights. He proudly supports local legal aid organizations and is honored to join them as co-counsel or pro bono counsel in litigation involving important consumer rights issues. In 2022, he and the firm were honored with an Equal Justice Award from Community Legal Services of Philadelphia for their record of providing consumer protection legal services to low income residents of Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania.  Media outlets ranging from ABC News, NPR, Kiplinger's, Salon, Consumer Reports and Bankrate.com have sought Andy's legal input on consumer issues.

Mr. Milz has represented thousands of consumers in hundreds of successful individual cases. He has also been plaintiffs' counsel in more than two dozen class actions, obtaining over $100 million dollars in relief for consumers.

Education

J.D., Temple University

Executive Editor, Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review

M.A. in English Literature, University of Scranton

B.A. in English Literature, King’s College

Cum laude 

Trial Lawyers College, Dubois, WY

Publications

Carolyn Carter, Andrew Milz, ET.AL., REPOSSESSIONS, (10th ed.2022)
National Consumer Law Center

Carolyn Carter, et.al, Pennsylvania Consumer Law 

Geo. Bisel Pub. Co. 2d ed. Supp. (2021)

Coverage, Consumer Rights and Remedies Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), PBI No. 2016-9436

Pennsylvania Bar Institute 2016, co-author

Lead author and editor of the chapter “Odometer Fraud” and co-author of chapters “Repossessions” and “Attorney Fees in Consumer Litigation”

Basics of the Fair Credit Reporting Act, PBI No. 2014-8241

Pennsylvania Bar Institute 2014, co-author

Robert Hobbs, et. al, Consumer Law Pleadings 

National Consumer Law Center 19th ed., 2013 

Contributed segments on the Federal Odometer Act and consumer arbitration agreements

Coverage, Consumer Rights and Remedies Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, PBI No. 2013-7904

Pennsylvania Bar Institute 2013, co-author

But Names Will Never Hurt Me? El-Hakem v. BJY, Inc. and Title VII Liability for Race Discrimination Based on an Employee's Name 

16 Temp. Pol. & Civ. Rts. L. Rev. 283 (2006)   

Bar Admissions

Pennsylvania Bar

New Jersey Bar

United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania

United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania

United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania

United States District Court for the District of New Jersey

United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois

Awards and Honors

Equal Justice Award - 2022

Community Legal Services of Philadelphia

Temple Political & Civil Rights Law Review, 2006 - 2007

Temple University Beasley School of Law

Executive Editor

SuperLawyers

SuperLawyer, 2019 - 2022
Rising Star, 2014-2018

View Andrew Milz' SuperLawyers Profile

AVVO

Andrew Milz has a 10 out of 10 rating. 

View Andrew Milz on Avvo

Lawyers.com

View Andrew Milz' profile on Lawyers.com

Associations

Mr. Milz is a member of the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Montgomery Bar Associations.  He is an active member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA), and is involved in NACA’s Military Consumer Justice Project, which educates our military service members on issues of financial literacy and consumer protections.  Mr. Milz has been invited to lecture on consumer law subjects in PA, NJ, and around the country.  

Representative Matters

Palmer et al. v. Flagship Resort Development Corp. 

No. ATL-L-1515-19 (N.J. Super. Ct. Law Div. Atlantic Co. Sept. 30, 2022)

After a three-week jury trial in Atlantic City, our team obtained a verdict of $1.07 million for the firm's clients – 11 couples told a litany of lies during timeshare sales. The jury found the resort’s exculpatory clauses in its contracts to be illegal waivers in violation of New Jersey’s Real Estate Timeshare Act. These clauses – such as “No representations of Seller or Seller’s agents or representatives, shall in any way be binding upon the seller” and “Purchaser acknowledge[s] that they have entered into this [agreement] without coercion or undue pressure…” were found to be void and unenforceable. This case, and the jury’s verdict, appear to be the first of its kind.  Read more here.  

Hutchins v. Mountain Run Solutions

No. 20-5853 (E.D. Pa. 2021)

After a bench trial on damages in this Fair Credit Reporting Act case, U.S. District Judge Harvey Bartle III awarded $180,000 in actual damages for emotional distress to our client, a son whose Experian credit report had an old disputed debt of his father's on it (they shared the same name).  The court then added another $180,000 in punitive damages for the defendant's willful FCRA violation.  Attorney fees and costs were granted in full.  

Vivint Solar Litigation

New Jersey, California, Florida, Illinois, and Maryland 2016-2021 

Andy led a team of lawyers who successfully prosecuted consumer protection actions across the country against a nationwide solar company accused of door-to-door sales fraud and Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) violations by scores of consumers.  The cases resulted in a confidential settlement and a number of precedential legal opinions favorable to consumers on topics such as forced arbitration (Knight v. Vivint Solar Developer, LLC, 243 A.3d 956 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2020)), and pattern evidence in FCRA cases (Brown v. Vivint Solar, Inc., --- F. Supp. 3d ----, 2020 WL 2513518 (M.D. Fla. May 15, 2020)).  Read more here.  

Synan v. Credit Acceptance Corp.
Arbitration - November 2020

After two day Zoom trial held during the pandemic, our client was awarded $103,500 for damages sustained during a wrongful repossession.  The arbitrator also ruled that the defendants had to pay his attorney fees and costs.  

Sessay v. Peoples Commerce & Admiral Recovery
No. 17-3219 (E.D. Pa. 2020)

Wrongful repossession case bench trial (high-low) in front of U.S. District Judge Mitchell S. Goldberg resulted in the "high" award of $85,000 against subprime auto lender and an award of $100,000 in emotional distress and $75,000 in punitive damages against the repo man for a total award of $260,000.  

Hyman v. Devlin
No. 17-00089 (W.D. Pa. 2019)

Civil rights case arising from wrongful repo where the jury awarded a verdict of $500,000 in punitive damages against a Pennsylvania State Police Trooper for unlawfully aiding in the repossession of a consumer's vehicle, in violation of the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.  The jury's award appears to be the largest verdict ever in a case like this.  Read more here.  

Shaw v. Law Offices of Hayt Hayt & Landau
2018 WL 1634829 (D.N.J. Apr. 5, 2018)

Our clients had their primary bank account frozen because a debt collector wouldn't stop levying it over a debt the collector knew belonged to a stranger.   The wrongful levies prevented our clients from buying baby formula and paying their bills.  The federal court held that the Debt Collector must face trial over whether it maliciously used/abused the court system to unlawfully garnish consumers' bank accounts on debts that belonged to someone else.

Schultz v. Midland Credit Management
905 F.3d 159 (3d Cir. 2018)

U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit reversed the trial court and reinstated our clients' class action claim of deception against debt collection giant Midland Credit, who sent our clients a collection letter that threatened reporting of a debt to the IRS, when there was no possibility of reporting ever coming to pass.

Kakley v. Southeast Toyota Finance
Arbitration - June 2018

Arbitration award of $115,000 plus attorney fees and costs for our client - a young man whose front tooth was knocked out by a repo man's sucker punch.

Daniels v. Hollister Co.
113 A.3d 796 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2015)

In a case of first impression, appeals court held there is no “ascertainablility” requirement under NJ's class action rules, affirming the trial court’s class certification.  

Douglass v. Convergent Outsourcing
765 F.3d 299 (3d Cir. 2014)

In this important privacy rights decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held for the first time that a debt collector violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by displaying a consumer's account number through the glassine window of a collection envelope.

Gager v. Dell Financial Services 
727 F. 3d 265 (3d Cir. 2013)

In the first case of its kind, the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that cellphone customers may block annoying robocalls to their cellphones, a decision benefiting hundreds of millions of American consumers.

Cubler v. Trumark Fin. Credit Union 
83 A.3d 235 (Pa. Super. Ct. 2013)

The appeals court held that a 6 year statute of limitations applies Pennsylvania’s law governing car repossession, reversing dismissal of this consumer class action.

Cappuccio v. Prime Capital Funding, LLC
649 F.3d 180 (3rd Cir. 2011)

At the height of the mortgage meltdown in 2008, we obtained a jury verdict for punitive damages against mortgage giant Countrywide for defrauding our client.  During the appeal that followed, we made positive new case law for consumers facing predatory loans.  Our client was later invited to the White House, where she discussed her ordeal with President Obama.

In re Hansen, No. 11-10472-SR
Bkrtcy. E.D. Pa. bench ruling dated June 7, 2011

During a two-day long evidentiary hearing, our firm successfully unraveled a sophisticated accounting scam to recover $1 million in stolen insurance proceeds for our client, a widow defrauded by a business owner.

Select Presentations

Andy Milz has been invited to speak to lawyers around the country on a variety of consumer law issues, such as abusive collection practices, credit reporting privacy and accuracy, illegal vehicle repossessions, and finance fraud.  Recent presentations include: 

Solar Fraud and Other Home Improvement Scams at the National Consumer Law Center’s annual Consumer Rights Litigation Conference in Seattle, WA - November  2022

Handling Cases Post-Judgment: Tips and Strategies for an Effective Outcome, National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) “Spring Training” Conference. Phoenix, AZ - May 2022

Effective Use of Discovery in FDCPA Cases, National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) FDCPA Conference Orlando, FL - April 2022

Best Practices in Auto Trials and Arbitration, National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) “Spring Training” Conference (virtual webinar) - April 2021

The Dark Side of Solar: Fraud, PACE and Home Improvement Loan Scams, National Consumer Law Center’s annual Consumer Rights Litigation Conference (virtual webinar) - November 2020

Damages in Fair Credit Reporting Act Cases, National Association of Consumer Advocates’ “Spring Training” (virtual webinar) - May 2020

Repossessions: FDCPA Claims, Breach of the Peace, and Big Verdicts, National Consumer Law Center’s annual Consumer Rights Litigation Conference.  Boston, MA - November 2019

Effective Use of the TCPA for Individual Cases Challenging Debt Collection Harassment, National Consumer Law Center’s annual Consumer Rights Litigation Conference.  Boston, MA - November 2019

NACA’s Military Consumer Justice Project 2018, U.S. Military Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in Wrightstown, NJ on November 15, 2018 and at Dover Air Force Base in Dover, DE on November 16, 2018

Abusive Attorney Collection Practices, National Consumer Law Center’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Conference.  Chicago, IL – March 2018

FDCPA Defensive Strategies (Part 1), National Consumer Law Center’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Conference.  Chicago, IL – March 2018

Maximizing the Value of Individual TCPA Cases, National Consumer Law Center’s Consumer Rights Litigation Conference.  Washington, DC - November 2017

Maximizing the Value of Individual TCPA Cases, National Consumer Law Center’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Training Conference. New Orleans, LA - March 2017

Claims Spotting in Repossessions and Auto Loan Collections, National Consumer Law Center’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Training Conference.  Miami, FL - March 2016

PBI’s Evolving Issues in Fair Debt Collection: FDCPA, TCPA and Beyond. Philadelphia (and simulcast) - June 2016  

Ethical Issues Presented by Individual and Class Action Retainer Agreements. National Consumer Law Center’s Fair Debt Collection Practices Training Conference.  Washington, DC – March 2015

A Consumer Litigator’s Guide to Clients’ Use of Social Media, 9th Annual meeting of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, Pennsylvania Chapter, at Temple University School of Law.  Philadelphia, PA - March 2015

Military Consumer Law Readiness Project, U.S. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, Burlington County, NJ - June 2015

Consumer Debt Collection, 71st Annual Legal Assistance Course at the U.S. Judge Advocate General's Legal Center and School.  Charlottesville, VA - November 2015

Breach of the Peace: Police Involvement in Repossessions, National Consumer Law Center’s Consumer Rights Litigation Conference.  San Antonio, TX - November 2015  

Primer on the Fair Credit Reporting Act, Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Philadelphia and Mechanicsburg, PA - June 2014

Identity Theft, Pennsylvania Bar Institute.  Mechanicsburg, PA – March 2014

PBI’s Primer on the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Pennsylvania Bar Institute. Philadelphia, PA - June 2013

NACA’s Military Consumer Law Readiness Project, U.S. Military Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst.  Burlington County, NJ - November 2011