In The News

Jury Hands Up $500K in Punitives Against PA State Trooper in Wrongful Repossession Case

 

Legal Intelligencer, February 8, 2018, Philadelphia, PA -- A woman who sued the Pennsylvania State Police after a trooper assisted with the repossession of her car has been awarded $500,000 in punitive damages by a jury in Johnstown, PA.
   Angela Hyman sued Pennsylvania State Police Corporal Bryan Devlin for civil rights violations - specifically her Fourth and 14th Amendment rights to due process and freedom from unreasonable seizures of property -- stemming from an October 2016 incident in which Devlin assisted a repo man repossession her 2014 Toyota Corolla.
   The 12 member jury found that Devlin committed a "reckless, malicious, or calous" violation of Hyman's rights by ordering her wife out of the car and threatening to break the window in the process of assisting the repossession.

Hyman v. Devlin 2019 U.S.D.D. W.D.Pa. No. 3:17-cv-00089

Flitter Milz KO's Collection Giant - Midland Credit Management

  September 24, 2018: Philadelphia, PA

U.S. Court of Appeals Precedential Ruling Impacts Consumers Nationwide 
In an important ruling this week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit agreed with Flitter Milz that a collection dun sent to a consumer was deceptive and in violation of the federal law regulating debt collectors.

Private Debt Collectors Hired by IRS to Collect Taxpayer Debt

  April 26, 2018

Uncle Sam Contracts Private Collectors to Collect Unpaid Taxes
A recent NBC News article reported that the federal government has contracted out the collection of unpaid income tax with four private debt collection agencies.  These agencies are CBE Group, ConServe, Performant, and Pioneer Credit Recovery.

CFPB: Student Loan Giant NAVIENT Cheated Borrowers

  Feb 27, 2017

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently filed suit against Navient, the nation's largest student loan servicer, and Pioneer Credit Recovery, its collection arm, for systematically and illegally failing borrowers at every state of repayment.

Lawsuit Against Debt Collector AllianceOne - Judge Rules in Favor of Consumers

On January 19, 2017, a federal judge in Philadelphia denied an attempt by debt collector AllianceOne Receivables Management, Inc. to dismiss the class action complaint filed by Flitter Milz client Milton Medina.
   Alliance One was sued for language in their collection notices that threatened consumers with Internal Revenue Service reporting.  The federal district court agreed that the misstatement of IRS reporting might well influence the consumer's decision making.  The Court, ruling on a novel issue, also found that the Plaintiff had standing under the U.S. Constitution to sue for the violation.  Whether a debt is owed or not, the collector must comply with consumer protection laws.

What are Robo Texts?

  January 17, 2017

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC) recently advised that text messages sent by auto-dialers ("robotexts") are prohibited under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Consumers who received a new cell phone number must revoke consent in order to trigger TCPA protections, especially when their new cell phone number was reassigned from a prior owner who did grant consent to receive robotexts or robocalls.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Delivers...This Time Against TransUnion and Equifax

  Los Angeles Times, January 10, 2017

Equifax, TransUnion fined for Selling Consumers Credit Scores not used by most Lenders

Credit scores and credit reporting are critical to a consumer’s financial personality. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has penalized TransUnion and Equifax for misleading the public by marketing the purchase of credit scores used by lenders. In Addition, the bureaus used the promise of free or cheap scores to hook consumers into costly monthly credit monitoring subscriptions.

Partner's Use of Pepper Letterhead Brings Firm Into FDCPA Suit

Legal Intelligencer, November 22, 2016: Philadelphia, PA --Cary Flitter is quoted in the Legal Intelligencer's story about a lawyer at Pepper Hamilton, one of Philadelphia's oldest and most prestigious law firms, that used law firm letterhead to address a personal dispute with a tenant in his rental property.  The tenant responded with a consumer lawsuit against the firm, for failing to follow the rules applicable to firms collecting consumer debt.  Whether a consumer has a payment that has become past due or not, collectors and law firm collectors must follow the law.

A 10-Digit Key Code to Your Private Life: Your Cellphone Number

New York Times, November 22, 2016

"The next time someone asks you for your cellphone number, you may want to think twice about giving it.  The cell phone number is more than a bunch of digits.  It is increasingly used as a link to private information maintained by all sorts of companies, including money lenders and social networks. It can be used to monitor and predict what you buy, look for online or even watch on television."