On January 1, 2014, the California Fair Debt Buying Practices Act ("FDBPA") went into effect. The Act, which is intended to provide more protections to consumers whose debts have been sold to a debt buyer, only applies to these debt buyers. It does not apply to...
The FDBCA prohibits a debt buyer from filing suit or initiating arbitration or other legal proceedings to collect a consumer debt if the applicable statute of limitations on the debt buyer's claim has expired. See, California Civil Code § 1788.56. When a debt buyer...
Collecting upon a judgment is not for the faint of heart. Unless there is insurance or a solvent debtor, getting the judgment is only half the battle. The real theater comes after the client has expended considerable sums getting to the judgment only to learn that the...
Under the FDBPA, if the debtor makes a written request to the debt buyer "for information regarding the debt or proof of the debt" then the debt buyer must provide the debtor, within 15 calendar days and without charge, all of the information or documents required by...
In some cases, obtaining a judgment against a defaulting debtor is only the starting point of the collection process. Unfortunately, there are debtors who would rather fight every step of the way rather than pay back the money borrowed or pay for the goods or services...
Until 2003, there was no clear rule on what notice of entry of judgment constituted. Indeed, in Palmer v.GTE California Inc. (2003) 30 Cal.4th 1265, the Supreme Court finally clarified what constitutes written notice. Palmer held that a party may satisfy the statutory...
It's always nice to see the law catching up with technology. In Office Depot v. Zuccarini (9th Circuit 2010) 593 F.3d 696, the court ruled that a creditor may levy against (seize) a domain name in the jurisdiction where the domain name registry is located. This...
Commercial collection attorneys frequently settle cases before judgment is entered with a payment stream over time and a stipulation for entry of judgment in the event of default. The lynchpin to this resolution is making sure that the court retains jurisdiction...
With the right collection attorney (i.e., a collection attorney that can actually collect), a money judgment can accumulate a sizable 'return on one's investment'. As of January 1, 1983, the rate of interest on a money judgment is 10% per annum. California Code of...
The start of a collection lawsuit begins with the summons and the complaint. A complaint is the first document filed with the court by a person or entity claiming legal rights against another. Many collection cases revolve around a claim for damages based upon a...
