Case Results
The following are summaries of cases I have successfully handled:
Mortgages
My clients entered into a loan modification. The mortgage was transferred to Nationstar Mortgage, which failed to correctly enter the modification into its system. Nationstar refused to fix the problem despite numerous disputes, and began foreclosure. Nationstar refused to fix the problem until my clients filed a lawsuit. The case settled with a payment of $250,000 to my clients.
Mortgages
My clients entered into a mortgage loan modification with Chase. Despite this, Chase never modified the loan and continually threatened foreclosure if my clients didn’t make payments according to the pre-modified loan terms. Chase then transferred the loan to Select Portfolio Servicing, who also refused to honor the loan modification and threatened foreclosure, even after a lawsuit was filed. The case settled on confidential terms.
Mortgages
My client noticed that he was being charged late fees on his mortgage payments by Household Financial Services, Inc. even though he was mailing his payments on time. He mailed several payments with “Delivery Confirmation” and found that he was charged a late fee even when his payment was received on time. We successfully brought an action to force Household to revise and monitor their practices and pay damages.
Credit Reporting
My client paid off his home loan with Citimortgage Inc. early. Citimortgage’s computer system would not allow my client to make his last payment, even though the mortgage documents gave my client the right to pre-pay the mortgage. Citimortgage’s computers accepted the final payment, but did not apply it to his account. In subsequent months, when no further payments were made by my client, Citimortgage reported derogatory credit. My client requested that they withdraw the derogatory credit but they refused. We successfully brought a lawsuit to force Citimortgage to remove the negative credit information and for damages.
Unfair business practices
My clients enrolled in the paralegal program at Sawyer College, a local vocational school. Sawyer advertised that nearly 100% of its former graduates had been placed in the paralegal field. The instruction at the school was substandard and very few of the graduating class were able to find jobs as paralegals. We learned that in calculating their placement rates, the school considered that graduates who were placed in any job were “in the paralegal field.” Even graduates who went to work at McDonald’s were considered to be a successful paralegal placement. We successfully brought a claim for misrepresentation against the school.
Credit Reporting
My client obtained his credit report and learned that an apartment complex where he had once lived was reporting a balance due. In fact, there was no balance due. He obtained a letter from the apartment complex and sent it to the credit reporting agencies. Equifax and Experian refused to take the account off my client’s credit report even though they received the letter from the apartment complex stating that no amount was due and no bad credit should be reported. We successfully brought an action to force Equifax and Experian to remove the derogatory credit and for damages.
Debt Collection
My client was contacted by a local debt collector named Creditcare, Inc. concerning a ten year old account which she did not owe. The collector was abusive to her, and repeatedly called her at work. The collector also contacted my client’s co-workers and her mother. On one occasion, he taunted my client to put her boss on the line, repeating: “fetch her, fetch her, fetch her, fetch her.” We successfully brought an action for damages based on the harassing conduct.
Credit Reporting
My client had a dispute with Mitsubishi Motor Credit of America. After we filed a lawsuit, she reached a written settlement with Mitsubishi by which Mitsubishi agreed to pay her damages and also agreed not to report the disputed account to the credit reporting agencies. Some months later the disputed account appeared on her Equifax report. She requested that Equifax remove the account, but it refused. We successfully brought a lawsuit to force Equifax to clear the account from her credit.
Auto Fraud
My client bought a new car from Concord Toyota with 59 miles on the odometer. Months later, she happened to look in the glove compartment and found a Concord Toyota document which indicated that at some point the car had been for sale with 3652 miles. When she confronted Concord Toyota, they denied any wrongdoing. It was later discovered that Concord Toyota had installed a new odometer with zero miles just before selling it to my client. We successfully brought an action for odometer fraud.
Credit Reporting
My client applied for a loan to help him attend law school. He was denied because his otherwise perfect credit rating was marred by a bogus $50.00 debt to a dentist for allegedly failing to cancel an appointment sufficiently in advance. A collection agency which was reporting the account refused to take it off my client’s credit report, and failed to adequately investigate the account when my client disputed it. We successfully brought an action to remove the account and for damages.
Credit Reporting
My client received a harassing telephone call from a debt collector who was attempting to collect a debt owed by his wife’s adult son. After a contentious telephone call, the collector hung up the phone. Some time later, my client noticed that the collector had illegally “pulled” his credit report. He discovered this by looking at the “inquiries” section of his credit report. We successfully brought an action for damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Lemon Law
My client bought a used BMW from a used car lot. The car was advertised as “certified” and was also advertised to be under the BMW factory warranty. Soon after buying the car, my client experienced a significant problem with the steering. He brought it to an authorized BMW dealer who told him that the warranty was void because the car had been in a significant collision. We successfully brought an action to rescind the purchase and for damages.
Debt Collection
My client was contacted by a local debt collector named Creditcare, Inc. concerning a medical bill which she believed had already been paid eleven years earlier. She had not been contacted by anyone during the eleven years. Creditcare demanded that she pay the alleged debt immediately and threatened to sue her, garnish her wages, and ruin her credit, even though the statute of limitations and the seven year limit on reporting negative credit had long since passed. We successfully brought an action for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Unfair Business Practices
My client had an account with Wells Fargo. Someone fraudulently obtained access to his account and deposited a check for over $5,000. That person then withdrew the funds in a series of $300 ATM withdrawals over the following three weeks until the account was depleted. My client discovered this fraud upon receiving his monthly statement and immediately notified Wells Fargo. When the fraudulent check bounced a few weeks later, Wells Fargo demanded that my client reimburse the amount of the check. We successfully brought an action under the Electronic Funds Transfer Act to require Wells Fargo to recognize the fraudulent nature of the deposit and withdrawals.
Credit Reporting
My client was defrauded by her tax preparer. After acquiring all of his personal information, she fraudulently listed him as a borrower on her own mortgage. She then fell behind in her mortgage, which caused the mortgage company to report derogatory information on my client’s credit report. My client informed the mortgage company that he had been defrauded and was not the true borrower. The mortgage lender failed to investigate the matter, and continued to report the derogatory credit information. We successfully brought a lawsuit to force the mortgage company to delete the credit information and for damages.
Debt Collection
My client, a native of Nicaragua, had a credit account with a local jewelry store on which she made several thousand dollars worth of payments over the years. When my client fell ill, she fell behind in her payments such that she owed approximately $300. In response, the jewelry store wrote a letter in Spanish which threatened to contact the police department so as to have her arrested. My client did not realize that she could not be arrested for falling behind on credit card payments and feared that this would occur. We successfully brought an action for violation of the fair debt collection laws.
Lemon Law
My client bought a new Pontiac which had a repeated brake problem. At speeds over 45 m.p.h., application of the brakes caused the steering wheel and front end to shimmy, and the brakes to throb. My client brought the car in four times for repairs, but the problem always returned within a month. Finally, my client asked GM to repurchase the car under the lemon law, but they refused. We successfully brought an action to force GM to buy back the Pontiac.
Unfair Business Practices
My client discovered that approximately $35,000 had been fraudulently withdrawn from his Dean Witter investment account by means of a debit card. My client immediately notified Dean Witter of the unauthorized withdrawal. Dean Witter reimbursed approximately half of the unauthorized withdrawals but refused to reimburse the remainder. We successfully brought an action to obtain reimbursement of the remainder.
Auto Fraud
My client went to Falore Nissan to purchase a new car. The salesperson suggested that she lease the car instead. My client agreed to do so, but only if the lease payments were front-loaded so that at the end of the lease term, no additional payments were due to own the vehicle. The dealership handed her a contract to sign, and she did not notice a lump sum payment of over $14,000 due at the end of the lease. The next day she discovered the discrepancy in the lease and brought the lease back to the dealership. She received a corrected lease with no lump sum payment. She made all required payments during the three year lease term. When she asked for the lease, Nissan Motors Acceptance Corporation would not give it to her, claiming that she had to pay the $14,000 payment. It appeared that Falore Nissan not given the corrected contract to Nissan Motors Acceptance Corporation. We successfully filed a suit for damages.
Unfair Business Practices
I have prosecuted a successful class action against Global Client Solutions, LLC and Rocky Mountain Bank & Trust based on their involvement in a debt settlement operation which charged fees which greatly exceeded those allowed by California law.