By: Robert J. Nahoum
Infamous debt buyer Midland Funding, LLC files thousands and thousands of debt collection cases in New York every year. Midland and its attorneys are often accused of being sloppy in how they handle such a high volume of cases. One recent case in Wayne County New York illustrates this sloppiness.
Midland had first filed a consumer debt collection lawsuit in Franklin County. After failing to locate the consumer in Franklin County to serve the court papers, Midland made a motion to the court to transfer the case to Wayne County where presumably it suspected the consumer would be found.  The Court granted the motion and the case was transferred.
Under New York court procedure, a plaintiff has 120 days from when it files its lawsuit to serve the defendant with the summons and complaint. Failure to do so will result in dismissal – a fatal consequence if the statue of limitations on the plaintiff’s claims have run out. For this reason, a court can extend the 120 deadline for “good cause and the interest of justice. Good cause requires a ‘threshold’ showing the Plaintiff made reasonably diligent efforts to make timely serviceâ€.
In this case, hot on the heels of its successful transfer motion, what “reasonably diligent efforts to make timely service†did Midland make? Apparently none – according to the Court, “we do know the length of delay in service. Relative to the promptness in making this request for an extension, the initial 120 day period expired on July 13, 2013. This application was not filed until May 11, 2015; two months shy of two years late.â€
For this reason, the Court dealt a fatal blow denying Midland Funding’s request to extend the time to serve the Summons and Complain on the Defendant delivering an unexpected victory to the consumer.
If you need help settling or defending a debt collection law suit, stopping harassing debt collectors or suing a debt collector, contact us today to see what we can do for you. With office located in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Rockland County, the Law Offices of Robert J. Nahoum defends consumers in debt collection cases throughout the Tristate area including New Jersey.
The Law Offices of Robert J. Nahoum, P.C
(845) 232-0202
www.nahoumlaw.com
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