By: Robert J. Nahoum
THE PROBLEM:
You have just been served was a summons and complaint, the law-firm Pressler and Pressler, LLP is listed as the attorney for some company you have never heard of who is suing you for an old debt you’re not familiar with.
WHO IS PRESSLER AND PRESSLER, LLP?:
Pressler and Pressler is most often identified as a New Jersey debt collection law firm but they routinely sue consumer is New York courts as well. According to the New York State Unified Court System, Pressler and Pressler filed almost 12,000 New York debt collection lawsuits in 2014 alone.
Pressler and Pressler’s two biggest clients are the debt buyers New Century Financial Services, Inc., Midland Funding, LLC, and Palisades Collection, LLC.
Pressler & Pressler has its headquarters located at 7 Entin Road, Parsippany, New Jersey 07054-5020 but also has a New York office located at 305 Broadway, New York, NY 10007.
While Pressler & Pressler is a law-firm, in reality they are more like a glorified collection agency using the courts as a debt collection tool. Once a judgment is obtained, law-firm debt collectors like Pressler & Pressler can freeze bank accounts, garnishee wages and issue subpoenas.
Law-firm debt collectors like Pressler & Pressler employ few attorneys but many debt collection agents. In fact, if you call them, you will not speak with an attorney, you will speak with a debt collection agent who is probably being paid a commission for any money he or she collects from you.
Pressler & Pressler and many of its debt buyer clients are sued regularly by consumers for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The FDCPA is a federal law that regulates the collection of consumer debts. It precludes third party debt collectors from using false, misleading, deceptive and harassing debt collection tactics.
In a recent New Jersey FDCPA suit against Pressler & Pressler, it was found that “the process by which Pressler prepares complaints almost entirely involves automation and non-attorney personnel. There is nothing wrong with that; the FDCPA does not mandate drudgery or enshrine outmoded business methods. The state court complaint filed in the state action here, however, was reviewed by an attorney for approximately four seconds. The case law is sparse, and it is possible for reasonable people to disagree as to what constitutes reasonable attorney review. But whatever reasonable attorney review may be, a four-second scan is not it.â€
THE PROBLEM WITH PRESSLER & PRESSLER, LLP:
To Pressler & Pressler and its debt buyer clients, you the consumer are no more than an entry on a spreadsheet, you are data. Unfortunately for Pressler & Pressler, entries on spreadsheets are not enough to win against you in court.
In a debt collection lawsuit, Pressler & Pressler and its debt buyer clients always have the burden to prove that the consumer is responsible for the debt. To meet this burden, Pressler & Pressler clients must prove that: (1) it has the right to sue you; (2) the debt is yours; and (3) you owe the amount for which you were sued. It is never the burden of the consumer to prove that he or she does not owe the debt.
To meet its burden, the proof submitted by Pressler & Pressler must be based on “personal knowledgeâ€. Personal knowledge means that the person offering the evidence must be a witness to the event shown in a particular document. For example, if credit card bills are offered into evidence, the person offering the evidence must have personal knowledge of how the information in the credit card bill got there, how it is generated and how it is maintained. That person must have personal knowledge of the computer system and how it operates. If this person does not have such personal knowledge, the evidence is “hearsay†and it cannot be used.
Remember, to Pressler & Pressler you are just an entry on a spreadsheet. For this reason Pressler & Pressler and its debt buyer clients routinely lack the evidence necessary to prove its case and beat you in court.
WHAT YOU SHOULD DO:
If you’ve been sued by Pressler & Pressler in a debt collection lawsuit, consider hiring a qualified attorney experienced in debt defense. As with all debt defense cases, a good debt defense lawyer analyzes debt collection cases to determine if any violations of the FDCPA have occurred. If a debt buyer or its attorney violates the FDCPA, you can sue for statutory damages up to $1,000.00 plus actual damages (like pain and suffering) and your attorney’s fees. In FDCPA cases, a good consumer lawyer won’t charge clients a penny out of pocket.
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