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  1. #1
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    Default Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Massachusetts

    Hello all, I'm new here and have tried a few debit forums and really not found much in answers so I'm hoping I can get some last min opinions here.

    I'm being sued in small claims court by Lustig, Glaser & Wilson, P.C in Massachusetts for a credit card debit that is with-in the SOL. I'm looking for some thoughts on my line of thinking.

    The plaintiff is Barclays Bank/Juniper but the attorney is the above mentioned L,G,C P.C in Mass where I live. I've done a bit of research and I'm not 100% sure that Barclays/Juniper has anything to do with the suite, as I believe it's just a tactic being used by the the debit collector to make it appear as if they are working in behalf of Barclays/Juniper.

    Lustig, Glaser & Wilson, P.C seems to be a front for HEMLOCK GORGE HOLDINGS, LTD. neither of which are licensed debit collectors with-in Mass from what I could find.

    I never received/or noticed a prior notice about the debit, as I have a PO box and get a lot of junk mail. Meaning it might have been in there but I didn't notice it and just trashed it. (I don't get a lot of personal mail, but thanks to being in a PO box I do get a lot of junk so I have a habit of trashing what appears to be junk)

    I noticed the summons that I was being sued but it was after I returned back from a out of state trip so I'm not working with a lot of time. (court date is Oct 20th)

    1st thing that stands out, is they have sued me in their district in Somerville, which is over 50 miles from my residence. My own district court house in Dudley is only 4 miles from my house. (They knew my address as they sent me notice I was being sued and still sued in Somerville district)

    I've done research on this matter and found a case that was dismissed partially on the fact that the case was not filed in the defendant's home district as required by FDCPA.

    ( http://pacer.mad.uscourts.gov/dc/cgi...onmtdaug27.pdf case is MICHELLE HARRINGTON,
    v. CACV OF COLORADO, LLC, and J.A. CAMBECE LAW OFFICE, PC, )


    1) I know that I can file a motion to change venue because the clerk of court admitted they should have never accepted my case. What I'm wondering is can I use the above linked case as a way to have the case dismissed?

    I talked to the clerk of court and they said I could file the motion to dismiss & a motion for change of venue at the same time. I'm curious what the opinion is on this, as I'm not sure if I should do both at the same time. I wonder if the judge would be less likely to dismiss on the grounds of wrong venue if I also have a motion to change venue. (yet I am dealing with a time frame issue)

    Assuming I am able to get the case dismissed, will they then be able to refile it in my district?

    2nd I'm not dealing with a lot of time before the court date I assume the debit collectors will attempt to drag out returning a response to my DV. If I can't get the case dismissed or the change of venue what happens if they don't respond to my DV prior to the court date (it's less than 30 days from time I sent DV which was on Friday)

    btw I did try to contact the debit collector and tried to get them to agree to a postponement but they just did everything possible trying to get me to agree to paying and refused to postpone.


    Thanks for any help. I'm trying to get last min opinions as I have to drive the the court house tomorrow to file my motion to dismiss & the change of venue.

    edit.. btw this is a small claims case.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    I would file a motion to dismiss as opposed to a change in venue ... they may grant the change in venue & you asked for it so you cannot complain, right?

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    Quote Quoting DEC
    View Post
    The plaintiff is Barclays Bank/Juniper but the attorney is the above mentioned L,G,C P.C in Mass where I live. I've done a bit of research and I'm not 100% sure that Barclays/Juniper has anything to do with the suite, as I believe it's just a tactic being used by the the debit collector to make it appear as if they are working in behalf of Barclays/Juniper.
    If the bank is named as the plaintiff, the bank is the plaintiff.
    Quote Quoting DEC
    Lustig, Glaser & Wilson, P.C seems to be a front for HEMLOCK GORGE HOLDINGS, LTD. neither of which are licensed debit collectors with-in Mass from what I could find.
    If they're a law firm representing a client, the bank, and they're licensed in your state. they can sue you in your state.
    Quote Quoting DEC
    I never received/or noticed a prior notice about the debit, as I have a PO box and get a lot of junk mail. Meaning it might have been in there but I didn't notice it and just trashed it.
    Irrelevant.
    Quote Quoting DEC
    1st thing that stands out, is they have sued me in their district in Somerville, which is over 50 miles from my residence. My own district court house in Dudley is only 4 miles from my house. (They knew my address as they sent me notice I was being sued and still sued in Somerville district)
    You previously suggested that you receive your mail at a P.O. box, and you now suggest that it's being delivered to your home. Please clarify.
    Quote Quoting DEC
    I've done research on this matter and found a case that was dismissed partially on the fact that the case was not filed in the defendant's home district as required by FDCPA.
    You've told us that the plaintiff is the original creditor, not a debt collector. Even assuming that, as with the plaintiff in the case you mention, you have lived at your current address at all relevant times and entered into all contracts from that address, in-house debt collections are not covered by the FDCPA. Note that in the case you mention the violation at issue was not found to be grounds for dismissal, but was instead found to be a valid basis for a complaint under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A.
    Quote Quoting DEC
    I talked to the clerk of court and they said I could file the motion to dismiss & a motion for change of venue at the same time. I'm curious what the opinion is on this, as I'm not sure if I should do both at the same time. I wonder if the judge would be less likely to dismiss on the grounds of wrong venue if I also have a motion to change venue. (yet I am dealing with a time frame issue)
    You should not expect to get a dismissal based upon a mere claim of incorrect venue. If you believe that the incorrect venue would support a counter-claim, you may file a counter-claim. If you believe that there's a statutory basis for a dismissal based upon incorrect venue, you can bring a motion for dismiss under the relevant statute.
    Quote Quoting DEC
    Assuming I am able to get the case dismissed, will they then be able to refile it in my district?
    If the case is dismissed without prejudice, yes. But if the only issue is improper venue, a court would typically order that the case be transferred to the proper venue and that the defendant pay any associated fees. If you win summary disposition, that's like winning a trial.
    Quote Quoting DEC
    If I can't get the case dismissed or the change of venue what happens if they don't respond to my DV prior to the court date (it's less than 30 days from time I sent DV which was on Friday)
    Who is "they"? The only parties you have identified so far are the original creditor and the original creditor's law firm. As I previously indicated, the FDCPA applies to third party debt collectors, not to the original creditor's in-house collection efforts. If there was a collection agency previously working on this case, a request for validation directed to them would not be relevant the present lawsuit as they're not a party.
    Quote Quoting DEC
    btw I did try to contact the debit collector and tried to get them to agree to a postponement but they just did everything possible trying to get me to agree to paying and refused to postpone.
    You've told us that the plaintiff is the original creditor. If you're contacting a collection agency that was previously trying to collect the debt, there's no reason to believe they would have any control over the litigation. (If you didn't receive any collection notices prior to this suit, though, how do you know what collection agency was previously involved such that you could make that contact?)

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    If the bank is named as the plaintiff, the bank is the plaintiff.

    If they're a law firm representing a client, the bank, and they're licensed in your state. they can sue you in your state.
    I believe they are misrepresenting the fact that they are filing claim on behalf of the bank. I've done some research on this law firm and they have in the past claimed to represent various original debt holders when in fact they were representing their own debt collection corporation that is based at the same address as the attorney at law firm. They operate as one in the same but they try to hide the fact that they also own a debt collection corp.

    Neither of which the attorney at law firm or the secondary corp is listed under the Mass govt web site as being licensed debt collectors. Via a industry letter issued by the Division of Banks whom over see debt collection regulations with-in Mass, have stated that their opinion is that law firms acting in this manor are considered debt collectors and are required to be licensed.

    With that said I'm not quite sure how they are getting around it, but that's my next step which is to research them a bit more and I've also requested that they provide proof that they legally have the right to collect this debit and provide me with their debt collection license.

    (I wrote more in regard to this but it was lost when I tried to post, but here is a sort summery)

    The attorney suing me filed suit as if they were working on behalf of the bank but when I talked to them on the phone the representative said they were suing for themselves. I have along with my motion for dismissal asked them to show me whom the current debt holder is and that they have the right and legal ability to collect on this debt. Being on their own letter head signed by the Attorney they claim the be a debt collector so this rules out any loop holes of an attorney acting on behalf of a client and not needing to be licensed as a debt collector.

    I have a bit more info that I had typed, but that's a brief summery for now. Anyway I'm going to start pushing on the license end of this to see if they can prove they have the legal right to collect.



    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    You previously suggested that you receive your mail at a P.O. box, and you now suggest that it's being delivered to your home. Please clarify.
    I receive mail via PO box at a post office a few miles from my house. I never said anything about receiving it at my house only that the district court with-in my jurisdiction is with-in 5 miles of my house as is the post office for that matter.


    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    You've told us that the plaintiff is the original creditor, not a debt collector. Even assuming that, as with the plaintiff in the case you mention, you have lived at your current address at all relevant times and entered into all contracts from that address, in-house debt collections are not covered by the FDCPA. Note that in the case you mention the violation at issue was not found to be grounds for dismissal, but was instead found to be a valid basis for a complaint under Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 93A.
    I never stated I lived there during the entire time this took place. I lived in FL when the alleged debt was obtained and defaulted. I moved to Mass last year and have since been sued here in small claims. So for the entire time I have lived in Mass I've been at the same address and never even visited the district in question nor done business there.

    As for the case I linked the reason the FDCPA portion in regard to venue was not found to be grounds for dismissal was because of SOL which was 1 year. The fact that dismissal by 93A was upheld was because it had a SOL of 4 years. Meaning from my understanding the judge decided that he couldn't rule for a dismissal on FDCPA it's self, due to the SOL but he could still grant a dismissal on the fact that the improper venue was still a violation of the FDCPA and as such was a violation of 93A which had longer SOL.

    At least that's my understanding when I read it. Either way I likely won't be granted the dismissal on those grounds according to the clerk but I'm still going to argue for it and push the license issues.


    Quote Quoting Mr. Knowitall
    View Post
    You should not expect to get a dismissal based upon a mere claim of incorrect venue. If you believe that the incorrect venue would support a counter-claim, you may file a counter-claim. If you believe that there's a statutory basis for a dismissal based upon incorrect venue, you can bring a motion for dismiss under the relevant statute.

    If the case is dismissed without prejudice, yes. But if the only issue is improper venue, a court would typically order that the case be transferred to the proper venue and that the defendant pay any associated fees. If you win summary disposition, that's like winning a trial.

    Who is "they"? The only parties you have identified so far are the original creditor and the original creditor's law firm. As I previously indicated, the FDCPA applies to third party debt collectors, not to the original creditor's in-house collection efforts. If there was a collection agency previously working on this case, a request for validation directed to them would not be relevant the present lawsuit as they're not a party.

    You've told us that the plaintiff is the original creditor. If you're contacting a collection agency that was previously trying to collect the debt, there's no reason to believe they would have any control over the litigation. (If you didn't receive any collection notices prior to this suit, though, how do you know what collection agency was previously involved such that you could make that contact?)
    I think most of this was covered in my posts above..

    Thanks for the reply. Keep in mind this is all new to me, so I'm learning as I'm going and trying to do things right. Over all I'd like to just come to a reasonable settlement but so far the debt collector has been pretty unreasonable. ( I've seen these guys referred to as worse than ambulance chasers on another forum) As such I'm simply trying to prolong things a bit and see if I can get them more willing to work with me. I'd rather not got to court, but so far I'm not satisfied that they have legal grounds to collect nor am I sure that if I did settle that some other guy wouldn't come out and try to collect on the same debt.

    On the plus side I did get things delayed a bit. I don't have to argue my motion to the clerk until mid Nov which gives me a reasonable amount of time to further research this and allows the Plaintiff time to return my requests of validation and so on. That was the biggest goal of today which was to push things back a bit.

  5. #5
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    Default Re: Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    Well looks like these guys seem to be trying to avoid my request for validation so far as the post office hasn't yet been able to return my receipt that was sent out on the 6th. I assume they were trying to avoid it thinking they wouldn't have to respond before the original hearing date. I'm going to assume that's a good sign on my behalf but also I guess it's a good thing I included a copy with the motions I filed yesterday.

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    Send it b y straight first class mail. They're not obligated to sign for the certified stuff.

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    I included a copy with my motion to dismiss because I referenced part of the letter in the motion. I gave the Clerk of Court a second copy of everything so they could mail it to the Plaintiff. This way there is no claiming that I didn't ask for it and even if they aren't "obligated" to sign for it denying it will look bad on their part IMO.

    I guess if I get the mailing back as denied, then I'll send out a another notice via 1st class. The issue with 1st class is they can say I never sent it and it would just be my word vs theirs.

    I'd have to assume that if they try to ignore my request that it will go favorable to me because I can then show they haven't proven that I owe the debt or that they have the right to collect it. Granted I'm new to this but seems it would be logical that they should be required to prove I owe it.

    One thing I'm unsure of of and didn't think to ask.. The post office said they hold a certified letter for 15 days before returning it. Anyone know if that is 15 business days or 15 days from the date it was first attempted to be delivered?

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    You are confused about the FDCPA. A FDCPA violation in the form of a failure to validate (following a timely request for validation) gives you grounds for a counterclaim, but does not magically make your debt go away. And as it apparently needs to be repeated, your gut feeling being duly noted, the plaintiff is the original lender and you have absolutely no evidence that some third party collection agency is lurking in the background and pulling the strings. Courts work on evidence, not assumption or speculation.

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    I'm not asking for the debt to magically go away. I'm asking for proof that they have the right to collect it and to show how this debt was calculated as well as proof that it is mine.

    I have no issue in working out a "reasonable" deal assuming they can prove the debt is valid. However what they are asking for is almost double what I originally owed so I'm going to fight until it's validated & they are more reasonable.

    Not to mention they had the wrong phone number that I've never had on their contact info for me as well as an alias that I have never used. Meaning I had a debt with the original bank, but it's not what they are claiming so I'm not even 100% sure that somehow they have mine mixed up with someone else.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Sued Over an Unpaid Debt

    Quote Quoting DEC
    View Post
    My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Massachusetts

    Hello all, I'm new here and have tried a few debit forums and really not found much in answers so I'm hoping I can get some last min opinions here.

    I'm being sued in small claims court by Lustig, Glaser & Wilson, P.C in Massachusetts for a credit card debit that is with-in the SOL. I'm looking for some thoughts on my line of thinking.

    The plaintiff is Barclays Bank/Juniper but the attorney is the above mentioned L,G,C P.C in Mass where I live. I've done a bit of research and I'm not 100% sure that Barclays/Juniper has anything to do with the suite, as I believe it's just a tactic being used by the the debit collector to make it appear as if they are working in behalf of Barclays/Juniper.

    Lustig, Glaser & Wilson, P.C seems to be a front for HEMLOCK GORGE HOLDINGS, LTD. neither of which are licensed debit collectors with-in Mass from what I could find.

    I never received/or noticed a prior notice about the debit, as I have a PO box and get a lot of junk mail. Meaning it might have been in there but I didn't notice it and just trashed it. (I don't get a lot of personal mail, but thanks to being in a PO box I do get a lot of junk so I have a habit of trashing what appears to be junk)

    I noticed the summons that I was being sued but it was after I returned back from a out of state trip so I'm not working with a lot of time. (court date is Oct 20th)

    1st thing that stands out, is they have sued me in their district in Somerville, which is over 50 miles from my residence. My own district court house in Dudley is only 4 miles from my house. (They knew my address as they sent me notice I was being sued and still sued in Somerville district)

    I've done research on this matter and found a case that was dismissed partially on the fact that the case was not filed in the defendant's home district as required by FDCPA.

    ( http://pacer.mad.uscourts.gov/dc/cgi...onmtdaug27.pdf case is MICHELLE HARRINGTON,
    v. CACV OF COLORADO, LLC, and J.A. CAMBECE LAW OFFICE, PC, )


    1) I know that I can file a motion to change venue because the clerk of court admitted they should have never accepted my case. What I'm wondering is can I use the above linked case as a way to have the case dismissed?

    I talked to the clerk of court and they said I could file the motion to dismiss & a motion for change of venue at the same time. I'm curious what the opinion is on this, as I'm not sure if I should do both at the same time. I wonder if the judge would be less likely to dismiss on the grounds of wrong venue if I also have a motion to change venue. (yet I am dealing with a time frame issue)

    Assuming I am able to get the case dismissed, will they then be able to refile it in my district?

    2nd I'm not dealing with a lot of time before the court date I assume the debit collectors will attempt to drag out returning a response to my DV. If I can't get the case dismissed or the change of venue what happens if they don't respond to my DV prior to the court date (it's less than 30 days from time I sent DV which was on Friday)

    btw I did try to contact the debit collector and tried to get them to agree to a postponement but they just did everything possible trying to get me to agree to paying and refused to postpone.


    Thanks for any help. I'm trying to get last min opinions as I have to drive the the court house tomorrow to file my motion to dismiss & the change of venue.

    edit.. btw this is a small claims case.
    Maintain composure, do not act surprised at any action taken by the attorneys nor refuse any documents you should be handed prior to your hearing. When offended (and you will be by some of the attorneys remarks) do not let it show as the Magistrate will use that against you. Your motion is asking for a continuation not postponment. L<G<W< P.C. is a debt collector and pub.l 99-361 (1986) repealed the exemption of any attorney allegedly acting on behalf of a client. As a debt collector, they are subject to the FDCPA and may be required to provide a document signed (clearly) by you and a full history of the acount from the original creditor. Arrive at the court early, go to the Law Library located in the Court House. obtain copies of law suite {Jenkins v. Heintz, 124 F.32 824(7th Cir. 1997). You will need (3) copies one for yourself, one for their attorney and one for the Magistrate (you may also obtain a list of 434 supporting cases-Sheppards list) Make sure to address only the Magistrate and ask permission to question any statements made by adverse councel. Good luck and as a pro se litigant, you will need it.

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