[February 28, 2024] – New York, NY – In a press release issued by the New York Attorney General’s Office, the release incorrectly and inaccurately describes a settlement by way of an Assurance of Discontinuance (AOD) between the New York Attorney General’s Office and Tromberg, Morris, & Poulin, LLC (TMP), and its subsidiary, Stephen Einstein & Associates, P.C. (SEA).
The primary focus of the AOD was TMP’s failure to file satisfactions within the mandated 20-day timeframe under NY CPLR Section 5020(c), particularly during the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic when the city was under a lockdown. The investigation revealed that all satisfactions were recorded, albeit some outside the very short, specified timeframe. TMP has already taken corrective actions and agreed to pay restitution to individuals affected by the delayed filings. TMP was not sanctioned or required to pay $595,600.00 for frivolous and predatory behavior; in fact nowhere is that stated in the AOD.
Importantly, many of the matters investigated were isolated incidents where no money was even collected from a consumer. Contrary to the previous release, neither TMP nor SEA were accused of filing thousands of wrongful suits against innocent New York residents. The central issue of the AOD revolved around administrative delays in filing satisfactions rather than predatory practices targeting vulnerable individuals. While the AG focuses on the Landlord-Tenant matters less than a handful of matters were identified as truly being wrongfully filed. TMP remediated those matters.
TMP was not found to engage in frivolous litigation, and the AOD does not imply, nor were TMP or SEA accused of intentionally targeting innocent debtors in New York. The AOD does highlight a few areas where TMP can improve its processes, but the AOD does not reflect TMP’s overwhelmingly empathetic collections practices. TMP has never sought to intentionally harm consumers. Attorneys are held to the highest ethical and professional standards to which TMP adheres. TMP will continue to facilitate a fair and transparent legal process to enable their clients to collect legitimate obligations.
