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DISCLAIMER: This article is based on a complaint. The defendant has not responded to the complaint to present its side of the case. The claims mentioned are accusations and should be considered as such until and unless proven otherwise.
A collection law firm and debt buyer have been named defendants in a lawsuit accusing them of violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and state law in Nebraska because the plaintiff hired an attorney and showed up for a hearing in a collection lawsuit only to learn that the defendants had never filed the motion with the court and that the case had been dismissed.
The background: The defendants filed a collection lawsuit against the plaintiff in Nebraska state court attempting to recover a balance of $9,784.03. The plaintiff responded to the complaint but the suit was ultimately dismissed because the plaintiffs failed to prosecute.
- The plaintiffs filed another collection lawsuit against the plaintiff which was also dismissed for failure to prosecute, according to the complaint. The defendants, though, sent the plaintiff a motion to vacate the order of dismissal, along with a notice of a hearing. The plaintiff hired an attorney and showed up for the hearing, waiting for the case to be called. But the court had no record of the motion and neither defendant showed up.
- The defendants then filed a third lawsuit against the plaintiff, seeking to recover $9,784.03. This case remains pending.
The claims: The plaintiff filed suit, accusing the defendants of violating Sections 1692e, 1692e(2)(A), 1692e(5), 1692e(9), 1692e(10), and 1692e(13) of the FDCPA for using a pleading that was either fictitious or never filed with the court to create a false impression that the documents were legal process. The complaint also accuses the defendant of violating Sections 1692f and 1692f(1) of the FDCPA.
- The plaintiff is also accusing the defendant of violating the Nebraska Consumer Protection Act.
