I’d like to briefly discuss the “moral” implications of not paying your old debts. Often times, debt collectors use psychology to bully or persuade debtors to “settle up” because they spent & owe the money, and try to lay guilt on the debtor for being a “deadbeat,” etc.

These collectors conveniently forget to tell you that their firms paid as little as a tenth of a cent   on the dollar for your old, delinquent account. How “moral” is that? Debt collectors are merely investors looking to earn a profit. Don’t be “guilted” or “shamed” into giving these debt buyers your hard-earned money.  Consider the following recent victory I had versus a debt buyer called Cavalry SPV :

About 3 months ago, a client retained me when he was sued in the NJ Special Civil Part by a company called Cavalry SPV. 

Cavalry SPV purchases old, delinquent, charged-off debts from major credit card companies and banks, probably for pennies on the dollar.

The debt at issue in this lawsuit was approximately $13,000 from an old, delinquent bank debit card. The account was charged-off by the original creditor in late 2010. My client had naturally “forgotten all about it” until a lawsuit showed up in his mailbox from the Warren County, NJ Special Civil Part. The new owner (called an “assignee” of the debt) was Cavalry SPV.

Once retained by my client, I immediately filed an Answer to the complaint and served interrogatory questions on the plaintiff.

I received answers to the questions about two weeks ago, and the case was scheduled by the Court for trial.

In court, the attorney for the firm that represented Cavalry SPV showed up, but he was alone. He brought no witness from Cavalry to testify as to the assignment of debt or the original credit card statements. Prior to trial, the attorney offered to settle the case, but I declined, as I knew full well that with no witness from Cavarly SPV, the case would be dismissed altogether by the Special Civil Part judge.

When our case was called for trial, the Special Civil Part judge asked the attorney for Cavalry “if they had a witness on the way?” When the attorney replied “no, no one from Cavalry is coming,” the judge immediately dismissed the case. None of the paperwork the attorney brought with him was even looked at by the judge, as there was no witness from Cavalry SPV to testify about its origins, etc.

You see, under NJ Court Rules, specifically the New Jersey Rules of Evidence, a witness (i.e, an employee or a record custodian, etc. of Cavalry SPV) must appear in court to verbally testify to the origin and custody of the billing records, statements, assignment of debt, etc. This is called “laying a foundation” for the evidence to be formally “entered” into evidence so that the judge may then review and consider the statements & paperwork before making a decision.

There is NO WAY- and I repeat, NO WAY- for any credit card statements, bills, assignments, or other paperwork related to your debt case to be entered into evidence at your NJ Special Civil Part Trial trial UNLESS a witness from the plaintiff (in this case, Cavalry) appears personally in Court to testify as to the paperwork.

Needless to say, the Judge dismissed Cavalry SPV’s case in about 15 seconds. My client doesn’t have to pay Cavalry SPV a dime!

This story is a great example of how important it is to have an experienced and aggressive NJ Special Civil Part attorney handle your case. This is the 5th case debt collection case in the past 3 months that I have had dismissed altogether, with the collector not getting one thin dime from my client!

This year alone (2014), I have saved my clients a cumulative total of over $75,000 on their NJ Special Civil Part cases.

I’ve defended NJ debt collection cases against the law firms of Hayt, Hayt & Landau, Scachter Portnoy, Apothaker & Associates PC, Pressler & Pressler, and many other debt collection firms.

Not using an attorney to fight your Special Civil Part case is a classic example of being “penny wise and pound foolish.” Call me today at 908-782-5313 to discuss your NJ Special Civil Part lawsuit. Don’t let these junk debt buyers take advantage of you- and remember, they have lawyers working hard on their side. Don’t go it alone!

NOTHING IN THIS POST CONSTITUTES LEGAL ADVICE. ALSO, BE ADVISED THAT CONTACTING OUR FIRM THROUGH THE “CONTACT US” FEATURE DOES NOT CREATE AN ATTORNEY-CLIENT RELATIONSHIP.