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Court Approves Judgment Against Abusive Collectors
On December 13, 2018, United States District Court Judge Nancy Edmunds approved a recommended Judgment of $42,000 and an attorney fee award of $32,270 against a group of related debt collectors who had abused a consumer in order to collect on a bogus debt. The abusive conduct included threats of prosecution and multiple calls to the consumer’s place of work. The collection group used a network of related companies to hide the identities of the participants. Judge Nancy Edmunds approved entry of judgment against the group for $42,000. The court described the conduct as follows:
Plaintiff’s telephone log shows Defendants attempted to contact her during the middle of her work days, she testified approximately 30% of the calls were to her place of work, and that Defendants contacted her co-worker. On May 22, 2015, Defendants contacted Plaintiff twelve times in just under seven hours and on May 26, 2015, Defendants contacted her four times in under ten minutes. In most of Defendants communications, they threatened either civil or criminal legal actions. The Sixth Circuit has advised that “although the question of ‘whether conduct harasses, oppresses, or abuses will [ordinarily] be a question for the jury. . . .Congress has indicated its desire for the courts to structure the confines of § 1692d.’ ” Harvey v. Great Seneca Fin. Corp., 453 F.3d 324, 330 (6th Cir. 2006). The Court finds it is both the frequency of Defendants’ phone calls and the substances of those calls that are harassing and unfair conduct.
Opinion And Order Granting Plaintiff’s Motion For Entry Of Default Judgment, December 13, 2018. In the end, the Court entered this final judgment against
- Reliant Group Debt Management Solutions
- RG Financial
- Reliance Exchange Group LLC
- Rosen Management Services Inc.
- Juquetta Duggans
- Frederick Ross
- Darrell Holmes
- Daniel Rouse
- Triesten Johnson
- Roman Kutikov
- Ilya Klipninister
- Tahir Khudayarov
- Willie Ivy
Attorney Sylvia Bolos commented, “Collectors are prohibited from this kind of abusive conduct under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. We are pleased with the judgment and hope that other collectors will be deterred from similar acts of abuse.”
If you have been abused by a debt collector, call Lyngklip & Associates for a free consultation. (248) 208-8864.
Docket 68. Opinion and Order Granting Motion for Default Judgment.