Complaint Review: Cohen & Slamowitz

The way that Cohen & Slamowitz get away with so many default judgments is that they will send a false notice (this is how they receive a notice of service) to the one accused of owing the debt. They actually do this from 2 days and up to 10 days before they actually file the official court papers. Now they have an official Notice of Service but if you check the date of the so-called Notice of Service many times, it will be before they filed with the court. If that is the case, you can prove that the Notice of Service is fraudulent because how can they serve you an official court document (with a court date) if they served you before they even filed and received a court date. Many people and courts will not notice the dates because they are so close together and they are not looking at the date of service. Therefore, the service processor actually did serve you but not with an official court document but that gives Cohen & Slamowitz a true Notice of Service just not with a legal court document The process server would not know the difference and most courts or defendants do not catch the discrepancy. Therefore, check the date of the Notice of Service and when Cohen & Slamowitz actually official filed with the court. I hope this helps.

Tracy, how did things work out? Did you get an approval from the judge on the original motion? Did you settle? Did you eventually file a motion to discovery?

Tracy,

The fact they never sent validation works in your favor, but do a DISCOVERY motion to see what evidence they have to use against you.

I doubt very seriously that they could properly validate the debt to beat you in court anyway.

Hold them accountable, and countersue them for the damages you have suffered due to the bogus collection activity and lawsuit.

FYI..If the court papers actually say the plaintiff is HSBC you can nail them if they actually bought the debt. This is fraud and is a felony to falsify court documents.

Just as a follow-up to my initial report.

I sent the answer on the 3rd of January. I had contacted the Supreme Court Clerk's Office and they said I had to file it with the County Clerk's Office. I did that and they received it on the 5th. Cohen & Slamowitz also received theirs on the 5th.

Can anyone give me an idea what the next move should be? They still have not responded to my original letter of debt validation and now have not filed any additional motions, in fact they sent me a letter with a copy of the summons and the summons was now dated December 29th saying that they are sure we can resolve this without having to appear in court. What should my next move be?

Thanks much.

Hi again Steve. I plan on mailing it certified mail today so they'll receive it by Friday. I was under the impression back from my legal secretary days that as long as it was postmarked by the 30 day mark that it wouldn't be late. But in any event, I will mail it to them today along with a copy to the Supreme Court. I will check with the post office to see if I mail it priority if I can get proof of delivery or some type of certification with that.

The amount is $2,000 and change. The paperwork they filed specifies Supreme Court of the State of New York. For all I know it isn't even real paperwork, although they have a handwritten index # at the top of the paperwork.

Thanks for your help.

Tracy,

I would have responded already to that summons as time is critical. If it was served on 12/6 that means 30 days is up This Saturday, 1/6/07!

This answer cannot be late!! This needs to be recieved by them by this Friday if there is a 30 day response period specified.

Any susequent motions you file are separate from your initial answer.

I'm not up on the NY court system, but I think this would be a small claims case unless it is a very large amount. Does the paperwork specify the Supreme Court? What was the amount of the lawsuit?

Act quickly!!

Thank you both for the advice. Steve, can I include a motion to dismiss in the Answer I am planning on filing? I have it typed up basically denying the allegations due to lack of sufficient evidence, etc., etc., only admitting that I am a resident of the county they claim I am. I have included an affirmative defense of Frivolous Lawsuit, basically saying that based on my information and belief that they have filed this lawsuit in retaliation to the validation letter I sent them RRR/Certified asking for debt validation and that said debt validation has never been received, a clear violation of the FDCPA. The relief I've asked for is that the court dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice, $1,000 in fees and whatever other relief that the court deems just and proper. Do I need to file something seperate from that?

The date on their original letter is 11/1 and the handwritten note on the summons says it was supposedly filed 12/1. If that's the case, they didn't even wait to see if a response would come. I am back to work now from my maternity leave and plan on calling the Dutchess County Supreme Court Clerk's office tomorrow (since they were closed today) to see if an actual lawsuit has actually been filed. The paperwork they served would lead one to believe that it is an actual lawsuit, but there is no appearance date listed anywhere. I'm also planning on sending a copy to the Dutchess County Supreme Court as well, Certified/RRR. I'm still within the 30 day time limit I have since it wasn't served on me personally.

I appreciate the words of advice you've both given me. Hoping this works.

Tracy,

That is a highly unethical move on that "lawyers" part. File the Bar Association complaint immediately. That lawsuit was filed in retaliation, and in violation of the spirit of the FDCPA.

Once a debt validation request is recieved, all collections activity is supposed to stop, including lawsuits, until it is provided. However, there have been some minor modifications to that recently from what I have seen.

You can still file a motion to dismiss right away, and use that as the reason. You can also countersue them for the frivolous lawsuit.

Judges are starting to lose their tolerance for Junk Debt Buyers and their lawyers. Their abuses and unethical practices are becoming all too common.

Be sure to respond in a timely manner as required by your state law.

Good luck.

Don't count on a Process Server submitting a honest Proof of Service to the Courts.

I would contact HSBC and try to clear this issue up with them as to the authenticity of the debt and their atty's of record in this case before I incurred atty fees. If upon a call to them you are unable to get them to assist you to your satisfaction, I would go to that Courts web site and select records (if avail) and make sure the Proof of Service was filed as Sub-Service.

If they obtain a Default Judgment without your knowledge then you will need a atty to make a motion to set aside and vacate and is a pain.

You can also check this attorney's record with the State Bar Assoc Web Site for the state they are located in. It will give you their record and any past sanctions, history etc.

Don't count on a Process Server submitting a honest Proof of Service to the Courts.

I would contact HSBC and try to clear this issue up with them as to the authenticity of the debt and their atty's of record in this case before I incurred atty fees. If upon a call to them you are unable to get them to assist you to your satisfaction, I would go to that Courts web site and select records (if avail) and make sure the Proof of Service was filed as Sub-Service.

If they obtain a Default Judgment without your knowledge then you will need a atty to make a motion to set aside and vacate and is a pain.

You can also check this attorney's record with the State Bar Assoc Web Site for the state they are located in. It will give you their record and any past sanctions, history etc.

Don't count on a Process Server submitting a honest Proof of Service to the Courts.

I would contact HSBC and try to clear this issue up with them as to the authenticity of the debt and their atty's of record in this case before I incurred atty fees. If upon a call to them you are unable to get them to assist you to your satisfaction, I would go to that Courts web site and select records (if avail) and make sure the Proof of Service was filed as Sub-Service.

If they obtain a Default Judgment without your knowledge then you will need a atty to make a motion to set aside and vacate and is a pain.

You can also check this attorney's record with the State Bar Assoc Web Site for the state they are located in. It will give you their record and any past sanctions, history etc.

Don't count on a Process Server submitting a honest Proof of Service to the Courts.

I would contact HSBC and try to clear this issue up with them as to the authenticity of the debt and their atty's of record in this case before I incurred atty fees. If upon a call to them you are unable to get them to assist you to your satisfaction, I would go to that Courts web site and select records (if avail) and make sure the Proof of Service was filed as Sub-Service.

If they obtain a Default Judgment without your knowledge then you will need a atty to make a motion to set aside and vacate and is a pain.

You can also check this attorney's record with the State Bar Assoc Web Site for the state they are located in. It will give you their record and any past sanctions, history etc.