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The Sequoia Law Firm specializes in representing consumers who face debt collection lawsuits and need guidance and representation responding to those claims.

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Many (but not all) collection lawsuits are brought by debt buyer companies.  Debt buying companies purchase large portfolios of delinquent debts from banks, credit card companies, or lending institutions for a very low price compared to the face value of that portfolio.  Then, the company (now the alleged owner of that debt) turns around and sues large swaths of people for the face value of the debt, plus interest and other costs.

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This simple business model is highly profitable for debt buyers, but it is fundamentally unfair to consumers in several key ways.  First, debt buyers often sue with little or no admissible evidence to prove that they in fact own the specific debt at issue, or that the consumer owes the amounts demanded, or that the claim is timely, or that they have even sued the right person. Errors are very common because debt buyers utilize an automated, mass-production business model that is based on unreliable data. Second, debt buyers bank on the fact that debt buyer lawsuits almost always go unchallenged, usually because the defendant simply has no resources to defend the case.

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When the consumer does not show up in court to defend their case, the court will enter a “default judgment” in favor of the debt buyer. This means the court decides the case in the plaintiff/debt buyer’s favor before any substantive issues are presented to the court because the defendant failed to appear.  Once armed with that default judgment order, the debt buyer can garnish wages and levy bank accounts, pushing consumers that already struggle to pay their bills and support their families further into poverty.

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Consumers generally have much better outcomes when they retain a lawyer. Unless defendants begin to obtain legal representation in debt-buyer cases, debt buyer companies will continue to engage in litigation abuse because it is highly profitable for them to do so.

 

We recognize that consumers who are facing debt collection lawsuits may not have the resources to pay expensive legal bills.  That is why for most debt defense cases we offer flexible and affordable pricing based on your specific need.