Markovic Law

10 Year Old Judgment Vacated

2017-02-27

A few times a month my office receives a call from a potential client who finds out their wages are being garnished or their bank account has been frozen and they have no idea why. The only way for that to occur is either the government or more commonly through a judgment and court order. In almost all these cases, the Defendant claims they were never served with a lawsuit. If a person was never properly served with a lawsuit, the judgment would be invalid - assuming the correct steps are taken. The problem that arises is that many cases are years old and the documentation leading up to the judgment is no longer available through the courts. The most important document is the Verified Return of Service. This is the document that includes all the information of how, when, and where a person was served with the lawsuit.

My recent client allegedly received a Miami Dade credit card lawsuit in 2007 filed my CACH LLC, and had a judgment entered against her later that year. She claimed was never served with the lawsuit. After contacting the clerk of courts, my office was informed that the file was destroyed years ago. We then contacted opposing counsel who at first refused to provide our office with any documentation knowing that we were trying to vacate the judgment. We were able to contact previous counsel on the case, who did provide us with the return of service. The document stated that my client was served with the complaint, however contained numerous inaccuracies. Our office scheduled an evidentiary hearing with the court. We knew we had a tough case, but put together a plan to win. Ultimately the court ruled in our favor and found that the defendant wasn't served with the CACH LLC lawsuit and the judgment was vacated. If CACH LLC wants to continue with the lawsuit they will need to serve the defendant, and my office will be there to fight for my client's rights.

The Law Offices of Shaya Markovic, PA is a Hollywood Florida debt lawsuit defense law firm. Our office fights Miami and Broward credit card companies and debt collectors in court. If you have received a debt lawsuit in South Florida, call our office for a free consultation at (786)529-2176 for a free consultation. We provide payment plans, flat fees, and are open nights and weekends if you need. We look forward to fighting for you!

What Is a Miami Default Judgment

2017-02-23

What is a Default Judgment?

As a Miami debt defense lawyer, I get a lot of questions about default judgments, such as what may happen if a defendant doesn't answer a lawsuit or a defendant just learned there is a judgment against him or her and wants to know how it happened and what can be done. Florida Rules of Civil Procedure 1.500 states: Defaults and Final Judgments Thereon

(a) By the Clerk. When a party against whom affirmative relief is sought has failed to file or serve any paper in the action, the party seeking relief may have the clerk enter a default against the party failing to serve or file such paper.

(b) By the Court. When a party against whom affirmative relief is sought has failed to plead or otherwise defend as provided by these rules or any applicable statute or any order of court, the court may enter a default against such party; provided that if such party has filed or served any paper in the action, that party shall be served with notice of the application for default.

To rephrase in simple English. A person who was served with a lawsuit and fails to file a response defending the case loses the case by default. I generally come across two types of people with defaults. The first is a intentional default and this could be done for a variety of reasons such as the Defendant lacks the funds to fight the lawsuit or pay a possible judgment (being judgment proof). The second common reason a default occurs is unintentionally. Often the Defendant is shocked to find out their accounts are frozen or wages being garnished. They claim they have never been served with a lawsuit that a judgment has been entered without the chance to fight the lawsuit. This of course raises a whole new issue about vacating a which will be the subject of a later blog post.

Having a default entered against you is never a good idea, especially in a Miami debt lawsuit case. Many of the cases have great defenses and you just may be able to get the entire case dismissed. Besides, it never hurts to take advantage of a free consultation which many lawyers offer depending on the type of case.

The Law Offices of Shaya Markovic, PA is a Hollywood Florida debt defense law firm. We fight credit card lawsuits, student loans and debt collectors in court. Our office provides payment plans, flat fees and free consultations including on nights and weekends. If you have been sued for a debt in Miami, call our office at (786)529-2176.

Debt Collector’s Proof of Claim Raises FDCPA Liability

2016-06-03

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a debt collector who files a proof of claim in a bankruptcy proceeding violates the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) when the claim is for a time barred debt. The case is Johnson v. Midland Funding.

When filing bankruptcy, the bankruptcy code permits a creditor who wants to have a claim for repayment from the debtor to file what is called a proof of claim. This is an assertion that the debtor owes the creditor money. However, an issue arises when the creditor is a debt collector and files a claim for an amount that is beyond the applicable statute of limitations. The reason is that Fair Debt Collection Practices Act prohibits debt collectors from using any “false, deceptive, or misleading representation or means in connection with the collection of any debt.”

The Court found that there was no conflict between the FDCPA and the bankruptcy code. The filing of a proof of claim is misleading and is attempting to collect a debt which the creditor wasn’t legally entitled to collect due to it being beyond the statute of limitations, which is an FDCPA violation.

If you are being harassed for a Miami debt by a debt collector or any other party, feel free to contact The Law Office of Shaya Markovic, P.A. for a free consultation. There is no fee for my office to represent you in debt collector harassment cases. My office fights and sues debt collectors for violating debt collection laws. The Law Office of Shaya Markovic, P.A. (786)529-2176.

$8,000 Portfolio Recovery Lawsuit Gets Dismissed

2016-03-17

It’s always nice to get my client a better results than they expect. Today, I had my most recent victory against Portfolio Recovery Associates. Portfolio Recovery Associates sued my client seeking more than $8,000 as a result of an alleged credit card debt. After receiving the debt lawsuit, the client hired The Law Office of Shaya Markovic, P.A. to defend his credit card lawsuit. During the initial consultation, the client said that in order to make the case go away he was willing to make a payment of a few thousand dollars. Our office immediately realized numerous defenses to the credit card lawsuit and filed a Motion to Dismiss the Complaint. Yesterday, was the day of the hearing on our Motion to Dismiss and I’m happy to report that after discussing the weaknesses of their case Portfolio Recovery Associates backed down and agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice, meaning they can never file this lawsuit again against my client.