The Court of Appeals of Ohio recently upheld a Defiance County Common Pleas decision and found that the lower court had correctly interpreted the relevant state statute and applied the facts of the case accordingly. The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union No. 8 (the “Union”) had sued the […]
Slovin & Associates is pleased to announce that once again Randy Slovin and Brad Council have been included in the Thomson Reuters 2014 Ohio Super Lawyers list. Randy was named a 2014 Ohio Super Lawyer and Brad was named a 2014 Rising Star. Super Lawyers is a rating service of outstanding lawyers […]
Ohio has adopted the Uniform Fraudulent Transfer Act, which prevents debtors from transferring assets to defraud creditors. ORC § 1336. The Ohio Court of Appeals recently detailed the broad equitable powers that the courts possess to rectify fraudulent transfers of property used to hide assets from creditors in their decision […]
As we discussed in February of this year, a District Court in Kentucky granted defendant, DH Capital Management’s (“DHC”), motion to dismiss a FDCPA action filed by Dionte Tyler in which the court found that the case failed on the grounds of res judicata and lack of standing due to […]
The Third Court of Appeals in Ohio recently found, in Semco, Inc. v. Sims Bros., Inc., that a corporation is prevented from bringing claims under Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act (CSPA) and affirmed an award of $26,130 in attorney’s fees against Semco for bringing such a claim in bad faith. […]
It’s back to school time again and Randy Slovin is preparing for his 3rd year as an adjunct professor at the University of Cincinnati College of Law. He is again teaching the course for the fall 2013 semester titled “Debtor-Creditor Law”. Some of the topics included in the course are […]
The matter of Orchard Villa v. Irene Suchomma came before the Court of Appeals, Sixth Appellant District, in Lucas County Ohio on July 19, 2013. The trial court found Ms. Suchomma to be liable for her deceased husband’s medical expenses. In June, 2009, Joseph Suchomma signed a contract with appellee […]
The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act requires that when a debt collector reports a debt to a consumer reporting agency, they must also report whether the debt is disputed. This requirement leaves open the question of what happens if a debt becomes disputed after the debt collector has already reported […]
The Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act (CSPA) provides consumers with remedies against suppliers who engage in deceptive or unconscionable acts or practices. The CSPA allows consumers to recover economic and non-economic damages as well as treble damages, attorney’s fees and court costs in some situations. The prospect of large payouts […]
Several of the actions prohibited by the Fair Dept Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) use vague language that is not defined by the Act. Recently, debtors have attempted to use the language as an enforcement mechanism for procedural violations of unrelated statutes to collect statutory damages and attorney’s fees otherwise not […]
In response to the increasing influence of health insurance corporations and medical providers, the Ohio legislature attempted to set forth circumstances under which a hospital or other provider could collect on medical debt, and from whom. On July 8, 2013, in Annette Hayberg v. Robinson Memorial Hospital Foundation, the Ohio […]
Slovin & Associates attorney, Brad Council attended the annual Consumer Law conference sponsored by the Ohio State Bar Association on July 31, 2013. The conference included presentations by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Ohio Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Section, as well as distinguished […]
Last month, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio made a ruling on a complaint brought forth by Karen Miller against Prompt Recovery Services, Inc under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for alleged violations including harassing phone calls, making false threats, and communication with […]
On June 27, 2013, the Ohio Court of Appeals decided the matter of Patrick Garber v. STS Concrete Co., LLC. The appellants claim the trial court erred in awarding the Appellee treble damages and attorney fees when he was also allowed to rescind the contract. They also claimed that holding […]
The rise in litigation over technical violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) has created a need for those covered by the statute to carefully construct all communications with debtors to avoid statutory penalties. Of particular concern are areas where the FDCPA is unclear and the courts have […]
Last month, the Ohio Court of Appeals handed down a decision involving the disposition of collateral in SAC Fin., Inc. v. Deaton, 2013-Ohio-2126. SAC Finance brought a claim against Tamara and Melvin Deaton in Darke County Municipal Court for money owed on a retail installment contract and security agreement for […]
The matter Anderson v. Barclay’s Capital Real Estate, Inc., Slip Opinion No. 2013-Ohio-1933, came before the Supreme Court of Ohio with the queries: Is the servicing of a residential mortgage considered a “consumer transaction” as defined by the Ohio Consumer Sales Practice Act (“CSPA”) as codified in R.C.1345.01(A) and is […]
The liability that individuals have for their spouse’s medical expenses is a common question for creditors with accounts consisting of medical debt. In the course of our practice in Ohio, Kentucky, and Indiana we have found that liability varies by state and depends upon the courts’ interpretation of common law […]
Last month, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan handed down a decision regarding release agreements. The case involved a personal debt owed by Jamie Hines to A&A American Financial, LLC (A&A), who was represented by G. Reynolds Sims & Associates (GRSA). GRSA obtained a default […]
The matter of Mark Suesz v. Med-1 Solutions, LLC, came before the United States District Court, S.D. Indiana, Indianapolis Division on March 21, 2013 whereby the court concluded that the Indiana judicial structure provides that the Circuit Courts are considered “judicial districts” for purposes of the required venue provisions in […]
On March 21, 2013, the United States District Court for Minnesota issued an order denying class certification in the case of Wenig v. Messerli & Kramer, PA because the class was too narrow and apparently defined as such to circumvent the limits on damage awards in class actions under the […]
Chapter 1317 of the Ohio Revised Code deals specifically with retail installment sales. This statute defines retail installment sales as a contract to sell goods where the cash price may be paid in installments over time. The statute further states that lease-purchase agreements and layaway arrangements do not qualify as […]
On March 7, 2013, the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Eighth Appellate District in the case of Delores Favors v. William Burke, et al., reversed the decision of the trial court and found it proper to award noneconomic damages and attorney fees under the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act. […]
On March 7, 2013, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, in the case of Boyd v. General Revenue Corporation, et al, found that the Defendants did not violate the FDCPA when they placed phone calls and sent letters after receiving a validation request from Plaintiff […]
On March 1, 2013, in the case of Caprio v. Healthcare Revenue Recovery Group, LLC, the Third Circuit of the United States Court of Appeals reversed a judgment in a collections case and remanded the case for further proceedings because the use of the words “please call” overshadowed the need […]
On February 14, 2013, the Indiana Court of Appeals in American Acceptance Co., LLC v. Melissa Willis found that an order of garnishment was within the trial court’s discretion and the court had the ability to order or deny the garnishment based upon that discretion. In 2008 American Acceptance received […]
On February 11, 2013, in the Court of Appeals of Ohio, Third Appellate District, Hardin County, judgment was affirmed in Riverside Methodist Hospital, Plaintiff-Appellee, (“Riverside”) v. Stephanie S. Phillips, Defendant-Appellant, (“Phillips”) Case No. 6-12-14 finding that summary judgment for Riverside was appropriate even without the medical bill being introduced into evidence and […]
On December 12, 2012, Ohio Governor Kasich, signed into law House Bill 479, the Ohio Asset Management Modernization Act, which enacts the Ohio Legacy Trust Act and will take effect on March 27, 2013. The Act will increase the residential real property exemption to $125,000.00. This same exemption was […]
Democratic Oregon Senator Jeff Merkley reintroduced the Medical Debt Responsibilities Act as Senate Bill 160 in January of this year. This bill was previously introduced last year, but died in the Senate Banking Committee. Senator Merkley is joined by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Tom Harkin (D-IA), Sherrod […]
On December 20, 2012, in the case of Dionte Tyler, v. DH Capital Management, Inc., Case No. 3:12-CV-00129-CRS the United States District Court, for the Western District of Kentucky, dismissed the Plaintiff’s complaint for damages under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (“FDCPA”) finding that the claims were barred by […]
Court Lacks Jurisdiction if Service is Not Perfected Within One Year On December 14, 2012, the Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals found that a judgment entered by the trial court was void because service was not perfected within one year of the filing of the complaint and the trial […]
Customer Service or Settlement Agreement? In December of 2012, the Indiana Court of Appeals made an important decision regarding settlement agreements. The appeals court reversed the decision made by the small claims division of the Allen Superior Court in the case of Vance v. Francisco Lozano, et al., finding that […]
On December 7, 2012, the Ohio Sixth District Court of Appeals sustained the judgment of the trial court in the case of Tillimon v. Wheeler, et al., finding that a bank was not in contempt of court for withholding funds which it deemed to be exempt from garnishment. Duane Tillmon, the Appellant, […]
In December 2012, the Ninth District Court of Appeals reversed and remanded the judgment of the Lorain County Court of Common Pleas in the case of Koch v. Keystone Point Health and Rehabilitation, et al., finding that an arbitration agreement signed by an unauthorized person is not binding. In May, […]
