MIAMI – A Miami-Dade County consumer alleges a Coral Gables debt collector falsely represented the amount of debt in question.
Joseph Rotbart filed a complaint on May 7 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Newman & Marquez PA alleging that the debt collector allegedly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that on or about Dec. 16, 2015, the defendant, on behalf of original creditor, filed suit against him for the collection of a purported consumer debt. On Jan. 13, he received a collection letter seeking prejudgment interest on the alleged debt, which was not expressly authorized by their agreement, the suit states. As a result, he alleges he has suffered actual damages, including but not limited to mental suffering and anguish. The plaintiff holds Newman & Marquez PA responsible because the defendant allegedly unlawfully sought to collect prejudgment interest and falsely represented the amount of the consumer debt in question.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks judgment against defendant for an award of statutory and actual damages, attorneys’ fees and costs and any other relief that the court deems appropriate and just. He is represented by Thomas J. Patti of Thomas-John Law PA in Fort Lauderdale and Jibrael S. Hindi of The Law Offices of Jibrael S. Hindi in Fort Lauderdale.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Case number 1:16-cv-21628