MIAMI — Consumers have filed a class-action lawsuit against a debt collector that allegedly violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).
Medical and Financial Management Inc., a debt collector, citing alleged violation of the FDCPA.
Teri Freund filed a complaint on behalf of herself and all others similarly situated on Sept. 16 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Medical and Financial Management Inc., alleging that the debt collector violated FDCPA by using false, deceptive and misleading representation.
According to the complaint, the plaintiffs allege that on July 11, Teri Freund received a demand letter from MFMI Collection Service Inc. seeking payment of an alleged debt. However, Freund claims that MFMI is owned by the defendant and was registered as a fictitious name in Florida in 1992 and it is not an existing business entity, because its registration of the fictitious name expired in 2007 and it does not have a consumer debt collection license as mandated by Florida statutes. The defendant's letter supposedly had misleading issues as well, which caused injuries to the plaintiffs.
The plaintiffs hold Medical and Financial Management Inc. responsible because the defendant allegedly failed to obtain a consumer debt collection license, attempted to mislead the plaintiffs into believing that the demand letter contained the proper notice and failed to include disclosures that are mandated by law.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek judgment against the defendant, to be certified as a class action, appointment of the plaintiff as class representative, statutory damages, attorneys' fees, litigation expenses, costs of suit, interest and further relief as the court deems proper. They are represented by Leo W. Desmond and Sovathary K. Jacobson of Desmond Law Firm in Vero Beach.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida case number 2:16-cv-14405