I need some more advice from you wonderfully helpful people, please. I spoke to a representative of the law firm who won the judgment against me and they are willing to reduce the amount of the judgment by about 50% "if" I don't file a Federal law suit against them. Should I take them up on this offer? If I sue them instead, how much do stand to win back? Any one who has any knowledge and info on this would be greatly appreciated as I really don't know what to do. They're going to mail me a copy of thier offer in writing and I have 10 days to decide. Thank you so much for all your help.
If they are willing to cut the judgment by half then you have them on the run already Why quit when you are ahead if you have a solid case against them?
Thanks for your reply Cap1. While I really don't want to let them off the hook and "sell out" here, if I don't take an offer from them then I'll have to either pay the entire judgment right away or probably have a lien on my house or bank account pretty quickly and who knows how long a Federal case will take. At least this is what I fear. What I don't know is what can I recoup from a Federal law suit ~ or do they fear getting fined for this so much that I can barter them all the way down to zero?
That hasn't been discussed yet. I guess I'm going to have to seek some legal advice. It says a lot that they offered a 50% reduction as soon as I mentioned the possibility of a Federal lawsuit ~ but they also said if I do try to sue the offer is recinded and then I have to pay the total plus all court costs & lawyer fees and such. As soon as I get this offer in writing I'm going to call the law firm again & try to barter them down farther ... but I just don't know what is best to do:try to keep working them down or go for the law suit. Anyone have any advice on this? Thank you all very much for your help.
Actions under FDCPA are very hard to predict. A judge can award you anything from 1¢ to thousands. It would really depend on the alleged violations of the law firm. Most consumer attorneys will take these cases on what I call a mixed contingency (the greater of $x per hour or y% of the total recovery, but no fee if no recovery). I suggest talking to a consumer attorney in your area to get an assessment on your FDCPA case.
It says that you have a good case and they don't want to go there. That could be true no matter how good your case nor how much the settlement might turn out to be. Now matter how much you win in court you still owe them unless you reach a different settlement agreement. I know a man who has won 5 federal lawsuits against debt collectors and the credit bureaus and he will give you the case numbers so you can look them up in Pacer. He has two more cases going now and isn't likely to lose them either. He is just an average guy, an electronics engineer, not an attorney. He will tell you that it is far better to be a plaintiff in federal court than it is to be a defendant in any court. Any advice? Not really. It depends on you and what fits you best, not on our opinions. You have to make the call. The gentleman I mentioned never hired any attorneys. He learned how to do it all himself and so can anybody else. He has had a couple of attorneys working with him on cases. One of them is the wife of a co-worker who wanted him to teach her what he knows. She is an attorney. He has spoken to at least one other attorney who wouldn't take his case. The attorney admitted the guy knows more than the attorney does. I talk to this guy at least once a week on the phone but have never met him personally. It don't take a genius. Anybody with at least an average intelligence can do it too. That don't say it is easy because it takes a lot of work and study.
