Bankruptcy:

We file chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases for individuals if your debt has become overwhelming. We offer low payment plans. Keep your home and vehicles while discharging your credit card debt and some taxes. Stop creditor calls, garnishment, repossessions, foreclosure and lawsuits. You may be interested to know that the new Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005 allows for Chapter 13 debtors who are filing to stop a foreclosure can now make zero payments to their credit cards in a Chapter 13 Plan (previously 20% was mandatory).

• Bankruptcy can help. Start fresh. Low Payments.
• Strip 2nd mortgages from underwater homes.
• Do you hate answering the phone?
• Are you using one credit card to pay another?
• Are you swamped with bills?
• Do you need to stop a lawsuit, foreclosure, garnishment or repossession?
• Have you suffered the loss of a job, cut in pay, illness, divorce?
• Do you never seem to get ahead?
• Is your home threatened by foreclosure?

We also provide representation for creditors for motions to lift the automatic stay, valuations of secured property, reaffirmation agreements and adversary proceedings in the State of Florida.

Foreclosure Defense:

Were you steered into a bad loan? A recent study found that about 60% of homeowners who applied for mortgages were given a subprime loan, even though they qualified for a standard prime loan. A common problem with these loans were that they were nearly impossible to pay back under the terms of the loan. Housing prices are dropping at a rapid rate and foreclosures are at their all time high in over 50 years.

Many people are trapped in impossible mortgages and need the services of an attorney to defend the foreclosure and allow time to arrange for a loan modification, to save money to move to a rental, short sale, negotiation of a deficiency balance waiver, deed in lieu of foreclosure, avoid bankruptcy and in rare cases actually invalidate the note and/or mortgage entirely. The firm offers litigation services and negotiation via flat fees to achieve the client's goal. By hiring an attorney when the summons and complaint are first received, clients maximize their chance of reversing the foreclosure mess they are in. Homeowners often believe that a lawyer cannot help them, but in the current climate, there are many successful cases where homeowners can prove they were the victim of a subprime, pay-option or predatory loans. Mortgage companies may not have complied with various federal laws including the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) (requires the lender to disclose everything about the loan in clear and understandable terms), Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) (laws governing the closing costs and closing transaction); and the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act (HOEPA) (an amendment to the TILA governing dealings surrounding mortgage refinance loans and home equity loans as well as State laws and limitations on sales and assignments in securitized pool transactions.

Just because you have defaulted on your mortgage(s) does not mean that you are at the end of the road. Instead of packing, contact an attorney to determine what can still be done to either keep you in your home or let it go with as little damage as possible to your finances and credit.

Creditor Harassment:

The Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) and its Florida counterpart, the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) requires that debt collectors treat you fairly and prohibits certain methods of debt collection.  

• Harassment Prohibited:  A collection agency or creditor may not harass you.  That does not mean they cannot call you and request payment, however, it does mean there are certain times of the day to call you, and they cannot repeatedly call you for the purpose of harassing you.  You also have the right to stop collection calls by writing to the debt collector and informing them that you do not want to be called.  This will not eliminate the debt, but it should eliminate the phone calls.  If you advise them you have an attorney, they cannot continue to call you (even when you don't have a bankruptcy case number).
• False Statements:  A debt collector may not use false or misleading statements to collect a debt, including falsely implying that you committed a crime or may go to jail, falsely implying that they are an attorney or government agency, or misrepresent the amount of your debt.  They also may not advise you that a debt is not dischargeable in bankruptcy when it actually is dischargeable.
• Threats:  A debt collector may not threaten you with violence or harm, or use profanity.  Nor can it threaten a lawsuit against you to seize, garnish, attach, or sell your property or wages, unless the creditor intends to do so, and the action is legal.
• Improper disclosure:  A debt collector cannot disclose your debt or imply you owe a debt to family members or co-workers.  In fact, they are only allowed to contact someone else one time, and one time only to obtain location information about you.  They routinely violate the law when they contact third parties.

Most consumers do not know their rights in this area.  There are so many things that we commonly hear of that are violations and they are too numerous to list here.  We welcome your call or email to determine if your rights have been violated.  If so, we would take steps to obtain damages as well as take action to stop the impermissible conduct.  It doesn't cost you anything to talk to us about your situation.  It doesn't matter if you owe the debt.  The debt collector must still follow the law. 

How does the FDCPA and the FCCPA help you?  Well, first it provides a free lawyer (we are ultimately paid our fees by the debt collector).  The costs of expenses of litigation are also paid by the debt collector (we advance those costs).  Finally, you are entitled to no less than $1,000 in statutory damages even if you have no actual damages.  And if you have actual damages such as emotional harm or a specific economic harm, the damages can be much greater.

Employment Law:

We represent victims of Employment Discrimination in areas such as unpaid wages, whistleblower, sexual harassment, age discrimination, Family Medical Leave Act violations, gender dicrimination, HIV/AIDS discrimination, race discrimination, invasion of privacy, dafamation of character among other causes of action. Most of these cases are on a contingency basis where we collect no fee if the case is not successful.

We also negotiate severance packages, employment and compensation agreements and covenants not to compete.