Calling All Bankruptcy Attorneys! Our Tools Will Help You Be a Hero!
If you handle bankruptcy cases but don’t deal with bankruptcy violations, we have good news: Our firm can be your secret weapon. Bankruptcy is a uniquely demanding practice area that requires attorneys to devote an exceptional amount of care and attention to each case. More so than other fields of practice, case law constantly adds subtle but important nuances to debtor and creditor rights in bankruptcy, necessitating the utmost diligence from counselors. Our clients count on us to pull them out of their financial despair and get them back on track toward normal, fiscally-sound lives. Frequently, we share in their trepidation, and their stress becomes ours. When they receive a discharge and breathe a deep sigh of relief, we do the same — just in time to move on to the next challenging case. You simply can’t afford to bask in the satisfaction of a job well done, as many more clients are in need of your particular skill and knowledge. That’s why it’s so frustrating for both you and your clients when the discharge is intentionally violated. Both of you have moved on, but a creditor, for whatever reason, has not. Most of the time it comes out of the blue, months — sometimes even years — after entry of the discharge. Often these creditors falsely tell your clients that this debt they’re trying to collect wasn’t discharged in bankruptcy at all. The result is that your previously satisfied client storms your office with a head full of misinformation and a mouth full of expletives, ready to chew you out for not doing your job. Even worse, some clients are simply scared, feeling that they went through all that bankruptcy anxiety for nothing, and you find them sitting in your office terrified and in tears over a lie told by an unscrupulous debt collector. After you are done bringing them back to reality, their stress now becomes yours. The difference is, post-discharge, most consumer bankruptcy attorneys simply don’t have the time or resources to do anything about this illegal behavior. So, the general response you offer is, “This was discharged, don’t worry about it.” Well, that’s little solace to the debtor who went through the bankruptcy process to avoid this situation. What if, next time this happens, you could provide them an opportunity to “sue the bastards” and put a little coin in your pocket at the same time? That’s where we come in. With our consumer litigation department, one of the most frequent violations of consumer protection law we see on a daily basis involves creditors
and debt collectors attempting to collect debt that is either stayed pending bankruptcy or has been discharged entirely. While these actions violate the respective provisions of the Bankruptcy Code, they frequently also violate a wide range of other consumer protection statutes, both state and federal. When our bankruptcy clients face these violations, we are able to help them by filing lawsuits against these offenders — and we can help you and your clients too. As you might imagine — and as the Robinson decision reinforces — consumer litigation is just as nuanced as bankruptcy law. While the two frequently overlap, attorneys practicing each area need distinctly different skills. In a post-Taggart world, where certain conduct no longer qualifies as a discharge violation, it’s particularly important to know what claims can still be pursued under a different consumer protection statute. We are in a uniquely advantageous position in that regard; as a bankruptcy law firm, with more than 25 years in practice and three board certified bankruptcy attorneys on our team, The Dellutri Law Group, is primed for these types of cases. This allows us to utilize both the Bankruptcy Code and non-bankruptcy consumer protection statutes to the maximum benefit of our clients. Many consumer statute violations go unenforced every day, for a variety of reasons. Some debtors don’t know what to do or where to go. Some debtors bury their heads in the sand, hoping the problem will resolve itself, or not believing it to be a real issue. Many are worried about the expense associated with taking further legal action. Worst of all, many times debtors address post-discharge violations with their bankruptcy attorneys, who are unwilling or unable to take any action to enforce consumer law, allowing creditors and debt collectors to continue their immoral and illegal behavior, rampant and unchecked. If you find yourself in a position where a creditor is attempting to collect discharged debt from one of your clients, please don’t tell them to ignore it, or that it’s “not a big deal.” In fact, it is quite a big deal — but nobody ever makes a big deal out of it, and as a result creditors get away with violating the law. Instead, tell your clients that you have someone who may be able to assist them. We will be happy to enforce the discharge, and any other consumer law, on behalf of your clients. You can tell them that you will still be their attorney and will be working on the case
Continued on Back ...
Made with FlippingBook Ebook Creator