Our client retained our office when his father’s bank account was frozen due to a judgment that was obtained against them by Mel Harris & Associates, a common New York debt collection law firm, on behalf of AmeriCredit Financial Services, a debt buyer for the balance owed on a car repossession. The alleged balance due was a whopping $32,243.59. As with most car repo cases, the car is sold at auction for a fraction of its worth and then the consumer is liable for the large deficiency balance of what is still owed to the bank. After reviewing the timeline of the suit, we were able to determine that our client was not in the country at the time which made it impossible to serve him with a summons and complaint.
We immediately contacted Mel Harris to notify the attorneys there that we would be filing an Order to Show Cause to vacate the default judgment against our client based on improper service. We sent them proof of his passport showing that he was not in the country at that time. Moreover, we also stated that we did not believe that they would be able to show standing based on the fact that this debt was bought and sold many times over and the likelihood of proof connecting it to our client was minimal. As a result, Mel Harris agreed to vacate the judgment against our client and we were able to obtain a low out of court settlement that was approximately 76 percent off the balance owed, saving our client a ton of money as well as legal fees.