Crown Asset Management Debt Lawsuit Dismissed

We were contacted by a consumer who was frantic because she had been served with a lawsuit on a debt matter that she said she had never owned. Crown Asset Management, a debt-buyer had obtained this debt from another debt-buyer. Our client was lucky that she actually received the summons and complaint as many consumers that we help are never served properly and end up with a default judgment against them leading to wage garnishment or a bank levy. In this matter, Crown retained the debt collection law firm of Stephen Einstein and Associates whom frequently handle these debt collection and enforcement matters. We learned that the debt itself was over $10,000 and was bought and sold a few times since leaving the hands of the original creditor.

We submitted an answer with affirmative defenses focusing both on a lack of standing and a possible statute of limitations issue for Crown. Standing is the most crucial aspect of a debt case as the plaintiff or Crown in this situation must show not only that they are the rightful owner of the debt but that they properly acquired the debt from whomever owned it previously. They must also have someone attest to the fact that it was properly acquired in court. Laying the foundation for all of this evidence to be accepted by the court is the burden of the plaintiff and our job is to show that they cannot do so. We quickly sent our discovery requests asking for proof of the bill of sale and chain-of-title from Stephen Einstein and Associates. After realizing that they could not come up with the necessary proof to meet their burden in court, Stephen Einstein contacted us stating that they would be voluntarily dismissing the case against our client.