CAPITAL ONE JUDGMENT VACATED AND DISMISSED

A former client contacted us stating that he had just learned that the Rubin and Rothman, a frequent debt collection law firm in New York and New Jersey was pursuing him for a $12,000 Capital One debt that he thought we had already dismissed for him. We had previously represented him in regard to a Capital One Judgment that we did indeed vacate and dismiss. However, after reviewing the situation, the index number and debt amount on this new Capital One Judgment were different. The situation and defenses remained the same. Our client had traveled out of the country years before and was the victim of identity theft during that time period. After disputing the debt on his credit report, Capital One actually sent a letter to him advising that their investigation did show that the debt was a result of identity theft. Unfortunately he did not know that there was another Capital One debt still out against him.

We contacted Rubin and Rothman to explain the situation and advised that we would be filing a motion to vacate the judgment and dismiss the underlying debt due to identity theft and the fact that our client could not have defended himself at the time of suit as he was out of the country. We also pointed to the fact that we had an identical situation a half-year ago with Capital One and Selip and Stylianou, the law firm that was handling the first matter, and that we had it dismissed. Rubin and Rothman agreed to voluntarily vacate the judgment and dismiss the debt against our client after reviewing the dismissal from the first case and the letter from Capital One itself. These examples show that it is critical to review your personal credit report after a long trip or stay out of the country.