Sued for Debt by Roach & Murtha, P.C.?

Roach & Murtha, P.C. is a creditors’ rights firm located in Nassau County, Long Island. Previously it was known as the law firm of Peter T. Roach & Associates. It engages in collecting debts and assisting in the collection of any type and amount of debt including, subrogation, commercial debt, judgments, promissory notes, and accounts receivable. The firm also engages in the liquidation of security interests on equipment or vehicle leases through repossession and deficiency judgments. The firm represents creditors, debt buyers, and other debt-collection companies including Discover Bank, Creditrust, LVNV Funding, LLC, Citibank, and JP Morgan Chase Bank.

The partners of the firm are Peter T. Roach and Timothy J. Murtha. Mr. Roach is admitted to practice in New York State, the United States District Court for the Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western Districts of New York, and the District of Columbia. Before opening his firm in 1979, Mr. Roach was a CEO of a mortgage banking company. Mr. Murtha is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut, and the Eastern District of New York. He has spent more than a decade litigating collection cases in the collection industry throughout New York States.

The firm uses debt collection software to electronically receive cases. The technology allows consumers to make payments by telephone or online on the firm’s website. Following a judgment, the firm uses debt collection software to locate debtor’s bank accounts in an effort to freeze the funds of the account. These accounts may also be garnished and applied toward entered judgments.

A notable case brought against the firm is Fedotov v. Peter T. Roach and Associates, P.C., 354 F. Supp.2d 471 (S.D.N.Y 2005) In Fedotov, the consumer brought a class action against the law firm for alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practice Act. In this case, the plaintiff received a credit card issued by Citibank. The plaintiff failed to make the payments on a credit card amount and Citibank referred the matter to the firm for debt collection. The firm sent a collection letter on behalf of Citibank to the plaintiff demanding payment of the credit card debt. The contents of the letter were the basis for the lawsuit. The firm sought to stay the proceedings in favor of arbitration and the court granted this motion.