Category: Consumer Protection
LawtonCates convinces Wisconsin’s Court of Appeals to provide debtors with greater protections against creditor abuse, even after a default judgment was entered. A recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals opinion in a case litigated by LawtonCates’ Attorney Briane Pagel expanded debtor protections against creditor abuse and overreach. In Creditbox v. Weathers, the Court of Appeals held that […]
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is asking a court to order Portfolio Recovery Associates to pay $24,000,000 in penalties and damages. The CFPB’s announcement on March 23, 2023, said it had caught Portfolio “red-handed” in 2015 committing numerous violations of law, and that Portfolio had not changed its practices. The CFPB said Portfolio has […]
The battle between debtors and debt collectors has been raging for years. In recent times, law changes have given debtors a fighting chance. Even though these law changes haven’t shifted the odds to favor debtors, the balance of power has shifted enough that desperate debt collectors have resorted to committing offenses that violate consumer protection law. […]
LawtonCates recently won a case involving a dealership misrepresenting the quality and value of a vehicle it sold to our client. The Grant County dealership sold a used vehicle to our client without properly and legally disclosing the issues with the vehicle. The vehicle then broke down, and the dealership repossessed it – even though our […]
Attorney Briane Pagel recently won a jury trial in Rock County on behalf of one of LawtonCates’ clients. The Rock County jury found that the credit union’s phone calls to our client were harassing and illegal. What Happened to Our Client? Like many other Americans, our client fell behind on his car loan. He then made […]
Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an opinion holding that it is illegal for repo men to seize peoples’ cars from the parking garage in their apartment. The case, Duncan v. Asset Recovery Specialists (case number 2019 AP 1365, reported at 2022 WI 1), was brought by a woman whose car was illegally repossessed from […]
Student loan payments for federal loans are suspended until September, 2020; the CARES Act, which suspended payments, also required that student loan companies treat the loans as though they were still being paid. Some loan servicers may not be complying with the law, and that could damage the borrower’s credit. Recently, Great Lakes Educational Loan […]
I often hear from people who are having problems with their new cars. The car is experiencing repeated problems that cannot seem to be fixed under the warranty. I tell them about the Lemon Law. What is the Lemon Law? Here is s a basic “FAQ” to fill you in. Is my car a lemon? If your car […]
There is no doubt that breakthroughs in medical technology have improved the lives of millions of Americans. And certainly orthopedic implants in particular have relieved the suffering of a growing number of older patients. But as we have seen too many times in the past, the rush to profit from a growing market in health […]
Are you a member of a health club? Do you pay for ongoing services at a spa or other personal care service? If so, and if you were not able to use those services during the pandemic, there’s a chance you were wrongfully charged for them. Authorities in Texas are investigating claims that a spa […]