in Newswire Published on March 9, 2022

Litigation Practice Group’s Credit Repair Practices Violate Federal Law, Class Action Alleges [UPDATE]

Last Updated on June 5, 2023

Eaton v. The Litigation Practice Group, PC

Filed: March 4, 2022 ◆§ 1:22-cv-00917

The Litigation Practice Group has violated federal and Georgia state law in the course of providing credit repair services, a proposed class action alleges.

Defendant(s)

The Litigation Practice Group, PC

Law(s)

Credit Repair Organizations Act Georgia Debt Adjustment Act

State(s)

Georgia

June 5, 2023 – Litigation Practice Group Class Action On Ice Due to Bankruptcy Filing

The proposed class action detailed on this page has been paused for administrative purposes in light of The Litigation Practice Group filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in California in March 2023.

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Though The Litigation Practice Group filed a motion to dismiss the case on February 16, that request was denied without prejudice by U.S. District Judge Victoria Marie Calvert on March 31. Judge Calvert denied the motion to toss the case days after the defendant filed with the court a suggestion of bankruptcy notice in which the company disclosed that it had filed a petition for bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California on March 20, thus triggering an automatic stay of the proposed class action.

In her order denying LPG’s motion to dismiss the case, Judge Calvert stated that the request was denied “for administrative reasons only” and that the court has not considered the merits of the motion. If and/or when the lawsuit is unpaused, pending the outcome of the defendant’s bankruptcy proceeding, “either party may move to reopen this case,” the judge wrote.

An investment company alleged in a January 2023 lawsuit that The Litigation Practice Group was run by Tony Diab, an attorney reportedly disbarred in California and Nevada over alleged ethics violations. The case alleges Diab has misappropriated millions of dollars of the plaintiff’s investments by way of The Litigation Practice Group’s purported debt resolution services.

ClassAction.org will update this page with any new developments, so be sure to check back often.

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The Litigation Practice Group, PC (LPG) has violated the federal Credit Repair Organizations Act (CROA) and the Georgia Debt Adjustment Act (GDAA) in the course of providing credit repair services, a proposed class action alleges.

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The 18-page case claims that the defendant, a Tustin, California-based law firm, has unlawfully received funds for credit repair services before those services were fully performed. The lawsuit also alleges LPG has made “untrue and misleading representations” regarding its credit improvement services and charged fees of more than 7.5 percent of the monthly amount paid by debtors for distribution to their creditors.

The complaint additionally alleges that LPG is not authorized to offer debt adjustment services or practice law in Georgia.

According to the suit, Litigation Practice Group is a credit repair organization as defined under the CROA given the settlement of a consumer’s debt would necessarily result in credit repair. The lawsuit argues that the defendant has run afoul of the CROA by charging money for its services before those services were fully performed. As the case tells it, Litigation Practice Group has misled consumers by “repeatedly” representing that it would repair their credit. The lawsuit alleges that the defendant has instead “lined its pockets with Plaintiff’s and the Class Members’ money while doing either little or nothing to truly assist Plaintiff and the Class Members or improve their credit.”

The case goes on to claim that the defendant has violated the GDAA by retaining the full amount of the monthly fee paid by debtors. Per the suit, the GDAA prohibits a debt adjuster from retaining more than 7.5 percent of the funds paid to it by the debtor for distribution to creditors.

The lawsuit looks to represent anyone who, while residing in Georgia, received debt settlement or debt adjusting services from Litigation Practice Group on or after July 1, 2003 and from whom the firm accepted, either directly or indirectly, any charge, fee, contribution or combination thereof in violation of the GDAA.

The case also looks to cover anyone who, while residing in Georgia, received credit repair services from the defendant on or after five years before the date the lawsuit was filed and until the present.

The complaint was initially filed in DeKalb County State Court on January 28, 2022 before being removed to the Georgia’s Northern District Court, Atlanta Division on March 4.

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