Pressler and Pressler Sued Over Debt Collection ‘Trickery’

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Pressler & Pressler, LLP has been named as the defendant in a proposed class action lawsuit that claims it unlawfully sued the plaintiff over a disputed medical debt and attempted to “prey” on her lack of legal knowledge to win the case. According to the complaint, Pressler & Pressler attempted to collect an alleged debt on behalf of a creditor that the plaintiff claimed she had “never heard of” and “certainly never signed any agreement with.” She says she disputed the debt with the defendant and with the creditor but that Pressler & Pressler illegally proceeded with filing a lawsuit against her. The suit claims that the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) requires debt collectors to cease collection activities on a disputed debt, and to inform all parties with whom they communicate that the debt is disputed, including the court.

Though its lawsuit was seemingly illegal to begin with, the defendant then sent the plaintiff a notice to admit, according to the complaint. The notice allegedly required the plaintiff to admit or deny the integral issues of the case, and a failure to respond to the notice is supposedly considered an admission of its contents. From the complaint:

“The debt collector intended to exploit the debtor's failure to respond to its notice to admit…, despite knowing that it is improper and abusive to use a notice to admit to obtain the admission of contested ultimate issues regarding the debt allegedly owed to the debt collector.”

The suit argues that the defendant’s “trickery” in attempting to collect on the plaintiff’s disputed debt was deceptive and violated the FDCPA.