HOW TO DEFEND AGAINST UNIFUND CCR
Unifund CCR is a debt-buyer who buys debt from original creditors like
Bank of America or Citibank for pennies on the dollar. Their goal is to
sue consumers and obtain a judgment so that they can then go and freeze
a consumer’s bank account, garnish their wages or place a lien on
their real property. Unifund frequently retains Mulloooly, Jeffrey, Rooney
and Flynn, a common debt collection law firm to sue consumers, obtain
judgments, and enforce on those judgments. Unfortunately, most judgments
are obtained on default because service of the summons, and complaint
or lawsuit, is very poor in both New York and New Jersey. These judgments
also allow Unifund or any other creditor to accrue 9% judgment interest
in New York significantly increasing the amount of the judgment. The marshal
or sheriff then generally add on their 5% fee inflating the amount further.
It is essential to answer a summons and complaint as soon as it is received
so that a default judgment is not obtained. Alternatively, an order to
show cause to vacate the judgment must be filed immediately after learning
of the judgment to have it removed. By doing this, a consumer has the
ability to defend themselves. Under CPLR 317 a consumer can vacate a judgment
up to 5 years from the entry of such judgment as long as they were not
personally served, and they have at least one meritorious defense. This
is important because to vacate a judgment under CPLR 5015 a consumer must
show that they have a meritorious defense and a reasonable excuse for
not answering. In addition, they must file within one year of learning
about the judgment. Alternatively, a judgment can always be vacated if
the wrong address is served due to a lack of personal jurisdiction. The
courts have said that a lack of jurisdiction makes a judgment null and void.
Vacating a judgment allows a consumer to submit an answer with the necessary
standing, privity, and hearsay defenses that have the potential to dismiss
a Unifund matter. MJRF will frequently contact us to settle these matters
for much less than the balance once they see that these defenses have
been asserted, and they no longer have a judgment against the consumer.