HOUSTON – A consumer alleges he had to retain counsel to defend himself in a suit because a collections agency took actions it was not legally allowed to take.
Robert L. Jones Jr. filed a complaint on Sept. 21 in the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas against National Judgment Recovery Center LP alleging that the collection agency violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Texas Debt Collection Act.
According to the complaint, in 2006, Unifund CCR Partners filed a lawsuit against the plaintiff that he allegeds was never served to him and a default judgment was entered the same year. The judgment expired May 19, 2016, the suit states.
The suit states the defendant was assigned the judgment from Unifund CCR Partners in November 2016 and it filed an application to revive the judgment in August 2017.
The plaintiff alleges that on Feb. 20, defendant filed a writ of garnishment against his bank account with Bank of America. As a result, the suit states his bank account was frozen and he was forced to retain a legal counsel to defend his interest. The suit states the parties signed an order declaring the judgment expired and unenforceable in July.
The plaintiff holds National Judgment Recovery Center LP responsible because the defendant allegedly misrepresented the character or legal status of the alleged debt and took actions that could not legally be taken.
The plaintiffs request a trial by jury and seek actual and statutory damages, costs, attorney’s fees and such further relief as deemed just. He is represented by Daniel J. Ciment of Ciment Law Firm PLLC in Katy.
Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas case number 4:18-cv-03381