debtor
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Lawyers, Don’t Fear the Reaper
A.I. may be new and scary, but the legal profession should embrace it, not bogeyman it. One of the benefits of being a licensed Florida attorney is that, every month, without fail, I receive a nice, crisp copy of The Florida Bar News. This month was like no other as I recently received the September…
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Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Means Test Median Family Income Levels By State, as of May 15, 2024
For bankruptcy cases filed on or after May 15, 2024, the median income figure for a household of 1 earner in Florida is $62,973. Below you will find the median family income levels utilized by the United States Trustee Program for means testing individuals who have filed for bankruptcy relief. Median income information is used…
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Free Credit Reports Available Weekly Through April 2021 Due to Coronavirus
In response to COVID-19, and effective now through April, 2021, consumers are eligible to pull free credit reports weekly, rather than the normal limit of once per year. This will assist consumers in being able to more regularly monitor their credit to identify and discover possible affects on credit from things such as irregular payment…
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Conflict Alert: Prevailing consumer in account stated action may not be able to recover attorney’s fees and costs from a losing debt buyer
Does conflict make the world go ’round? No, according to The Stylistics (save a click: according to The Stylistics, people do). But conflict sure keeps things interesting, and it undoubtedly also keeps attorneys and their clients on their toes. In a recent decision,[note]Ham v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, 2018 WL 6253294, ___ So. 3d ___…
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Short selling your home? Here’s a tip: start the process well in advance of a scheduled foreclosure sale
A September, 2018 opinion from Florida’s Third District Court of Appeals provides guidance on what is not a “lawful, cognizable basis” for cancelling, rescheduling, or continuing a judicial foreclosure sale date, in the absence of an agreement from the plaintiff (lender). In the case below, thirteen days before a foreclosure sale[note]This was the second foreclosure…
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Debt-buyer can be liable to prevailing consumer for attorney’s fees on account stated lawsuit filed over defaulted credit card
In a 2018 case, Florida’s Second District Court of Appeals has held that a consumer who successfully defended a lawsuit filed over a defaulted Amazon.com credit card debt may recover her attorney’s fees from the creditor who did the suing. After retaining an attorney and opposing the debt buyer’s allegations, the debt buyer chose to…
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A creditor by any other name: Avant Capital, LLC v. Gomez
“A rose lender by any other a slightly different name would smell as sweet still be able to foreclose.” Shakespeare 4th DCA (more or less) Florida’s 4th District Court of Appeals has held that the omission of the word “corporation” from a corporation’s name as it appears on various mortgage loan documents, did not render…