I’ve been receiving emails inquiring whether I was ok and requesting status updates. I’m sorry for the silence here, I’ve been so incredibly busy and am finally making time.
Initially the settlement conference was scheduled for 7/7/14 and after countless emails and motions, it was rescheduled to 8/19/14.
The 8/19/14 settlement conference
I can’t discuss what happened at the conference, other than that it failed.
I wanted to reschedule the settlement conference again because I hadn’t received the Equifax initial disclosures and the Midland discovery responses, but attorneys William Fife for Midland and Ann Broussard for Equifax opposed another continuance.
While the Midland defendants’ discovery responses were due on 7/7/14, they didn’t provide a single meaningful response or document until the evening prior to the 8/19/14 settlement conference. I downloaded hundreds of pages around 10 pm and obviously couldn’t review most docs.
However, it is clear from the Midland docs that they report an incorrect DLA for one account to Equifax and that they charge interest from the date of charge-off instead of the date when they purchased the accounts. I will be posting a lot more info about the credit reporting and interest calculations in a separate post.
As expected, the settlement conference resulted in me wasting several hundred dollars on travel, two days on the road and having to drive through countless storms on flooded roads. Not to mention the huge amount of time wasted preparing for the conference.
Incredibly, I was the only person prepared for the conference. While the attorneys attending the conference had claimed that they were fully informed about the case, they didn’t even have the Midland documents proving that it reported incorrect data as I received those discovery responses from their California attorneys the night before the hearing.
Of course I will NEVER AGAIN agree to attend a settlement conference.
The defendants were allowed to attend by telephone and the entire purpose of the settlement conference was to waste my very limited resources or even better, cause me to dismiss my claims because I can’t afford to waste what little time and money I have on a doomed settlement conference. So if you don’t live close to the courthouse, act accordingly. You don’t HAVE to agree to attend a settlement conference.
Apparently the Midland attorneys had NO idea that Midland’s own records show that they report incorrect information to the credit bureaus.
First attorney David Campbell and then his successor attorney William Fife filed all these motions without having any information about the accounts!
Despite clear evidence from Midland’s own records, they still have not notified me that they are correcting their credit reporting.
On 6/23/14 Midland verified the incorrect data with Trans Union and I’m currently working on my 2nd amended complaint to join Trans Union.
I will definitely try to update regularly and I’ve been meaning to post my email communications with the attorneys.
This litigation is not just about correcting my credit reports and getting paid for my damages, but I’d like to do whatever it takes to not have to sue for false credit reporting again. After all, I’ve been in court for 12 or 13 years now and I’m continually experiencing NEW issues. I’m sick and tired of corrupt courts!
As this case documents, scummy debt buyers won’t even correct their credit reporting when sued and their own docs show that they report false data.
The system needs to be changed and consumers need to be able to hold credit bureaus, creditors and debt buyers accountable WITHOUT having to spend a fortune on litigation.
Corporations ignore consumer protection laws with impunity. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau needs to step up its enforcement actions and as my litigation documents, we need a CONSUMER COURT with judges well trained in consumer law and ensuring that FAIR and SPEEDY proceedings will result in JUSTICE.
Of course it’ll require LOTS of work to bring these issues to the attention of legislators and regulators and I’m not superwoman.
I currently have two main “hobbies”:
- Sharing my litigation experiences and working to increase the enforcement of consumer protection laws.
- Learning and teaching how to grow nutrient dense organic food in the desert and fighting genetically modified food.
My day could have a hundred hours and I still wouldn’t get everything done. So I decided to let YOU tell me how important it is to make it easier for consumers to find justice in courts, or even better, without going to court, and to enhance consumer protection laws such as the FDCPA.
I finally created my GoFundMe page and I plan on some major updates for this website.
It’s up to YOU to make it happen.