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Focus Receivables Management

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Appeals court affirmed Focus Receivables dismissal, will notify House, Senate and FTC of extortion

Exactly as with my appeal when Experian published my entire unredacted credit reports on the public record, the court’s analysis of the Focus dismissal (posted at CreditCourt) is limited to ONE sentence:

Before: BEEZER, FERNANDEZ, and W. FLETCHER, Circuit Judges. Christine Baker appeals pro se from the district court’s judgment dismissing her action under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692, et seq., and other federal and state laws, as a sanction for violating the court’s confidentiality order.

We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291. We review for an abuse of discretion. Malone v. U.S. Postal Serv., 833 F.3d 128, 130 (9th Cir. 1987). We affirm.

The district court did not abuse its discretion by dismissing the action with prejudice after weighing the pertinent factors and evaluating alternatives to dismissal. See id. (addressing factors to consider in determining whether a district court abused its discretion by dismissing an action under Fed. R. Civ. P. 37(b)(2) or 41(b)). Baker’s remaining contentions are unpersuasive. AFFIRMED.

That’s what they do when they have no argument.  They don’t analyze what happened because they couldn’t possibly affirm if they did. 

So they SKIP the analysis.

There’s no way that we can change the corruption at this highest level of the US legal system.  MAYBE the system will selfdestruct anyway. 

BUT, as I recently posted, the FTC is looking to recommend changes to the FDCPA and with many MILLIONS of people defaulting, I will make Focus Receivable the posterchild for badly needed changes.

I still get complaints about Focus, alleging that they are STILL extorting payments!

I just did a web search for my Focus blog, didn’t they get their own blog?

That was so long ago, I didn’t have all these separate blogs.  I have to write my motion in the CRA litigation first, but then Focus will get a brand spanking new blog with the transcript of the extortion call.

And then it’ll go to the FTC and the House / Senate finance committees.  I’d really like to see the FTC reviewing the Focus collection manual and have a talk with them about their training of the collectors.

Nothing motivates me to spend some time and money on mailings like these corrupt courts.

There are MANY ways to find justice—while we still have 1st Amendment rights.

Just quickly checked on Focus:  http://www.focusrm.com/downloads/FocusSummary.pd

300 employees.  Yeah, that’s worth my while.

Many collectors will go out of business and quite likely Focus will be one of them. 

Which creditors hire KNOWN and PUBLICLY EXPOSED extortionists?

Sure, some debt buyers won’t care until they get sued too because the people who find my Focus blog find the links explaining their rights are and why NOT to pay those debts.

Cynthia Fulton is a Phoenix collection attorney and she was probably hard up for a few bucks too and that’s why she recommended to defend LEGALLY RECORDED extortion.

How stupid can you get?

I even tried to file a criminal extortion complaint against them in Georgia, but didn’t get very far.  I should follow up in writing.

Can anyone call you up and demand money you do NOT owe and threaten you with credit reporting of a COLLECTION if you don’t pay?

That’s no different than calling you up and demanding payment for not putting the pictures on the web that were taken secretly of you or your wife or daughter in the shower.

It’s extortion.

You probably read that I settled with IC System last year:

http://ic-system-collection-suit.info/

I can’t discuss the settlement, but I COULD discuss the issues if I wanted.  Sure, I got their collection calls with many FDCPA violations, but I also have many NEW calls.

We did discovery and then we settled.  They were smarter than attorney Fulton and Focus Receivables Management.

So now I’ll have two new blogs to set up, about NCO and the CRAs and about Focus Receivables.  And the Focus blog will of course encourage people who get those extortion calls to file their complaints with the FTC.

The Cal. AG started to investigate FDRS after they got their blog, so maybe this will work for Focus too.

Let’s give Obama a chance to at least come through on the credit and collections front.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Finally got the Focus dismissal today - it’s time for the EXTORTION complaint

Judge Wake sure took a long time, he must have been sick or something.

I’ll file my motion for reconsideration, as I have some questions for judge Wake, such as why he entirely ignored the cases I cited and why orders only need to be followed by me, but Focus and its attorney Fulton continually violated rules and orders.  Of course that was part of my briefings, but judge Wake didn’t address that. 

Judge Wake also denied my motion for sanctions, claiming that he already sanctioned Focus.  That’s really bizarre, because he imposed the sanctions on 12/7/07 and all of attorney Fulton’s refusals to respond to my emails were in 2008, properly documented by my exhibits (the ignored emails) and declaration.  What gives?

And judge Wake denied my motion to vacate the protective order or to at least require Focus to prove what should be confidential and why.  Since we stipulated to the order, the burden of proof is on Focus according to the case I cited.  Of course judge Wake ignored it.

This case ought to be the dictionary definition of being railroaded in Kangaroo court.

Of course I’ll appeal and hopefully I’ll finally have time for my extortion criminal complaint.  It is quite likely that Focus will be out of business once I’m done with them. 

I’ll publicly put the Focus clients on notice that Focus Receivables Management engages in extortion techniques.

That should make the CREDITORS liable for the Focus FDCPA violations if they choose to continue to give their collections to Focus.

I don’t know whether DirecTV still does business with Focus, have to contact them anyway.  DirecTV never refunded the amounts I paid for the “free” service.  And I remember a reader writing about a Focus Sprint collection.  So I’ll notify Sprint. 

I could see all kinds of lawsuits, RICO, etc.  It won’t matter that Focus is not the big fish class action lawyers are looking for, the CREDITORS got plenty of $$$ to make the lawyers happy.

Please send me your Focus collection letters (fax to 571-222-1000), I will not publish any info without your consent.

It’ll be tough to get a criminal extortion prosecution, but that in turn will only strengthen my argument to legislators that the FDCPA damages must be enhanced to include PUNITIVE damages and much higher statutory damages.

And there’s only one thing that Focus can do to stop me (aside from killing me) and that’s to change its collection practices to comply with the FDCPA, to admit that their extortion techniques are illegal and to properly compensate me.

The TRUTH is with me.

I have been so busy, I haven’t even had time to open the envelope with my perjury police report against attorney Keith Knochel that’s been on my desk for weeks.

I’ll upload the Focus Order and docs that aren’t sealed tonight.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Focus update—my Motion to Vacate the Confidentiality Order for the Focus Collection Manual

My 2/20/08 Motion to Vacate the Confidentiality Order

I’m so glad I got that filing in before judge Wake dismissed my case, think I’ve got all my ducks lined up for the appeal. 

And I can’t believe that I fell for the confidentiality order trap.

I always tell my clients and CreditFactors subscribers to let me have a look at a collector’s settlement agreement.  I KNOW that most people MISUNDERSTAND what they’re offering.  They promise one thing on the phone, but the written agreement is often different.

All too often people think that the collection will be DELETED when in fact it won’t be, they don’t understand that reporting as paid will NOT increase credit scores, etc.

I will NEVER AGAIN sign anything at the court house.

Live and learn.  But, I really think I have an outstanding chance of prevailing on appeal.

I also subscribed to a legal research service last week, it’s amazing what all you can find.  And it’s even more amazing to see how many hours go by READING the cases.

So after my memorandum for sanctions last Friday (my feet have NEVER been as cold as last Friday), my motion for sanctions Monday and now the motion to vacate the confidentiality order and to make all filings public, I hope I’m done with Focus for a while.  Although, there are other issues, but I have to post about that another time.

I don’t care if they bankrupt me, this is going where it needs to go.

FYI, I submitted the FTC 2007 FDCPA report as my exhibit tonight, a reader had sent me the link a while ago, thanks! 

It’s a disgrace how the FTC prides itself in accomplishing NOTHING.  They’re all a bunch of corrupt morons and unfortunately, it won’t make any difference who wins this election.

NOTHING will change.

Corrupt bastards. 

If you don’t believe it, contact your favorite candidate or politician and have him/her MAKE the FTC investigate Focus or YOUR favorite collector.

Prove me wrong.  PLEASE.

It sucks that I have to waste so much time on court filings and I have NO time to contact any legislators or candidates.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Focus update and trade secrets - or the lack thereof

I have to file my memorandum regarding the sanctions by Friday and it’s amazing what all you can run across when you search for trade secrets.

Arizona appeals court opinion, Enterprise v. Ehmke:

22. Just as the trade secret’s owner is obliged to establish that the matter is secret, it must also show that it exercised reasonable care to safeguard the secret. A.R.S. §44-401(4)(b). Indeed, the most important factor in gaining trade-secret protection is demonstrating that the owner has taken such precautions as are reasonable under the circumstances to preserve the secrecy of the information. Michael A. Epstein & Stuart D. Levi, Protecting Trade Secret Information, 43 BUS. LAW. 887, 13 895 (1988); see A.R.S. § 44-401(4)(b). As many courts have explained, a business that takes only scant precautions in guarding the confidentiality of the secret will not receive protection. Epstein & Levi, Protecting Trade Secret Information, 43 BUS. LAW at 895. ...

That’s of course very helpful, since Focus attorney Fulton posted what’s allegedly so secret on the public record and DESPITE my numerous mentions of this fact, she’s done nothing to have the filing sealed. 

And of course she did NOT establish that anything I posted is a trade secret.

I’m also amazed how many appeals are filed, often over minor items like just a few thousand dollars in sanctions, pocket change for the large corporations filing the appeals.

It’s quite interesting, but I SHOULD be reading about 12 v wire sizing and water hammer arresters.

All this litigation crap literally gives me nightmares.

I can’t even post what I dreamed about judge Wake last night, maybe I can put it in the book, don’t know, it was so bizarre.  Must have gotten 7 hours of sleep, that’s when I usually have lucid dreams. 

Moving on to real life:

Egomaniac Thug Cop Assaults 14 Year Old Kid

Reading some of the comments, officer Rivieri of the Baltimore Police Department isn’t going to get an award for improving relations between citizens and especially young people and the police.

I think Rivieri is suspended now.  The power of the internet and publication.  There’s no better propaganda tool than TV / Video. 

I’m glad I’m not a kid growing up in this hostile environment.  Can’t imagine having to walk through a metal detector to go to school or being told what to wear or not to wear.

I’m not so glad that I live in a society allowing scum like Focus to extort debts not owed and then as the victim to be put through hell by this corrupt legal system.

When Focus collector James Hurd told me that I HAD to pay or have the collection reported on my credit and that there was NOTHING I could do to prevent the reporting other than to pay the $250 (I didn’t owe), he made me feel like that 14 year old kid.

Violated and powerless.

And then you go to court to find that you have no rights whatsoever other than to waste your time and resources and to not even be compensated.  That’s the part that bites the most, that even if you win a jury trial, chances that you get paid without having to go through the appeal are slim and if you get a few thousand bucks, it’ll be a SMALL percentage of your actual costs, the hundreds or thousands of hours wasted on research, court filings and nightmares.

The ONLY reason to go to court is to be able to document how the system does NOT work for the people.

It works for the lawyers, but as a consumer, you might as well just shoot yourself and put yourself out of your misery.  Well, either that, or just stop paying your unsecured debts and hopefully they’re LARGE and you adequately compensate yourself. 

I’ve been searching the Arizona federal court for pro se litigants with FCRA or FDCPA claims going back to about 2000.  There are next to NONE.  Every now and then a case is transferred from state court and then the pro se consumer dismisses.

There was one guy who was ordered to pay attorneys fees to a CRA and he appealed and prevailed.  I’ve posted about him a few years ago.  Somebody emailed or posted that he was a nutcase.  But, I owe him big-time. 

If it hadn’t been for him, it’s quite likely that judge Wake would have awarded the $50k attorneys fees to Capital One.

But he hasn’t been back for more punishment and I think I have more than enough material for several books and movies. 

Wrote to Paul Grignon, the genius who made Money as Debt. I asked what it cost to make the movie and he wrote back that he worked on it for a year and then there were the expenses for software.  I don’t think I can afford that anytime soon.

I just don’t have a single artistic cell in my body.  If you watched the movie, you might remember how the bankers pump up the balloons with the “$” on them to show how fractional reserve lending increased the money supply.  And to illustrate more deregulation, the bankers pump until the balloons are HUGE.

In my movie, I can see how one could show how consumers are mistreated by credit bureaus, creditors and collectors, then by judges and finally destroyed and bankrupted by the legal system if they dare to not dismiss or settle early on.  I think one could illustrate it in a way that’s funny. 

Publishing the filings, blogs and press releases is a start and several readers contacted me to help with promotions and contacting legislators.  But I really wish I had something funny to put on youtube.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

Focus attorney Fulton refuses to be deposed unless subpoenaed

I asked attorney Fulton after the Friday hearing whether the deposition schedule worked for her, and she declined because she wasn’t subpoenaed.

I didn’t know I had to subpoena her.  Thought that the purpose of serving someone with the subpoena was to ensure that they KNEW about it.  Since my filed deposition notice was served on Ms. Fulton by the court through the electronic filing system, I don’t understand why I have to subpoena her, but, whatever ...

My email to Ms. Fulton:

Ms. Fulton,

You stated after the 1/11/08 hearing that you will not allow me to depose you unless I subpoena you.  I will do so, however, I need to know whether your office is an acceptable location for you or whether I need to incur the expense of reserving a conference room.

Please let me know ASAP,

Christine Baker

She obviously doesn’t want to be deposed regarding the Focus alleged damages and now I also decided to question her about her violations of the 12/7/07 order requiring her to NOT ignore me as well as other discovery issues.

We’ll see what happens.