The law is good, if a man use it lawfully.
Timothy 1:8
FLORIDA SUPREME COURT ORDERS NONLAWYER TO SERVE FIVE MONTH JAIL SENTENCE
FOR UNLICENSED PRACTICE OF LAW
TALLAHASSEE, March 16 -- On March 14, 2005, the Supreme Court of Florida ordered Michael Bowers, from Pensacola, to serve a five month jail sentence for violating the terms of his probation by continuing to engage in the unlicensed practice of law. Mr. Bowers gave legal advice and prepared and filed legal documents in a probate matter and held himself out to the public as being able to provide legal services in violation of previous Supreme Court orders. Mr. Bowers had previously been permanently enjoined from engaging in the unlicensed practice of law in 1998 and was found guilty of indirect criminal contempt in 2003 for violating the injunction. Michael Bowers was doing business as Legal Tech of Northwest Florida and/or Documentation Center, Inc.
DATE: March 16, 2005
CONTACT: Emilie Rietow, The Florida Bar
TELEPHONE: 850/561-5666
LEGAL SPECIALIST LINE:
DEBT-COLLECTION AGENCIES AND YOUR RIGHTS
Hounded by Collection Agents? Know Your Rights Under Florida Law By Lawrence J. Marraffino, Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer
If you are getting calls from collection agents at all hours of the day or night and on weekends, you should know that federal and state laws prohibit collection agents from using these practices.
Your rights are protected under the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). Congress passed this law to provide standards by which debt collection companies can operate and not interfere with the lives of the people from whom they are attempting to collect debts.
Basically, any action by a creditor that would be deemed “harassing" is a violation of the law. This includes repeated phone calls, calls after 8 p.m., calls on Sunday and calls to your place of employment. You also have the right to tell a creditor that he or she may not call you anymore. Once notified, creditors may no longer call you anywhere or they are in violation of the FDCPA. Submit this request in writing by certified mail and request a return receipt. The downside to using this tactic is the creditor may decide at that point to file a lawsuit against you.
Creditors do not have the right to harass you into paying. These are a few of the common lies told by collection companies:
1. If you don't pay, you will lose your house! In most cases, Article X, Section 4 of the Florida Constitution protects your home as homestead property with no limits on value. Exceptions include your mortgage company, condominium and homeowners associations. Limitations apply to the amounts of land you can have: You can protect up to one-half acre if you live within the city limits of a municipality and up to 160 acres if you live outside city limits.
2. If you don't pay, you will lose your belongings and car! Florida law allows individuals to protect up to $1,000 of personal property (usually figured at garage sale values) and up to $1,000 of equity in a car. However, if you took out a loan to buy your car that lender has the right to repossess the vehicle.
3. If you don't pay we will garnish your wages! If you are a head of household – a person providing more than half of the support of another person – your wages are completely exempt from a garnishment. If a creditor does garnish your wages, you must claim your exemption within the time limits specified in the writ of garnishment, and the court will schedule a hearing within a short period of time. You will need to prove to the court that your wages are used to pay for the living expenses of another person living in your home. Exceptions to this rule are student loans and the IRS.
4. If you don't pay you will go to jail! You cannot go to jail for debt in the United States. Again, the IRS is an exception.
One key fact collection agents generally omit from their calls is that all of the above remedies assume they have already filed a lawsuit against you and obtained a judgment. You will know if you have been sued because Florida law requires that you get actual notice of any lawsuits filed against you.
Knowing your rights can save you from undue harassment at the hands of debt collectors. If you find yourself in a situation where your debt is more than you can hope to pay, consult an attorney about the relief available to consumers under Florida’s bankruptcy laws.
Lawrence J. Marraffino is a Board Certified Civil Trial Lawyer in Gainesville, Florida. Certification is the highest level of recognition by The Florida Bar of the competency and experience of attorneys in the areas of law approved for certification by the Supreme Court of Florida. Mr. Marraffino also is an adjunct professor at the University of Florida Levin College of Law. Contact him at (352) 376-0102 or ljmarra@bellsouth.net.
CONTACT: Lisa Garcia, APR
DATE: March 21, 2005
TELEPHONE: 850/561-5769
