Jones, Wolf & Kapasi, LLC defeated a motion to dismiss in a case, involving a medical debt, where our client alleges a debt collection law firm ("Defendant") violated 15 U.S.C. §1692, et seq., the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ("FDCPA").
Defendant commenced a lawsuit in New Jersey state court against our client, and his wife, based on a debt for medical care received by our client's wife. His FDCPA case alleges that Defendant violated the FDCPA because the state court lawsuit included false and misleading statements about his relationship to the medical debt. The Defendant argued that New Jersey's Doctrine of Necessaries applies even though our client, himself, did not receive the medical care.
In denying Defendant's motion to dismiss, and as to the issue of the Doctrine of Necessaries, the Court wrote: "Under the facts alleged, Plaintiff did not contract directly with Centrastate Medical Center or American Trading, he did not promise to pay for the medical treatment of his wife, and he did not personally receive the goods or services at issue from CentrastateMedical Center or American Trading. Taking these allegations as true, Defendants’ claims in the Underlying Complaint were false and misleading statements within the meaning of the FDCPA."
The case is Hochberg v Lenox, Socey, Formidoni, Giordano, Cooley, Lang & Casey, P.C., Robert F. Casey, P.C., Robert F. Casey et al., 3:16-cv-05307-BRM-LHG (D. New Jersey, March 24, 2017), and the Court's Opinion can be read here.
For more information about Jones, Wolf & Kapasi, LLC, or if you have recently been contacted by a debt collector involving a medical debt, you are invited to connect with us at: legaljones.com; https://www.linkedin.com/company/jones-wolf-&-kapasi-llc or @JonesWolfKapasi.
