Complain about a product or service

New York Sues Process Server for High-Volume Debt Collectors

Company allegedly failed to serve legal notices on consumers; law firm also faces suit

April 14, 2009

According to the court papers, ALP, as a legal process server, was hired by high-volume debt collection law firms in New York to serve legal papers, usually a summons and complaint, notifying individuals that they are being sued and must answer the complaint. ALP, however, allegedly engaged in “sewer service,” where process servers take advantage of individuals facing lawsuits by failing to properly alert them and denying them the chance to respond.

As a result, thousands of judgments were allegedly obtained against unsuspecting New Yorkers, many of whom first learned they were being sued when they found their bank accounts frozen or their wages garnished. ALP allegedly covered up the fraud by falsifying sworn affidavits of service in courts across New York. The Attorney General’s Office also filed a parallel civil suit against ALP and Singler seeking a court order prohibiting them from engaging in improper service of process, monetary damages and substantial penalties.

In addition, Cuomo announced his intent to sue one of ALP’s largest customers, the law firm of Forster & Garbus, for violations of New York State’s consumer protection laws. According to Cuomo, Forster & Garbus used ALP to serve over 28,000 summons and complaints across the state, but failed to supervise the company and relied on legal papers from ALP that it knew or should have known were false.

“The laws of this state are supposed to ensure that each and every New Yorker has their day in court,” said Attorney General Cuomo. “If proven to be true, the schemes detailed in the cases filed today undermined the legal rights of thousands of citizens by corrupting our legal system and abusing individuals who happened to have consumer debts."

With respect to the notice sent to the law firm of Forster & Garbus, the Attorney General said: "I am putting all law firms on notice that they are responsible for the conduct of the companies they use to serve complaints and other legal documents. Law firms cannot turn a blind-eye to abuses perpetrated on their behalf.”

Legal process servers are hired by law firms to serve legal papers, usually a summons and complaint, which notify individuals that they are being sued. New York law explicitly states how summons must be served upon individuals facing legal action. A process server can deliver the summons directly to the person being sued; can deliver the summons to a substitute person of suitable age and discretion at the place of business or the home of the person being sued and then mail the summons; or, should the first two options be exhausted after several attempts, can "nail and mail," meaning the summons is posted on the door of the home or workplace of the person being sued and the summons is mailed to them.

According to the court papers filed today, between January 2007 and October 2008, ALP claimed to have served 98,000 summons and complaints throughout New York State to New Yorkers alleged to owe debt. The majority of these were done through “nail and mail,” the method of service that is easiest to abuse. The Attorney General’s investigation revealed that thousands of legal documents were not properly served, or served at all, to the individuals they were intended for.

Furthermore, ALP allegedly attempted to cover up its unlawful business practices by falsifying documents, submitted to courts across the state, swearing that proper legal notification had been duly served upon these individuals. According to the criminal and civil complaints filed today, ALP’s conduct included:

• Instances in which ALP process servers claim to have made process serving attempts in more than one place at the exact same time. In one particular case, a process server claimed to have been at four different addresses at precisely the same moment;
• Instance in which an ALP process server claimed to have made process serving attempts that would have required him to drive more than 10,000 miles in a single day;
• Instances in which ALP process servers claim to have made process serving attempts before they had actually received the summons and complaint from ALP; and
• Instances in which ALP process servers claim to have made process serving attempts before the summons and complaint had actually been filed with the appropriate court.

According to the criminal complaint, Singler organized and orchestrated ALP’s fraudulent activities. He was personally responsible for notarizing thousands of legal documents submitted to the New York Courts in which his process servers purportedly swore individuals had been served, when they had not.

The civil lawsuit announced by Cuomo today charges that ALP and Singler violated multiple New York statutes by falsifying these legal documents, which were in turn used by debt-collection law firms who provided them to courts as proof that New Yorkers had been given proper legal notice of the lawsuits against them. In many instances, the individuals had not been given proper legal notice and failed to appear in court, ultimately having default judgments entered against them. The lawsuit seeks monetary damages, penalties and injunctive relief against both ALP and Singler.

The Attorney General’s letter today to Forster & Garbus provides the required five-day notice of his intent to sue the firm pursuant to NYS consumer protection law. In the same 20-month period in 2007 and 2008, Forster & Garbus used ALP to serve more than 28,000 summons and complaints throughout the state. In obtaining default judgments, Forster & Garbus submitted to courts ALP affidavits of service to show that service had been proper when in many cases it had not been. The Attorney General’s notice letter makes clear that Forster & Garbus, by failing to supervise ALP and relying on affidavits that it knew or should have known were false, has harmed the New Yorkers who were the defendants to its lawsuits, the courts, and the clients who that law firm was representing.

Report Your Experience
If you've had a bad experience -- or a good one -- with a consumer product or service, we'd like to hear about it. All complaints are reviewed by class action attorneys and are considered for publication on our site. Knowledge is power! Help spread the word. File your consumer report now.

Share		Follow us on Twitter.

Back to the top |