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DISCLAIMER: This article is based on a complaint. The defendant has not responded to the complaint to present its side of the case. The claims mentioned are accusations and should be considered as such until and unless proven otherwise.
A collection attorney in New York is facing a class-action lawsuit for allegedly violating the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and state law when attempting to collect on judgments owed to a bankrupt for-profit university. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, targets the defendant, a debt collection attorney accused of continuing to collect on judgments against former students of the Technical Career Institute (TCI) despite TCI having filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
The background: Technical Career Institutes, Inc. (TCI), a for-profit college in Manhattan, closed its doors in September 2017 and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in November of that year. Before its closure, TCI had retained the defendant to pursue collection actions against its former students for unpaid tuition and other fees. In the years leading up to its bankruptcy, the defendant represented TCI in at least 1,200 collection lawsuits in New York City Civil Court, many of which resulted in judgments in favor of the school.
Following TCI’s bankruptcy filing, a Chapter 7 trustee was appointed, and the defendant was instructed to stop collecting on any of these judgments. Despite these instructions, the defendant allegedly continued her collection activities, acting as though she still represented TCI. The complaint alleges that she pursued garnishments and levies against former students, falsely claiming to represent the now-bankrupt institution.
The claims: The lawsuit claims the plaintiffs have been targeted by the defendant’s unauthorized collection actions. One plaintiff, who attended TCI briefly in 2007 and 2008, only learned of a judgment against him in December 2023, when he received a notice of garnishment. According to the complaint, the defendant pursued garnishment despite not having authorization to do so from TCI’s bankruptcy estate.
- The other plaintiff faced similar collection efforts, with the defendant allegedly threatening contempt of court and using aggressive tactics to collect on debts tied to TCI.
- The proposed class includes all individuals against whom the defendant attempted to collect judgments on behalf of TCI after November 13, 2017. The complaint outlines numerous alleged violations of the FDCPA and New York’s General Business Law, including deceptive practices, harassment, and unauthorized collection actions.
