Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Lawsuits
Midland Funding LLC is a debt collection agency. This is one of the many debt collection companies out there. I was contacted by a Midland Funding LLC attorney who informed me of a pending lawsuit. I asked him what the pending lawsuit was and he stated;
“A debt collector sued a debtor for non-payment of back debt. The debt collector failed to deliver the funds. The debtor then filed a complaint in a local court against the debt collector. The case was turned over to Midland Funding LLC which is an attorney collection agency. They then filed lawsuits against various consumers attempting to recover the debt.”
The original creditor sued Midland Funding LLC on behalf of the consumer, which was the original lender. The Midland Funding LLC failed to deliver the funds on the stipulated date which was the original due date. The Midland Funding LLC ignored the request for an update on the status and did not respond to the complaint. The lender did not sue Midland Funding LLC but rather the collection agency.
The San Diego attorney stated; “The company has sent us a Cease and Desist letter to Midland Funding LLC which is based in Texas.
We will not pursue this claim further unless the company ceases all contact with the individual or their minor children.” I asked; “How are you able to tell if they are complying with your request?” He replied, “As a private individual, we are not allowed to tell you how we determine if a debt buyer or collection agency complies or not. We will simply refer you to the state’s Attorney General who will be able to tell you what your rights are in this matter.”
According to attorney Carlin P. Jones, “It would appear that Midland Funding LLC is using the letters of cease and desist letters to attempt to force the collection agencies to accept their terms or leave the property and walk away.
This is unfortunate because such letters do nothing but put people in fear, causing them to overpay, or worse, file frivolous lawsuits that waste time and money.” Jones continued, “I believe the best possible outcome for all of Midland Funding LLC’s customers would be to agree with them to negotiate an immediate payment plan that meets their needs. Under these terms, Midland Funding LLC may continue to pursue collection efforts with other companies that it owns, but it will be limited to those that have already received our prior notification that they will not receive additional collections from that account.” This would provide an opportunity for the debtor to avoid being sued and more importantly to avoid wage garnishment.
The second lawsuit is also ongoing, and it involves another collection agency that Midland Funding LLC had joined in the prior lawsuit.
This company is called Cash For Clients, Inc. And according to attorney Jones, “the attorney feels that there is a much better outcome to this case due to the extensive background work that has been done on this case.” He stated that if the lawsuit against Midland Funding LLC is not resolved then “the account will be fully paid in full and no wage garnishment will occur.”
So now the question becomes, “How did Midland Funding LLC allow this lawsuit to proceed with such poor evidence and legal filings?” Many debt buyers, who are working on contingency fees, or for a percentage of the settlement, have no other choice but to accept whatever the court rules because paying the fees upfront could prevent them from collecting anything at all. Many attorneys are of the mindset that a judgment must be issued by a jury to have any chance of success in their lawsuits. If a consumer cannot show the courts that they are beyond recovery then there is nothing the court can do because the debts have already been awarded to the collection agency.
So in essence, what this means is that once the Midland Funding LLC lawsuit has been filed in the county court, the attorneys for the bank and the debt collection company must come to an agreement to settle the case. The bank will agree to settle for a cash amount less than what is owed, possibly even less than the original loan. The debt collection company will agree to accept a percentage of the outstanding debt as payment in full. This allows both sides to move on with their lives, without the worry of being threatened with a lawsuit.
