Why Did Judge Rudofsky Allow A Debt Buyer to Turn an FDCPA Case Into a Star Chamber?
I can only speculate based on the evidence I have.
Trump appointee Judge Lee P. Rudofsky allowed Goliath debt buyer Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC to redact and file under seal anything it wanted. I cannot give particulars, because they are under seal.
An example is that PRA filed several forms under seal in my case against the company, but forms almost identical, with different data, were filed in the public record of other cases.
I am pro se and modest means.
Portfolio Recovery Associates has an army of lawyers. It has an inhouse legal department 400+ strong. It hired Rose Law Firm of Hillary Clinton fame. Co-counsel is the big defense firm, Troutman Pepper.
PRA is a billion dollar company.
Judge Rudofsky denied my request to file electronically. Portfolio Recovery Associate’s attorneys all file electronically. The rule against non-attorneys filing electronically cited by the judge gives the judge discretion to allow a pro se litigant equal access to the court.
I have filed almost 90 documents. That means that I have paid for four copies of 90 documents at roughly 10 pages each, at 10 cents per page minimum. That is $360.
I had to drive to the courthouse in Little Rock to file the documents. That is about $30 at the standard mileage rate for about 40 trips. $1,200. That gives me nothing for my time driving.
When information is redacted, the filer must also file a copy of the unredacted document under seal. That jacks up the printing costs and the amount of work. I didn’t know how to redact until recently. I think it is easy. You would make two copies of the document, then highlight the background in the same color (black) as the text for the information to be redacted.
One important document I filed was about 250 pages. If I redacted everything the defendant called “confidential” and filed one unredacted copy under seal, that would add a bunch of time to the project and about $100. I had not figured out how to redact yet. So, I filed the entire document under seal.
This gave Judge Rudofsky the opportunity to misstate what was said in the document.
I will use an example of the judge’s misstatement of facts from a document that was not under seal. In his Consolidated Order dated August 16, 2022, the Court wrote: “Ms. Hammett admits that she made purchases on the Capital One account. Aff. in Supp. of Pl.’s Mot. for Partial Summ. J. (Doc. 39) ¶ 3.”
It is important to read the paragraph before the cited paragraph first. “I am a consumer in respect to any debt incurred by me on a credit card issued by Capital One Bank (USA) in or about 2001, as I used any credit card to purchase household items, food and other consumer items.”
The cited paragraph says in full, “I have no documentary evidence because the purchases were made 10 to 20 years ago. I remember and it was my practice not to borrow money for business ventures. The first time I borrowed money to invest was in 2017 and that was a financial disaster.”
My statements were meant to say I was a consumer in regard to any debt I incurred on any credit card; that I never had a business credit card. I did not admit to making purchases on the alleged account.
Judge Rudofsky is infamous for pursuing an agenda from the bench that does not include finding the truth or providing justice to individuals. That is not a fault I usually discuss. I focus on overtly corrupt acts, like Judge Susan Weaver and Court Reporter Jana Perry altering records of hearings.
If Judge Rudofsky was not so darn brilliant, I would consider his claimed misunderstanding of my meaning as just that, a misunderstanding.
But he is brilliant. Cornell. Harvard. Position as Solicitor General created for him to fill. Appointed to a lifetime position as a District Court Judge in his late 30s or early 40s.
We the People should expect more from Judge Rudofsky than allegedly misunderstanding the focal point of a case.
More importantly, when the judge is up for promotion, it should be easy for his detractors to find the examples of the judge’s errors. By allowing big-business to litigate in a cone of silence, the somewhat honorable judge provides protection for his own career.
Shabbat Shalom! Judge Rudofsky’s Demeanor
I am slammed with legal work. I have to write an appellate brief, maybe a petition for writ of certiorari to the Arkansas Supreme Court and an opposition to a motion for summary judgment.
My doctor just gave me the news that I have Hoshimoto’s Disease. We caught it early and I probably don’t have thyroid cancer. That is the good news.
The bad news is that I need to go on a gluten free, dairy free diet. No more (real) pizza. I’m not a fan of fake foods, like imitation cheese.
The other good news is that I ate this way for a four-year period and a two-year period, and those were the most energetic, pain free six years of my life. Maybe I’ll get back that vigor it takes to take down bad judges.
You know I am still a wobbler on Judge Lee P. Rudofsky.
Today he used a word that tips my judgment of him a bit back in the happy direction.
He granted me an extension of time to write an important and challenging document as a “courtesy”.
If Judge Susan Weaver knows that word, the only time she uses it is to demand that other people treat her with courtesy.
Portfolio Recovery Associates’ attorneys at the Rose Law Firm and Troutman Pepper will probably whine about me writing a blog post today, after asking for a weeklong extension.
Writing is therapy for me. Legal writing is no fun. For every one page I file, I rip up 10 more. (Now you know I’m old, because I still equate writing with papyrus.)
Plus, this informal, brainstorming helps my thoughts gel.
Today I am thinking about a concept that I think Judge R. got wrong. He said a plaintiff in an FDCPA case based on 15 U.S.C. 1692(e)(2)(A) has the burden of proving that the alleged debt was not owed. I said I believed that I did not owe the alleged debt, and if the defendant could show me credible evidence such as where I shopped and when, I might be swayed to thinking I did incur a debt to PRA’s predecessor that did not get paid.
My reasons for thinking there was no debt are many. Not in detail, here are a few. PRA’s documentation shows I made a last payment of $0.00. I usually paid off the entire balance of my credit cards in full. PRA’s documentation shows that two months after I made my last payment, I made my last purchase. Then, for the first time in ten years, according to PRA’s records, I went delinquent.
Judge Rudofsky’s rendition of the events that followed is this:
“On March 10, 2021, Ms. Hammett filed the instant lawsuit.[fn] On March 11, 2021, PRA,
LLC closed Ms. Hammett’s account and waived it ‘in light of the ongoing litigation’ brought by
Ms. Hammett.[fn] On April 1, 2021, Ms. Hammett received a letter from PRA, LLC dated March 18, 2021.[fn] The letter was addressed to a Laura Lyman (not Laura Lynn).[fn] The letter referenced
Lyman’s account number and said that PRA, LLC had ‘completed the investigation into your
dispute and your account has been closed.'”[fn]
Judge Rudofsky is a brilliant writer. He does tend to lose the details into the footnotes, which are profuse. For example, after stating that PRA sent the first closure letter “in light of the ongoing litigation”, as if it was the God given truth, Judge Rudofsky gave a footnote that said, “Ms. Hammett denies this but fails to offer any evidence to raise a genuine dispute of material fact on whether PRA, LLC waived the debt.”
Not true. First, the meaning of the letter to any reasonable person (other than Judge Rudofsky, of course) would be that PRA discovered it was wrong about the debt and closed the account. PRA did not say anything about waiving a debt. PRA waited about 20 days before posting the letter. PRA did not make an offer to waive the debt as partial settlement of the suit. The original creditor did not send a Form 1099-C, which is required when a bank forgives a debt.
What I just did is the same thing I did in my opposition papers to PRA and my deposition. I keep open to the opposition’s point of view. I hope they will prove me wrong or admit to their errors, settle or let a jury decide the value of the damages and move on.
If there is a remote chance the opposition is right, I don’t make absolute statements about my perspective of the events. I give the other side a chance to produce its best evidence. If they have no evidence, to me, they have no case.
Judge Rudofsky called it “trying to turn the tables”. I think a debt collector must have a reasonable expectation that a debt is valid before trying to collect, even through non-judicial means.
I think it is impossible to prove a negative. “You have a debt.” “Do not.” “Do too.”
Maybe, if it was not a 10-year-old debt, I would have documentation of my payments. I don’t even remember all the banks I used back then and don’t know if they are in business. If they still exist, their 10-year-old records probably do not. Do you think proving that there was no debt, more probably than not, meets the burden for a plaintiff in an FDCPA claim? Judge Rudofsky does not.
Back in the day, in California, writing about Commissioner Alan Friedenthal, his wife Stef Padilla and the gang of black robed thugs in L.A., readers reached out to me a lot more than they do here in Arkansas. I even had people typewrite tips and mail them to me.
If you are an attorney who is secretly rooting for me, or even a regular person who has intel, please send an email to bohemian_books@yahoo.com, or send snail mail to 16 Gold Lake Club Road, Conway, Arkansas, 72032.
I would never have ex parte communications with a judge, but today I am sending good vibes out to Judge Rudofsky.
Shabbat Shalom.
The Problem is…No One Gives a Fuck
No, I’m not drunk. Just pissed.
Do you know how brave a person needs to be to say, “um, excuse me Your Honor, but you just lied”?
She would need to be as brave as me.
Or stupid.
I went to the Court of Appeals here in the Great State of Arkansas and asked the inaptly named Justices to let the People hear the tape of a hearing that was fictionalized by court reporter Jana Perry in a transcript that is one part imagination and two parts greed.
They said “no”.
Not one of them was brave or stupid enough to put his name on the order, either. It was rubber stamped by the clerk.
I give up. For tonight. That doesn’t mean you need to.
Judge with an Agenda v. Criminal Conduct
Let’s not put Judge Lee P. Rudofsky in the same category as Judge Susan K. Weaver.
The former has a bias that is anti-populist, and he may overlook things for a blue-collar litigant and treat big businesspeople like they would never think to lie.
The latter is outright criminal (allegedly, of course).
So, why would I write about the Judge Rudofskys of the world? And should I be dropping the “y” and adding “ies” to make Rudofsky plural?
Well, one of his rulings hit me hard and contradicts what I believe to be true, based on facts. When I wrote about him here, my Search Engine Optimization spiked like COVID in February 2020.
Give the People what the people want. Right now, they want to rail on Judge Rudofsky.
A Corrupt Court is Akin to Slavery
The corruption in our courts is so pervasive, it seems impossible to find a judge who bases decisions on facts instead of politics and pure greed.
Don’t the judges who transfer property from poor and modest means people to big businesses and the monied elite know they are turning their victims into slaves? Or do they just not care?
Let’s pray today for good people from all political persuasions to go to law school and when they succeed, to not sell out.
A judge I Hate to Hate: Judge Lee P. Rudofsky
Most of the time I am railing on buffoons like Commissioner Alan H. Friedenthal (deceased) and plump little piggies like Judge Susan Weaver, who admitted as per a Gazette reporter to loving to play with other people’s money.
Unfortunately, I must turn to a more serious threat to our country and the Republican party. (I am a right leaning Libertarian, registered Republican in 2016 so I could vote for Ben Carson or Rand Paul instead of Donald Trump.)
There is a newish young Federal District Court Judge named Lee P. Rudofsky.
Judge Rudofsky has the right pedigree. He went to Cornell and Harvard.
He is not lazy. He reads documents and makes intelligent commentary in his long hearings.
I agree with some of his views.
But this week I had a rude awakening. Judge Rudofsky misstated facts presented in my opposition to a motion for summary judgment and ruled for the goliath company defending against making obnoxious, intrusive telephone calls to alleged debtors, without verifying the debt first.
I didn’t take the leftist organizations seriously until now. For example, The Alliance for Justice had this to say about Judge Rudofsky when he was a nominee. “Rudofsky’s record paints a clear picture of a partisan warrior bent on curtailing critical rights and protections for everyday people.”
The case I am fighting should carry a jury award for punitive damages in the millions. The defendant, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC has paid out tens of millions in stipulated agreements already and does not curtail its bad behavior.
I would love to take on an attorney for an appeal of Judge Rudofsky’s orders on contingency. I think my case is a good vehicle to bring together populist Republicans and Libertarians with true Democrats and even socialists.
We all want honest judges who support the individual.
Read more about Defendant Portfolio Recovery Associates Here.
Dishonorable Lee P. Rudofsky: A Dangerous Man
In poker, an effective move is to slow play a monster hand. I once got into a hand with low suited connectors for $2 and flopped a straight flush. I checked and another player raised $10. (Unfortunately, all the other players folded and the pot did not get any higher, but the house paid a $210 bonus.)
A federal district court judge named Lee P. Rudofsky just slow played me.
I was thrilled by Judge Rudofsky’s demeanor. He runs the proceedings well and is patient. He is listening, reads the documents and repeats back important points.
He did not always rule the way I wanted him to rule, but he was within his discretion and made only one misstatement of law. It was about an ancillary issue, whether pro se litigants may be given permission to file electronically.
Until his first substantive decision.
Judge Rudofsky decided a Motion for Summary Judgment in favor of a goliath debt buyer, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, based on a grossly misstated fact set.
One of the early poor discretionary calls was allowing PRA to keep its filings, including the MSJ, under seal. For fear of being found in contempt of court, I filed my response under seal.
This made it easy for the sneaky judge to misstate what was in the response.
If Judge Lee P. Rudofsky is ever looked at for promotion, please contact me. If I have not been successful at unsealing the telling documents, I will cooperate fully with those who can.
Obstruction of Justice?
obstruction of justice (1854) Interference with the orderly administration of law and justice, as by giving false information to or withholding evidence from a police officer or prosecutor, or by harming or intimidating a witness or juror. • Obstruction of justice is a crime in most jurisdictions. — Also termed obstructing justice; obstructing public justice. See perverting the course of justice.
“The goal, — to proscribe every wilful act of corruption, intimidation or force which tends in any way to distort or impede the administration of law either civil or criminal — has been very largely attained, partly by aid of legislation. And any punishable misdeed of such a nature which is not recognized as a distinct crime, is usually called ‘obstruction of justice,’ or ‘obstructing justice,’ — a common-law misdemeanor.” Rollin M. Perkins & Ronald N. Boyce, Criminal Law 552 (3d ed. 1982).
OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE, Black’s Law Dictionary (11th ed. 2019)
Does this apply when a court reporter, such as Jana Perry of the Circuit Courts in Arkansas, purposefully makes an inaccurate transcription of a hearing?
What if a judge, such as Susan Kaye Weaver, threatens to refer a person for prosecution of the crime of the unauthorized practice of law if that person argues or testifies on her own behalf, just because the testimony will also benefit another entity?
And what about if an attorney, such as William Zac White of Heber Springs is colluding with the judge and court reporter and threatens to report their victim to a sympathetic good ol’ boy sheriff on trumped up charges?
I prefer the term for Obstruction of Justice used in other countries.
Perverting the Course of Justice.
What Will Become of a Wicked Judge?
One truth told in the Old Testament is probably agreed to by the faithful and atheists alike.
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jerimiah 17:9, KJV)
What happens when a judge in the court of man allows her wicked heart to lead her?
It is a disaster for the society she was tasked to control.
For example, my favorite evil judge, Susan Weaver, has on more than one occasion, approved the transfer of property from an old woman’s trust to a reprobate.
If the settlor of the trust is not invited to the festivities (not served summons) or if the trustee cannot afford a licensed attorney to represent the trust, Judge Weaver acts entitled to make idiotic decisions.
It is hard to believe the powers that be would get a moron elected. So, the wayward judge must just be evil.
We are all affected by a bad judge. The poor and underrepresented are affected most directly. (This tends to be minorities and women.)
How many hard-working African-American women have scrimped and saved to be able to pay off their homes? How many have thought that putting the house in a trust would help pass the property to their children or favorite charity without a cumbersome probate? And how many have had evil judges like Susan Kaye Weaver transfer the property to the control of a person whose stewardship the settlor distrusted specifically?
And what becomes of the judge after she is exposed?
Stay tuned.
Animal Farm and Judge Susan Weaver of Arkansas
Remember when the pigs altered the bill of rights each night while the other animals slept?
Welcome to Searcy County Arkansas with its own Animal Farm ruled over by piggies like Susan Weaver.
I have complained to sheriff deputies in Searcy County, where Judge Weaver presides. I complained in Faulkner County, my home and another realm ruled over by Weaver.
Today, I complained to a sheriff in Hot Springs County, where one of Weaver’s cohorts resides.
I allege that Judge Weaver, Court Reporter Jana Perry and Attorney William White colluded to transfer a 40-acre property with a house to one of White’s clients and then in an allegedly fraudulent transfer to an irrevocable trust. Ms. Perry fictionalized the dialogue in two or three hearings.
I was in the hearings and had others present who agree that the transcripts do not give an accurate account of what was said.
The problem is, Judge Weaver and Jana Perry control the audio recordings, the best evidence of what happened, and neither one will let them be heard.
Back on the farm, all three sheriff deputies I spoke with said they cannot do anything about it.
The guy today went so far as to say that even if he heard a judge in Arkansas lie from the bench, he could not do anything about it.
The Court has free rein to alter the record in any way she wants.
“All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” – the Pigs via George Orwell
A Higher Law 