Don’t Let Portfolio Recovery Associates Bully You
You try to sue PRA Group, Inc’s wholly owned subsidiary for misrepresenting the amount or character of a debt it tried to collect. Or, you owed a debt, but asked PRA to stop calling you and it refused. Or, as with me, PRA refused to identify itself meaningfully, unless you would answer interrogatories on a recorded line.
Instead of letting a jury decide what the damages are, PRA tries to bully you into settlement. Most plaintiff’s attorneys who work on contingency suggest you settle for $1,000 or $5,000 and they collect $25,000 in attorney’s fees. That doesn’t seem right to you.
When you refuse to settle for the set amount, PRA digs into your personal life and makes thinly veiled threats to share your personal information with the world. The litigious debt buyer might “accidentally” post your unredacted credit report online. They did that to me. They might tell the world that you have no social security number, like they did to Guadalupe Mejia. Ms. Mejia was awarded $250,000 in emotional distress and $82 Million in punitive damages by a jury, so PRA does not always get away with their bad conduct.
If there is nothing really juicy to use to blackmail you into settlement, PRA just makes shit up. They invented a story about me that I am a degenerate poker player who lost everything playing in illegal games online. The truth is that I play like a nitty old lady and the vast majority of the time I play for fake money starting with the free promotional chips on Zynga and Poker Bros.
Please don’t give up.
Report the abusive litigation conduct to the CFPB. When you begin your report, you will be asked to choose from several categories of bad conduct. Taking advantage of uneven bargaining power in an FDCPA case is not an option. What I did was to choose one of the things that led me to file my suit. Then I told the CFPB in the opening of my narrative that my main concern was the bullying during my lawsuit.
Judge Lee Rudofsky who presided on my case is anti-consumer and anti-CFPB. His decisions forced me into appeal. Looking through all my filings in preparation reminds me of the pain PRA inflicted on me in an attempt to continue business as usual. Here is one document that you can download FREE.
The Lawyer and the Lazy Judge: How Susan Weaver Runs a Courtroom
I am not lazy. I am busy.
Today’s Doc of the Day is a link instead of a doc. Click here.
I wish I saw this article before I wrote my appellate brief for Micheal Pietrczak v. Laura Lynn, et al. Not that being right and having the best authorities helps in Arkansas. My litigation adversary represented by William Zac White of Heber Springs did not even bother to file an opposition brief and the COA has not made a ruling in the seven months since the appellee’s response was due.
The article discusses the difference between Federal court, where the judge writes the orders and judgments, and Arkansas courts, which allow the prevailing party to write the orders and judgment as a draft, and the judge usually just rubber stamps it.
Judge Susan Weaver takes it a step further. She will fail to rule on a motion if she does not like the only reasonable outcome, then use the excuse for her dereliction of duty that she is waiting on the litigant to draft the order.
But, if she wants to dismiss a counterclaim even though the counter defendant failed to file any response, she goes ahead and does that sua sponte, without giving a logical reason.
She did these things to me.
She also granted a written motion allowing Pietrczak an extension of time to serve a summons without giving me time to respond in writing and said the written order is the same as her oral order. It was not.
The article addresses this same unethical behavior. “Finally, when opposing counsel submits an order to the court, objections should be made quickly to any substance.”
I objected, but to no avail.
Court Reporter Jana Perry went along with the ploy and fictionalized what was said in the hearing. Then Judge Weaver, Attorney General Leslie Rutlege, the Court of Appeals and even federal district court judges, Billy Roy Wilson and Lee Rudofsky all made excuses why the public should not hear the recording that would not follow the transcript.
Hmmm?
More Crappy Childhood Fairy Open Practice: How to Cope with a Corrupt Judge Like Lee P. Rudofsky
A few days back, I shared a method of writing about fears and resentments in order to release them. Read about the practice that I learned on a website called The Crappy Childhood Fairy on my previous “How to Cope with a Corrupt Judge Like Lee P. Rudofsky” here.
In the spirit of CoDA (Co-Dependents Anonymous) I am sharing my practice from this morning with you, my readers.
CoDA is another helpful tool to deal with difficult people like narcissists and try to find what in us is attracting those relationships. I went to meetings and a home group for about three years. I wish I did not stop when I was feeling “cured”. It may have saved me from being in a six-year relationship with an alcoholic, fraudster who brought prostitutes into our home. (My current husband is a dream come true. We can learn and change and find a happy ending.)
My handwritten note, above, says:
“Fear I did not get enough sleep last night. I fear I will be tired all day. I fear I will not be able to do my court work. I fear my anxiety will increase and I won’t be able to fall asleep tonight. I resent PRA and Judge Rudofsky for making a simple case so difficult by lying and colluding. I resent not having a fair and honest judiciary. I fear people with positions as judges will force me into bankruptcy. I fear that my body and mind won’t carry me through building up my retirement fund again. I resent that I have been a hardworking, productive member of society and will spend my old age in poverty.
“I am now ready and humbly ask that you, God, remove these fears and resentments. I pray to know your will for me today, and have the strength to carry it out.”
Now it is time to ritually release these resentments and fears by soaking the paper in water, wadding it up and throwing it out.
I suggest you write your practice by hand, instead of typing on a computer keyboard. First, handwriting is said to access a certain part of our brains that does not happen with typing. Second, I would hate for you to have to smash your computer with a baseball bat or throw your cell phone in the toilet to accomplish the ritual release.
How I Cope with a Corrupt Judge Like Lee Rudofsky, Susan Weaver or Alan Friedenthal (deceased)
You’d think that the passing of retired in disgrace California Commissioner Alan Friedenthal would end the need to “cope”.
The problem with corrupt judges is that they have power to destroy lives and cancel the culture for which the rest of us peasants voted.
Friedenthal forced me to cease all communications with my two sons. We were completely separated; the way people complain that children of allegedly illegal immigrants are torn from their mothers and fathers.
I was not forced to live in a cage, but there was the threat of incarceration if I disobeyed the misogynistic, reported abuser of women and children. Because he was appointed to the bench, he wielded that much power.
My now adult children had their childhoods ruined and struggle emotionally and financially. This is a constant reminder of the damage done by the evil judge.
Judge Susan Weaver of Arkansas merely transferred $200,000 of my property to the alcoholic with whom I spent six grueling years of my life. She ignored his handwritten signed note that gave step-by-step instructions on how his father and attorney William Zac White would defraud me of what they hoped to be three times their haul.
Living without property is easier than living without children. But I am 60 years old and live on a $630 per month pension. $200,000 would make a huge difference in my anticipation of the future.
Lee Rudofsky, on a trajectory to the Supreme Court if we don’t stop him, used the rules of procedure as a sword against me, while purposefully misinterpreting and misstating my testimony. He failed to warn me that the company he represented prior to judgeship, Walmart, issued credit cards in collaboration with a finance company and their bad debts were sold to the defendant in my case, debt collector Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC, for pennies on the dollar. It is likely both buyer and seller knew the portfolios were riddled with errors.
Rudofsky dismissed my case summarily, meaning without allowing it to go to a jury, and will probably make me pay the costs of the billion-dollar collectors.
On a grander scale, Rudofsky is paving the way for debt collectors to ignore the FDCPA completely and condoning their spoliation of evidence.
I have previously written about spiritual coping mechanisms I use. Yoga, meditation, prayer…these are all good.
Writing is also therapeutic. It is good to share experience with others. WordPress is a free or cheap forum.
I suggest you try sharing your experience concerning these and other bad judges. You can start by writing in the comments section below.
There are also government agencies to whom you can write complaints. In California they are called the Commission on Judicial Performance. Arkansas has the JDDC. “If your complaint is against a federal circuit judge, federal district judge, federal bankruptcy judge, or federal magistrate judge, you must file the complaint at the clerk’s office of the United States court of appeals for the regional circuit in which the judge serves.” (https://www.uscourts.gov/judges-judgeships/judicial-conduct-disability/faqs-filing-judicial-conduct-or-disability-complaint#faq-Where-do-I-file-my-complaint?)
A conduct or ethics complaint is not a way to get bad decisions overturned. You will only be helping the next guy in line.
If you want to write a complaint about Judge Susan Weaver or Judge Lee P. Rudofsky, or any other judge, I am happy to proofread your complaint. I am not an attorney and not allowed to give legal advice. I am allowed to give encouragement, share my personal experience, and help you express yourself.
Contact me at bohemian_books@yahoo.com.
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Laura Lynn finally joined the rest of the world on Twitter. [ @Bohemian_Ink ] Please share my posts. You can hit the twitter share button on the bottom of each post or copy and paste the entire post to your own website. I ask only that if you copy and paste, you give me attribution.
Thank you.
Mystery Solved: Why Judge Lee P. Rudofsky Appears to Favor Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC over Me
Today you get two FREE Docs of the Day. One is a background report written by the Alliance for Justice on Federal District Judge Lee P. Rudofsky written soon after then President Donald Trump nominated him to his lifetime position.
I am a Christian Libertarian Populist, so I agree with many but not all of Judge Rudofsky’s stated opinions. He panders to Christian conservatives and pretends to be a Federalist, but he is openly anti-populist. I say “stated opinions” because I think Mr. Rudofsky is disingenuous. He may disagree with me, but I think his “opinions” are motivated by a political power grab, and allegiance to big business and the moneyed elite.
Judge Rudofsky presides over my FDCPA (Federal Debt Collection Practices Act) case against Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC. The Cornell and Harvard educated judge acts like he is mentally challenged. He misquotes and misinterprets simple English, always in a way that benefits PRA. He accepts the most transparent lies as truth. So much for “veritas”.
Why the apparent bias?
According to the AFJ:
“Rudofsky worked on a 2016 article titled ‘The CFPB’s unconstitutional power grab,’ which examined the D.C. Circuit’s decision in PHH Corporation v. CFPB. The decision, written by then-judge Brett Kavanaugh, held in part that the statute creating the CFPB was unconstitutional as it related to the President’s lack of authority to fire the single-director except for ‘inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.’
“However, in January 2018, the D.C. Circuit reheard the claim en banc and held, ‘[b]ecause we see no constitutional defect in Congress’s choice to bestow on the CFPB Director protection against removal except for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office,” we sustain it.’ The court recognized Congress’s intent in protecting consumers following the 2008 financial crisis and concluded that ‘[n]o relevant consideration gives us reason to doubt the constitutionality of the independent CFPB’s single-member structure. Congress made constitutionally permissible institutional design choices for the CFPB with which courts should hesitate to interfere.’
“The CFPB serves a vital role in protecting consumers and Rudofsky’s labeling of the actions of this agency as an ‘unconstitutional power grab’ raises serious concerns.”
I am preparing for an appeal of Judge Rudofsky’s orders on my case and took a close look at some evidence entered in another case against Portfolio Recovery. (That case was settled confidentially of course.)
One of PRA’s lies in my case was that a written interrogation it sent to me was “NOT” an attempt to collect a debt. The affidavit that I was supposed to fill out asked for my social security number, birthdate, driver’s license, and the details of who I suspected used my credit card fraudulently, any police reports I filed and if I was willing to assist in the prosecution of the 9-year-old fraud. (As if they haven’t heard of a statute of limitations and think I might still have the documentation to prove what happened in another State a decade back.) I was supposed to have it notarized or witnessed.
They sent a similar letter to an old lady named Loretta Burks. Ms. Burks filled it out and it didn’t help her one bit. PRA continued suing her and won by default. (Ms. Burks got representation and had the judgment set aside and filed the FDCPA action.)
Look at the fraud affidavit posted below. Check out page 7. The institution that issued one of the fraudulent accounts was “Portfolio Recovery/GE Capital Retail Walmart”. On page 2, Mrs. Burks’ response to the lawsuit against her included, “[t]his acct. was proven fraud before portfolio assoc. assumed it.”
Now look at page 1 of the AFJ background report, in the biography section. Judge Rudofsky was an assistant general counsel at Walmart and worked his way up from there.
I didn’t even realize Walmart issued credit cards. I live under a rock.
It seems to me that there is a conflict of interest where a defendant debt buyer purchased a bunch of junk debt from the judge’s former employer. Call me crazy.
I was watching a random trial in California years back. The dignified looking judge was listening to opening arguments intently. There was an accounting of some kind projected on a screen. The judge stopped the attorney suddenly and said, (paraphrased) “I am probably ok to continue, but I think I should let you know that the accountant who signed that document did my taxes for me, and we sometimes see each other at a party. We are just acquainted, but I think I should be transparent in case you think a motion for recusal is in order.” The attorneys declined to ask for a recusal.
Hey. I am going to take my case to the Court of Appeals. I am right, but PRA’s army of attorneys will probably annihilate me. This is not David and Goliath. This is David and 1,000 goliaths.
Any good and brave attorney who wants to help, hit me up at bohemian_books@yahoo.com.
Found Guilty for Being Blue Collar?
This is a response I made to a comment left on the post titled “How I Cope with a Corrupt Judge Like Susan K. Weaver of Arkansas“.
To My Reader, I am slammed with work this week. Hopefully we can talk after that. You can give me a contact phone number at my email, bohemian_books@yahoo.com.
There is an often-used phrase, “he was arrested for driving while black”. I think our courts are more equal opportunity than that. I’d like to coin a corollary phrase. “He was found guilty for being blue color.”
It is difficult for me to decipher what you wrote in the comments. You obviously didn’t study journalism and join the college debate team. It is also obvious that you didn’t read the rules of civil procedure, or at least did not comprehend them, remember them at the appropriate moment and comply with them.
That does not mean you should lose custody of your children.
It is a flawed system that caters to big business and the moneyed elite.
My hope is that I can help open up our courts to the common person.
How I Cope with a Corrupt Judge Like Lee P. Rudofsky of The Federal District Court
My most popular post over the past year was “How I Cope with a Corrupt Judge Like Susan K. Weaver of Arkansas”.
One of my readers who is now a close friend led me to another mental health tool since I wrote that post. In lieu of the Doc of the Day, I am sharing a link to the website that teaches this coping device, “The Crappy Childhood Fairy“. The basic program is free.
This is a way to deal with fears and resentments by writing and meditation. (Meditation to me is akin to prayer.)
For example, I might write:
I feel resentment toward Judge Lee P. Rudofsky. I fear that he will continue to pretend to miscomprehend my arguments and testimony in order to write orders that look legitimate on their face. I fear the justices on the court of appeals will also justify showing partiality. I fear the work that is required to appeal will be a waste of time. I resent attorneys David Mitchell of Rose Law Firm, Jed Komisin and James Trefil of Troutman Pepper. I fear they will use Judge Rudofsky’s political and ideological bias to the advantage of their client, a debt collector that is notorious for using illegal or unethical litigation tactics. I fear they may force me into bankruptcy and ruin my outstanding credit. I fear that there is little justice to be had in this once great nation any longer.
Since no one will read the handwritten note before I douse it in water, wad it up and throw in the trash, I get a little more personal, too.
Next, I write my prayer to God. “I am now ready and humbly ask that you, God, remove these fears and resentments. I pray to know your will for me today, and to have the strength to carry it out.”
After the writing and symbolic release ritual, which could be burning the notes, but wetting them seems less dangerous, I sit on my yoga mat and meditate. I use the mantra “release”. Honestly, I suck at meditation. My mind always wanders back to the torment Judge Rudofsky and the Three Henchmen put me through and all the work I need to do to stop them. But, when I notice, I come back to the mantra. “Release.”
I’ve only used this technique for a week. My outlook is improving. I see that some of my fears are about losing the wonderful things I have in my life now. So, it makes sense to appreciate and enjoy those things now. And it helps me to look at the job God gave me as a gift rather than a burden. My all time most popular post was written the day the Commission on Judicial Performance made a “severe” public admonishment against Court Commissioner Alan Friedenthal, the liberal Democrat version of Judge Lee P. Rudofsky, based upon my complaint. I wouldn’t trade that victory for a million bucks. (It saved others from suffering the way my children and I did at the hand of the corrupt judge.)
I hope you gain as much from the practice as I have. If you want to share your experience privately, email bohemian_books@yahoo.com. Otherwise, feel free to comment below.
Judge Terry Doughty Upholds Freedom of Speech while Judge Lee Rudofsky Tears it Down
You get two free Docs of the Day today.
One is 155 pages of brilliance in defense of our free speech, in an order for an injunction by Louisiana Federal District Court Judge Terry A. Doughty. I admit I have only made it through three pages. But this is the reading that will keep me up past my bedtime tonight.
The other is an order by Arkansas Federal District Court Judge Lee P. Rudofsky. I scanned the text only entry that came in the mail to me. The court’s printer is misaligned, and the ends of words were truncated. It is short, and you will probably be able to fill in the blanks.
Judge Rudofsky’s order seems to me to be an attempt by the judge to chill my free speech.
I have a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Colorado State University that I earned before my 21st birthday. I have spent more than a decade writing about corrupt judges and attorneys. I am not an attorney, but I understand the subtleties of free speech. To borrow a metaphor from the judge, I know how to keep my pinky toe on the right side of the line.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Detective once told me he and his fellow law enforcement agents read my blog and they were none too pleased with what I had to say; but could not arrest me. My current litigation adversary reads my blog. My adversary has given several of my posts to Judge Rudofsky as exhibits.
You may have read some of my posts about Portfolio Recovery Associates, LLC and its parent company, PRA Group, Inc. You know I think the company violated a court order when it called me hundreds of times to try to collect an alleged debt that was part of a portfolio of alleged debts that was known to have inaccuracies. I allege that the attorneys who represent PRA lied numerous times during litigation and that one business record produced by PRA is inconsistent with another and they are both inconsistent with my records and my memory.
You may have seen me drop the F-bomb on this blog once or twice. You probably saw me call the attorneys “sleazy snakes”. But, each and every document I file in court is quite professional and an exercise in civility.
The PRA attorneys chose to ignore the subtleties of freedom of speech. They made up a lie about me that I was suing their client to recoup money I lost playing online poker.
I play poker way too much on my phone, but it is for fake money, and I don’t pay for chips. Zynga and Poker Bros give free chips to suck players in, and I am able to turn the $10,000 or so gift into multi-millions. Eventually I bust out and start over again with my freebies.
I am hardly a degenerate, running from my bookie.
What stops attorneys from making up lies about plaintiffs? They have immunity against civil defamation claims for statements made in the course of legal proceedings. But there is this pesky little thing called perjury. And there is supposed to be a rule, Rule 11 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, that requires attorneys to certify claims and defenses they make in the documents they file are supported or can be supported by evidence.
I filed a motion against the attorneys at Rose Law Firm and Troutman Pepper for making up lies about my poker losses. I mentioned that I was writing a book about poker, and the false accusations by the attorneys may hurt my reputation as a solid poker player.
[Shameless plug: The book is published and available on Amazon and Kindle – Balls of Crystal and Steel: What it Takes to Play Poker Without Losing Your Assets, by Sean Lynn and Laura Lynn Hammett.]
Judge Rudofsky poo-poo’d my motion and wrote: “the record reveals that Ms. Hammett has engaged in conduct that comes perilously close to harassment of opposing counsel and abuse of the litigation process.”
Poppy-cock!
There is nothing harassing about writing the truth or a sincerely held opinion on a blog. PRA attorneys do not need to read the blog. They certainly don’t need to go tattling to the judge like little bitches. I haven’t suggested anyone break the law nor have I incited violence. There is nothing revealed in the record otherwise.
Man, why couldn’t I draw a judge once in a while like Judge Doughty?
A Higher Law 