Defending You Against
Equable Ascent Financial, LLC

The Langel firm defends consumers against New York state court collection lawsuits brought by Equable Ascent Financial, LLC. In appropriate cases, we will also sue Equable Ascent Financial, LLC for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, and other applicable laws.

As of March 2013, Equable Ascent Financial, LLC has filed at least 2,724 cases in Queens County alone. Equable Ascent Financial, LLC is mainly represented by Rubin & Rothman, LLC, and Mullooly, Jeffrey, Rooney & Flynn, LLP.

We quickly stopped enforcement of a judgment obtained by Rubin & Rothman, LLC representing Equable Ascent Financial, LLC, where we argued that the underlying debt fell within the scope of the Chase-CPFB Consent Order. The Marshal involved was Henry Daly.

Court Grants Equable Ascent Financial, LLC's Motion to Dismiss a Complaint Alleging FDCPA Violations

In Yang Pao Vang v. Equable Ascent Financial, LLC (E.D. Cal. 2011), the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California granted Equable Ascent Financial, LLC's motion to dismiss the Complaint made by a consumer plaintiff.

The consumer plaintiff's Complaint was a form complaint provided by the Fresno County Small Claims Court. The consumer sought $1,000.00 based on "consumer protection afforded by the FDCPA." The consumer alleged that Equable failed to validate the debt, yet still continued to report the debt to the credit bureaus, thus violating the FDCPA. Equable removed the case from Small Claims Court on the basis of federal question jurisdiction, and moved to dismiss the Complaint under Rule 12(b)(6).

Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(b)(6), a claim may be dismissed where the plaintiff fails to state a claim upon which relief can be granted. Such dismissals occur where no cognizable legal theory is presented, or where there is an absence of sufficient facts alleged under a cognizable theory.

Equable argued, and the Court agreed, that the consumer's Complaint did not state a claim because the Complaint did not allege that Equable was a "debt collector," or that the plaintiff was a "consumer," or that Equable was attempting to collect on a "debt" as defined by the FDCPA.

Further, the Court agreed that the consumer's attempt to allege a violation of the FDCPA concerning Equable's reports to the credit bureaus was unfounded on the face of the Complaint. The FDCPA "requires a debt collector, who receives from a consumer written notice disputing a debt, to cease collection of the debt directly from the consumer until it has obtained either verification of the debt or a copy of a judgment and provided it to the consumer." However, if a written demand is not made, the collector may assume the debt to be valid.

Here, the consumer attempted to allege a violation of this verification requirement, but made no allegation that he submitted a written notice disputing the debt within 30 days of receiving notice of the debt from Equable. Thus, the protection of that section of the FDCPA did not apply.

The Court accordingly found that the Complaint did not plead a viable claim, and that dismissal of the Complaint was appropriate. However, the Court granted the consumer leave to file an amended complaint correcting the deficiencies.

Equable Ascent Financial, LLC Biographical Information

Equable Ascent Financial, LLC is a foreign limited liability company incorporated in Delaware and is principally located at 1120 West Lake Cook Drive, Buffalo Grove, Illinois, 60089. It is licensed (#1347396, which may have lapsed as of today) by the Department of Consumer Affairs to collect debts in the City of New York.