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Generally speaking, the lease terms cannot be unilaterally changed before the lease expires. However, when the lease is up for renewal, either of the parties may choose not to renew, or to change the terms. If the lease is month to month, each month is a new lease. Therefore the landlord may change the terms for the next month’s lease by giving the tenant notice of the new terms in writing no less than fifteen days prior to the end of the current monthly lease. The tenant then has the choice to accept the new terms or to reject the new terms by vacating at the end of that monthly rental period.

1.      Mediation is intended to be a non-adversarial process to resolve issues without further Court involvement.

Mediation is not intended to mimic the often adversarial process you see in court. In all actuality, often enough the purpose of mediation is simply to get the parties to communicate in the hopes of coming up with some mutually agreeable settlement. Although it is likely that each side with present what they believe are the strengths of their case and possible weaknesses in the other side’s position, mediation is not the place to argue who is actually right or wrong, if anyone at all.

2.      Mediation is much more informal than actual court proceedings.

Mediation is typically conducted without much of the formality you see in court. We find this often helps facilitate communication amongst the parties, which ultimately can end in settlement. Although the process is more informal than court, this does not mean that most rules of politeness and courtesy do not apply. Many times your mediator may specify some of their own specific rules to how the mediation will be conducted.

3.      Be aware and be informed.

If you and the other party are able to come to an agreement during mediation, the parties will enter into a settlement agreement. However, it is important to realize that once this agreement is entered into it can be extremely difficult to undue. Therefore, if you are not completely comfortable with the agreement reached, or do not understand its terms completely, do not sign it. One of the best way to avoid a sticky situation in the long run is be aware of what you are signing and make sure you understand the terms of any potential settlement agreement.

4.      Go into mediation with an open mind.

Often time’s clients expect their attorney’s to argue each any every point of the case at mediation; however, this is not the time or the place. In all actuality, parties tend to be more successful at mediation when they stay calm, collected, and let the other party express their opinions. Come into mediation with an open mind, and under the expectation and hope that you want to reach an agreement that day.

5.      Mediation is one of the few opportunities you will have in the legal system where you and the other party have control over the outcome.

Take advantage of the opportunity that mediation gives you to have control of the outcome. Mediation is one of the few opportunities you will have in the legal system where you and the other party have complete control over the outcome of the case at that point. Usually, if you are not able to come to an agreement the case will proceed through the legal process and will ultimately end up before a judge or jury; at this point they will be the ultimate decision maker not you. 

The Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA) prohibits debt collectors from using certain types of abusive, deceptive and misleading debt collection tactics. The FCCPA is in addition to the protections provided by Federal debt collection law and may provide greater protection to Florida residents, as well as ways for you to collect money from your harassers!

Section 559.72 of the FCCPA prohibits debt collectors from:

• Falsely representing themselves as a law enforcement officer or a representative of any governmental agency.
• Using or threatening force or violence.
• Communicating, or threatening to communicate, with your employer about the debt–unless they have taken a judgment against you.
• Harassing your family about the debt.
• Using obscene, profane, vulgar or willfully abusive language when communicating with you or your family.
• Claiming, attempting or threatening to enforce an illegitimate debt against you which doesn’t exist (for example, an expired debt under the statute of limitations).
• Using communications that give the appearance of being authorized by the government (for example, forms and “summons” designed to look like government documents or letters from attorneys).
• Pretending to be attorneys or inferring that attorneys have deemed that you owe the debt.
• Contacting you between the hours of 9 p.m. And 8 a.m. Without your permission.
• Filing a lawsuit against you in the wrong venue.
• Knowingly hiring an unlicensed credit collection agency to collect a debt.
• Mailing you documents that contain embarrassing words or phrases on a postcard or envelope (e.g.: dear deadbeat).
• Communicating directly with you when they know you are represented by an attorney.
• Advertising, or threatening to advertise, your debt for sale.
• Publishing, posting–or threatening to publish or post–your name on a deadbeat consumer list.
• Causing charges to made to debtors through the use of collect calls which may conceal the real reason for the communication.

If a debt collector or creditor violates the FCCPA, you may have a private lawsuit. That means you may be entitled to sue the debt collector for damages up to $1,000. You may also be entitled to damages for emotional distress, and punitive damages (at the discretion of a judge, but possible if the debt collector’s tactics were egregious).

Are you a victim of unfair debt collection practices? We can help! We can consider your situation and help you determine your rights. Contact us via our website’s case review or call us at (407) 426-7222 for a consultation to discuss your specific situation.

Portions originally posted by on June 18, 2014 | by Disparti Fowkes & Hasanbasic

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) recently reported that 3,428 consumers filed CFPB complaints against debt collectors in March 2014 and nearly 1,200 filed lawsuits. That’s all in one month.  Many might be surprised to know that complaints from Florida were near the top of the list.

Florida ranked only behind California in the number of complaints filed with the CFPB in March.   Here’s a look at the top 10, according to the CFPB data:

1.      California: 455 complaints

2.      Florida: 289 complaints

3.      Texas: 288 complaints

4.      New York: 203 complaints

5.      Georgia: 158 complaints

6.      Virginia: 133 complaints

7.      Pennsylvania: 129 complaints

8.      New Jersey: 119 complaints

9.      Ohio: 118 complaints

10.  Illinois: 97 complaints

So, why is Florida so high on the list?  It’s no secret that the Sunshine State has one of the highest percentage of elderly residents in the nation.  Sadly, many third-party debt collectors prey on the elderly by scaring them into thinking that they’ll lose their Social Security benefits, get into trouble with the law, or be harmed if they don’t pay up.  It’s illegal, but that doesn’t stop them.

While consumers complain about many types of harassing, threatening and abusive behavior, the number one reason for complaints being made to the CFPB is simple, “I don’t owe that debt!”  In fact, that accounted for nearly 40% of CFPB complaints.  Here’s a look at all of the categories:

·         Continued attempts to collect on debts not owed (39.8%)

·         Disclosure verification of debt (19.8%)

·         Communication tactics (17.8%)

·         Improper contact or sharing of information (8%)

·         False statements or representation (8%)

·         Taking/threatening an illegal action (6.7%)

According to the CFPB’s statistics, the types of debt collectors were seeking payment for varied, but included phone bills, health club memberships, medical expenses, payday loans, mortgages, auto loans, and non-federal and federal student loans.  While it’s clear that any type of debt is fair game to debt collectors, consumers should know that they have rights.

Stand up to debt collectors in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  The FDCPA specifically prohibits third-party debt collectors from engaging in threatening, harassing and abusive behavior.  If you’ve been mistreated, contact us today at 407-426-7222 to discuss your situation and determine your legal options.

The Federal FDCPA, along with the Florida Consumer Collection Practices Act (FCCPA), allows debt collection victims to recover up to $1,000 in statutory damages when collectors violate these laws.  They also allow for the payment of any actual damages suffered, such as emotional distress, and the payment of attorneys’ fees and court costs. An attorney can make the harassment stop, determine if you’re entitled to damages, and give you the peace of mind of knowing that you can pick up your phone or open your mail without being harassed by a debt collector.

Portions originally posted by on June 18, 2014 | by Disparti Fowkes & Hasanbasic

One of the most unfortunate situations is where the relationship breaks down between friends, or even family members, which results in the need to have the person removed from your home. Many people make the costly mistake of filing an eviction to have the person or persons removed. However, eviction is not allowed under Florida law, unless there is an agreement to pay rent. That could result in the eviction getting dismissed, losing your money on the court costs you spent to file the eviction, and unnecessary delays. The correct lawsuit to file could be ejectment or unlawful detainer. At the Morey Law Firm, we understand these difficult situations and are here to help. In order to avoid this costly mistake, contact us today via our website’s case review or call us at 407-426-7222 to determine your rights.

If you get sued for an accident where you did not have insurance, where you think it was your fault or not, you need to consult a skilled lawyer handling auto accident claims in Orlando to determine your rights. This process can be very involved and is difficult to handle on your own. These cases are referred to as subrogation lawsuits. The consequence of getting a final judgment entered against you in one of these cases is that your driver’s license could be suspended until the final judgment is paid off. For more information on these types of lawsuits, see two of our prior blogs:

If you were involved in an auto accident and did not have the proper car insurance coverage, we can help! Contact us today at (407) 426-7222 for a consultation to determine your rights.

So you have litigated your case in Florida and you are victorious! Now what? The judge has signed a final judgment awarding you money; however, that judgment is worth less than the paper it is written on unless you are able to collect on it. Unfortunately, all too many times, the person or company that has wronged you is “judgment proof.” That means that even if you win the lawsuit, they have no money to collect. As the saying goes, you cannot get blood from a stone. Lawsuits are expensive, so one of your main considerations when deciding whether a lawsuit is a good financial decision is to determine whether the potential defendant is judgment proof. How to make that determination is too complicated to discuss in this article and will be the subject of a future blog. For the purposes of this discussion, we will just assume that the judgment debtor, the person you want to collect from, is not judgment proof. Florida law provides a variety of instruments to apply in your attempt to collect on the judgment. Two of those main instruments are garnishment and execution. In our opinion, garnishment is one of the better options.

Garnishment

There are two categories of garnishment. Garnishment before judgment and garnishment after judgment. Garnishment before judgment was considered unconstitutional at one point. Even now garnishment before judgment is rarely used. For our purposes, we will be discussing garnishment after judgment. Garnishment after judgment is a continuation of the main action as a collection proceeding. It is available to every person who has recovered a money judgment. Any money due to a judgment debtor from a third person or any property in control of a third party are subject to garnishment, except the property and persons excluded by statute.

The most common types of garnishment are garnishment of wages (repeating) and garnishment of money held in a bank account. In regards to garnishment of wages, federal law limits garnishment to 25% of the disposable earnings of a person or the amount by which those earnings exceed 30 times the federal minimum hourly wage. Florida law provides that all disposable earnings of a head of a family that are $750 a week or less are exempt from garnishment. Disposable earnings in excess of that can only be garnished if the judgment debtor has agreed in writing.

Execution

Under Florida law, the final process to enforce a judgment solely for the payment of money shall be by execution, writ of garnishment, or other appropriate processes or proceedings. Lands and tenements, goods and chattels, equities of redemption in real and personal property, and stock in corporations are all subject to levy and sale under execution. Levy is the physical act of the county sheriff seizing the judgment debtor’s nonexempt property. The property which has been seized will then be sold at an execution sale. The proceeds from this sale are meant to partial or entirely satisfy the existing money judgment.

If you are attempting to collect on a Florida money judgment, we can help! Contact us today at (407) 426-7222 for a case evaluation to determine your rights. Our Orlando debt collection attorneys are here to help.