Lawsuit: Heywood, Cari, & Anderson Misinforms Consumers of their Rights

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Heywood, Cari, & Anderson, S.C. is the defendant in a proposed class action lawsuit that claims the law firm sent the plaintiffs a court summons and a validation notice that contradicted each other and caused confusion. According to the lawsuit, the summons and complaint informed the plaintiffs that a lawsuit was being filed against them and that they had 20 days to send a written response. The communication also contained a validation notice detailing the plaintiffs’ rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the complaint says. The validation notice supposedly informed the recipients that they had 30 days to dispute their alleged debt.

“As a result, and given the conflict between the time period in the summons (20 days) and the time period in the FDCPA Notice (30 days), the least sophisticated consumer would be confused as to when and how she would need to respond to the Collection Complaint,” the suit argues.

The plaintiffs further claim that the validation notice unlawfully required them to submit disputes in writing, but that the FDCPA contains no such requirement about how their disputes may be submitted. The suit argues that “such practice is likely to mislead consumers, causing them to misunderstand their rights.”