New Jersey Lemon Law Lawyer Blog

CONSUMER ARBITRATION AND MAJOR CREDIT CARDS

November 23, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

Recently Bank of America and Chase have decided to change their ways. Both of these major credit card issuers have chosen to drop arbitration clauses from their card holder agreements.
There is no coincidence that there have been many recent filings of lawsuits against National Arbitration Forum with regard to these agreements. It appears as though National Arbitration Forum got caught with their hand in the cookie jar by the Minnesota Attorney General.
It is also relevant that there is pending legislation where the sponsors have attempted to prohibit arbitration agreements in consumer contracts and employment agreements. This bill is sponsored by Senator Feinstein of California.

Buying a car and consumer fraud, part 2

November 18, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

Many processes are used, such as keeping people at the dealership for a long period of time, separating couples, confusing customers with various documentation and keeping them in the air. There are many, many dealership terms that characterized the types of process that are undertaken. If one were to think that negotiating a purchase of the car is simply speaking about the price and then getting the financing approved, they are mistaken. The dealership has various devices to ‘squeeze you’ for additional money and time. All of the squeezing that the dealership does ultimately breaks down your defenses and I have had many clients who have said I was there for so long, I just signed whatever documents that they put in front of me. This is exactly what a dealership is trying to do.
Therefore, if you are buying a vehicle, it is important that you go there when you are well-rested and take an aggressive attitude with the dealership and understand that nothing that they say can be trusted. If you take this approach and get aggressive with them and start asking questions of them to see what price they want and what financing they want and what interest rate they can provide, they will be on the defensive. Ultimately, the dealership knows that you can walk out of the dealership, go to another dealership across the street or down the road and get a better deal and cost them a sale. Dealerships count on a certain percentage of all people entering the dealership to purchase vehicles. This is a known statistic by the dealerships.

Buying a Car and Consumer Fraud, part 1

November 13, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

Buying a Car and Consumer Fraud

Many consumers confide that buying a vehicle is one of the worst experiences of their life. Frequently, they come into my office and they are embarrassed and ashamed of the situation in which they have found themselves.

When one understands how a car dealership sells cars, there is a complete understanding of the circumstances leading to a vehicle purchased and there should be no reason to be embarrassed. Quite frankly, people do not understand the extensive processes at work when buying a car. Actually, the appropriate statement would be most people do not understand the processes at work used by a dealership to force the sale of vehicles. This process has been honed for many years, for which the dealership employees at all levels have been trained. All levels of dealership employees, including salesmen, sales managers, finance and insurance managers, general managers and other owner representatives have been extensively trained in the process of selling cars.

NEW JERSEY DIVISION OF BANKING AND INSURANCE

November 10, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

The New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance is an excellent resource for most consumers. The department’s main offices are located at Mary Roebling Building at 20 West State Street in Trenton, New Jersey. The mission of the Department of Banking and Insurance is regulation of banking and insurance in the real estate industries, to protect and educate consumers and promote growth and financial stability. The site provides a host of consumer information in the insurance industry, personal finance industry and real estate industry. There is an entire section for consumer inquiries and complaints. There are online forms for filing a formal banking complaint, online forms for filing formal insurance complaint and online forms for filing real estate complaints. The fax is 609-777-0508.

There is the Division of Banking, which consists of two major units such as the Office of Consumer Finance and the Office of Depositories. This department has the ability to issue cease and decease orders as an example for the order issued against Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation. There is an entire insurance division which regulates insurance companies throughout the State of New Jersey. There is a list of hot topics on the site, which indicate proposed acquisition of Health Net of New Jersey by Oxford Health Plans, limited benefits under New Jersey Health Plan Benefits, issues with regard to personal injury protection, and various other items including Federal Stimulus for New Jersey Groups Not Subject to COBRA.

There is an entire real estate commission in the Division of Banking and Insurance to enforce New Jersey’s real estate licensing law. There is an entire section devoted to research and finding banking, insurance and real estate licenses. There is an entire section for rules, orders and bulletins, and the applications and forms for those including motor vehicle installment sellers. According to the consumer inquiries and complaints section on the website, you may contact the unit in several ways: by telephone, web, mail, fax or in person; then a tracking number is assigned for inquiries or assistance with filing a complaint. The phone number is 609-292-7272 or hotline of 18004467467. The mailing address is NJ DOBI, P.O. Box 471, Trenton, New Jersey 08625-0471.

NEW JERSEY DIVISION OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS

November 5, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, a subdivision of the Department of Law and Public Safety, provides an excellent website with links to all of the relevant New Jersey departments, links to all of the relevant inquiries pertaining to the Division of Consumer Affairs, and current headlines or investigations undergoing or undertaken by representatives of the Division of Consumer Affairs. As an example, there are headlines on the site and the current headlines as of the writing of this blog indicate that there are various ticket sellers which agree to stop speculative ticket sales, a Hudson County Senior Fraud Education and Protection Program, a notice on chimney repair scams and an announcement that the state, through Governor Corzine and Attorney General Milgram, are going to provide consumers with titles when the dealerships have gone out of business. The Division of Consumer Affairs also has links to the Division of Criminal Justice, Division of Civil Rights, Division of Gaming and Enforcement, Division of Highway Traffic Safety, Division of Law, Juvenile Justice Commission, New Jersey Racing Commission, State of Athletic Control Board, Division of State Police and Victims of Crime Compensation Office. There are also numerous consumer briefs, which are items of public information which is extensive, ranging from county office on aging to travel scams.

Can I sue if my car gets repossessed?

October 29, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

The previous blog posted explains the nature and extent of the claims under wrongful repossession. However, one of the common questions is that I know I was late on my loan, missed a few payments, and the vehicle was repossessed. The finance company contacted me and they demanded the entire company of the loan in order to obtain possession of my vehicle.
There is a basic theory under New Jersey law called good faith and fair dealings. One potential claim against the financing source under the circumstances would be that they are being commercially unreasonable under the Uniform Commercial Code. You could also assert that they are not complying with their obligation to act in good faith and deal fairly. Under New Jersey law, a lender in the context of a repossession and redemption need to be commercially reasonable. In addition, there is an obligation that they deal with a consumer or customer in good faith with regard to the contract which was in place between the parties. Both of these situations require the application of the good faith and commercially reasonable doctrines. If one were to argue that this would be an appropriate basis for liability, the damages section set forth in the prior blog pertaining to the wrongful repossession would apply.

WRONGFUL REPOSSESSION CLAIMS, CLASS ACTIONS AND CONSUMER FRAUD

October 20, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

WRONGFUL REPOSSESSION CLAIMS, CLASS ACTIONS AND CONSUMER FRAUD

A brief review of the internet on the search wrongful repossession class action will yield a plethora of results indicating that this is an extensive, ripe and very litigious area of law both on the individual and class action basis. When you are dealing with wrongful repossession on an individual basis or a wrongful repossession on a class action basis, it seems to mostly arise out of the processing of paperwork either before, during or after the actual repossession.

On occasion, the wrongful repossession deals with the inappropriate conduct of a repossession company or an agent of the repossession company. However, as previously set forth, most of the lawsuits, class actions and wrongful repossession, and consumer fraud lawsuits arise out of the post-repossession notice of intent to sell and post-sale paperwork, which would include necessary accounting.

DEX for Embarq Yellow Pages

October 12, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

Investigating
The Law Office of Jonathan Rudnick is investigating complaints against DEX for Embarq Yellow Pages, related to its crediting business accounts pursuant to its guarantee that an Embaq Yellow Page listing will generate certain numbers of calls each month. The Law Office of Jonathan Rudnick is investigating whether business are receiving the credits they are entitled to under the program and whether Dex is automatically providing the credits due under the guarantee. If you have listed your business with a DEX for Embarq Yellow Pages under a program guaranteeing you a certain number of calls, and have not received full and proper credits under your guarantee phone, please contact me.

We are not implying any wrongdoing or that a valid cause of action exists, but we are conducting an investigation.

Consumer Fraud and the Uniform Arbitration Act

October 4, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

As previously stated in many of these posts, the dealers frequently use arbitration agreements as a method by which they bypass the court system. There are numerous organizations, including JAMS, NAF and American Arbitration Association. All of these organizations ordinarily have consumer due process protocols for these arbitrations. The question is what happens when you win an arbitration and the dealership refuses to pay the arbitration award? Unfortunately, this is not an easy process, but there is a provision in the Uniform Arbitration Act for the Superior Court to confirm an arbitration award entered by an arbitrator. Basically, the petitioner must file an order to show cause (fancy words for a court action) to confirm the arbitration award so as it can be entered into the docket system and be docketed against the dealer’s property. There is an entire provision under the court rules for a filing of an order to show cause and it is relatively complicated. Nonetheless, the Court is permitted to confirm this arbitration award so long as there is not a basis to vacate the arbitration award filed by the loser of the arbitration. Once the arbitration award is confirmed by the Superior Court, it becomes a judgment docketed and the petitioner or plaintiff may use this docketed judgment or award as any other docketed judgment or award. Moreover, the Uniform Arbitration Act provides for the payment of counsel fees and costs associated with domesticating or confirming an arbitration award. The New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act also provides for the payment of counsel fees with the collection of a consumer fraud judgment. This was decided in the case of Tankersley, wherein the Appellate Division held that an attorney who was attempting to collect judgment on a consumer fraud award would be entitled to counsel fees and costs. The Tankersley case involved the collection of a judgment against a car dealership.

Brake-O-Rama: Attorney General Investigation and Civil Suit

September 29, 2009 | Jonathan Rudnick

The Attorney General has instituted suit against Brake O Rama for various conduct. A civil action has been instituted against them for consumer fraud.

If you have had work done by a Brake-O-Rama and you have any questions regarding a possible claim, please contact us.

All parties are presumed innocent and they are permitted a day in court.