If your vehicle is repossessed, and the financer sells it for less than your remaining loan amount, can the financer then pursue you for the rest of the loan? In Maryland, only if the financer has given proper notices and disclosures, says the complaint for this class action. It brings suit against Money One Federal Credit Union and Silverman Theologou, LLP for failing to do this yet pursuing the plaintiff anyway.
The class is all Maryland consumers whose vehicles were repossessed and sold by Money One or others acting on its behalf, on or after December 4, 2015, based on a credit contract governed by Md. Code Ann., Com. Law § 9-101, et seq., (the UCC) and to whom CU Collections had sent post-repossession notices which stated that the consumers had fifteen days to redeem their vehicles.
The plaintiff in this case, Candice Curry, signed a loan agreement with Money One on September 24, 2015 in order to buy a 2009 BMW X5. Money One repossessed the car in 2017.
On November 1, 2017 CU Collections sent Curry a letter on behalf of Money One, saying that she could redeem the vehicle and take it back within the next fifteen days if she paid what she owed—the deficiency—plus an “Admin Fee” of $45.
On December 27, 2017, CU Collections sent Currey another letter on behalf of Money One saying her vehicle had been sold and demanding that she pay a deficiency of $21,584.41. No Admin Fee was listed.
On January 3, 2018, Silverman Theologou, trying to collect this deficiency, filed suit against Curry, asking for $22,722.13 plus $908 in interest and $2,000 in attorneys’ fees.
However, the complaint points out that on “October 3, 2018, a motion to stay was filed in a different district court case filed by Silverman Theologou on behalf of Money One which alleged that the repossession notices were defective and Money One was barred from seeking a deficiency.” This means that when Silverman Theologou filed suit against Curry, it already knew there might be a problem with Money One’s repossession notices that would bar it from seeking a deficiency payment.
What was wrong with the repossession notices? The UCC gives consumers the right to redeem collateral, such as vehicles, at any time before it is sold. The CU Collection notice gave Curry only fifteen days. Also, the $45 fee was not permitted.
In addition, the complaint says that Silverman Theologou should not have tried to collect from Curry because the Maryland Consumer Debt Collection Act doesn’t allow collectors from trying to collect loans “to enforce a right with knowledge that the right does not exist.” These are listed as counts, among other things.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Money One Repossession Rights Maryland Complaint
December 4, 2019
If your vehicle is repossessed, and the financer sells it for less than your remaining loan amount, can the financer then pursue you for the rest of the loan? In Maryland, only if the financer has given proper notices and disclosures, says the complaint for this class action. It brings suit against Money One Federal Credit Union and Silverman Theologou, LLP for failing to do this yet pursuing the plaintiff anyway.
money_one_fcu_repossession_notices_compl.pdfCase Event History
Money One Repossession Rights Maryland Complaint
December 4, 2019
If your vehicle is repossessed, and the financer sells it for less than your remaining loan amount, can the financer then pursue you for the rest of the loan? In Maryland, only if the financer has given proper notices and disclosures, says the complaint for this class action. It brings suit against Money One Federal Credit Union and Silverman Theologou, LLP for failing to do this yet pursuing the plaintiff anyway.
money_one_fcu_repossession_notices_compl.pdf