California -- Lawsuits against ACCS
del Campo v. ACCS, Civ. No. 01-21151 JW (Northern District of California-San Jose):
Plaintiffs filed this lawsuit in 2001, against ACCS and the individual and companies that worked with ACCS to collect checks. On December 3, 2008, the district court certified a class of all people in California from whom ACCS attempted to collect from December 12, 1997 to the present. When
ACCS filed a bankruptcy on January 19, 2009, this temporarily stopped
the action, but on March 12, 2009, the court ruled that the action
could continue against the other defendants. As a result of the ACCS bankruptcy, the proceedings against ACCS have been stayed indefinately. However, the lawsuit is continuing against Don Mealing, Lynn Hasney and the other non-ACCS defendants. On March 15, 2010 the Court heard motions for summary judgment,
On June 3, 2010, the Court ruled that in
California Don Mealing and Lynn Hasney had been violating federal and state law by: (1)
impersonating the district attorney in its letters, (2) charging a fee
for a "diversion" class; and, (3) threatening to prosecute check writers
who did not pay for the diversion program. You can see a copy of the
court's order here.
A trial on damages was held in December 2010. Plaintiffs proved that defendants had collected $30,000,000 in illegal fees. The defendants argued that it did not matter if they broke the law, because the "diversion" class was so great that they should be allowed to keep the $30,000,000 in illegal fees that they collected. Unfortunately, the jury liked the defendants' story-telling, and awarded only $12,004 in damages. Both sides moved for a new trial.
On May 21, 2011 the court vacated the jury verdict and ordered a new trial. The trial will take place sometime in 2012, but the Court has not yet set a trial date. IF YOU WERE CONTACTED BY ACCS BEFORE 2005 AND PAID THEM MONEY, AND DON'T THINK THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN TREATED LIKE A CRIMINAL, WE WOULD LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU. To reach us, click on "Contact Us" on the left hand side of this page.
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