BENTON – An Illinois resident is suing a debt collection agency for violating the U.S. Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act over alleged unfair collection practices.
Kaye R. Medina filed the suit March 18 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois against One Advantage LLC.
According to the complaint, on May 21, 2015, the plaintiff filed Chapter 13 bankruptcy and included an unsecured debt to a hospital in the amount of $9,713. On Nov. 2, 2015, the defendant sent a dunning letter to the plaintiff, demanding payment in the amount of $3,237.75 to satisfy the debt, according to the suit.
The complaint claims that not only did the defendant falsely represent that the debt was collectable at the time, but the defendant also used unfair means to collect the debt. The debt was in the plaintiff's bankruptcy, the suit alleges, so the defendant had no legal right to attempt to collect it.
Medina alleges the defendant violated debt collection practices acts. As a result, she claims she was harmed by having to spend time and money to consult with her attorneys regarding the bankruptcy filing, and the defendant allegedly bullied the plaintiff with unfair and deceptive conduct through lies and harassment to attempt to collect the debt, according to the complaint.
In addition to a jury trial, the plaintiff seeks a judgment declaring that the collection practices are unlawful, a judgment awarding the plaintiff actual and punitive damages in an amount to be determined at trial; a judgment awarding the plaintiff court costs and attorney fees; and a judgment awarding other relief the court may deem appropriate.
She is represented by Penelope N. Bach and James J. Haller of Sulaiman Law Group Ltd. in Oak Brook and Rachel Hill in Belleville.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 16-cv-00296