Beat Rubin & Rothman in Court

Chloe Meltzer | October 19, 2022

Beating Rubin & Rothman in court feels like^^

Summary: Are you being sued by Rubin & Rothman over a debt you owe? SoloSuit can help you take a stand and win in court.

Rubin & Rothman, LLC is a law firm based in New York state. They specialize in third-party debt collection. Rubin & Rothman have received complaints of alleged violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). Generally, these include attempted debt collections on debts not owed, as well as threatening to take actions that they cannot legally take. If you have been contacted by Rubin & Rothman, it is important to understand your rights and how to properly approach the situation.

Who is Rubin & Rothman?

According to the Better Business Bureau, Rubin & Rothman was founded in 1960 but incorporated in 1999. With a total annual revenue of $9.2 million, this is a huge organization. They have a team of over 100 attorneys, which means their staff is highly trained to handle any type of lawsuit.

Rubin & Rothman has received many consumer complaints

The Better Business Bureau has closed many complaints against Rubin & Rothman, with most of these regarding problems with billing, collections, and civil litigation.

For example, one consumer was sued in 2020 for an overdue credit card debt. When the consumer responded to the lawsuit in court, they didn't hear anything back for months. They continued to make payments, even though there was no formal payment agreement in place. Then they received a notification from Rubin & Rothman that a judgment was being placed against them because they didn't pay as agreed.

This type of interaction with Rubin & Rothman LLC appears to be pretty common. The company is also known to violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) by attempting to collect debt that isn't owed, making threats, and harassing consumers in general.

Respond to a lawsuit against Rubin & Rothman

If you are being sued by Rubin & Rothman, or if you were sued and there is now a judgment against you in regards to your delinquent account, you will need to respond to the lawsuit. The first step to responding to a lawsuit against Rubin & Rothman is to file a written Answer into the case. If you have received a Summons and Complaint in the mail, you have 14-35 days to respond before you lose by default. Your deadline should be included in the Summons document, and it will be accompanied by information describing the debt you owe.

Challenge Rubin & Rothman's right to sue

Collection agencies often buy debt from creditors who have stopped attempting to collect on a debt. This means the debt is purchased for a very low cost as compared to the total cost of your debt. They will then turn around and attempt to collect the full amount from you.

It is important to always challenge a debt collector in how much they are attempting to collect. This is essential because if they do not have the original credit agreement with your signature, then they cannot legally sue you for the debt. They must also show the paper trail from the original creditor to the collection agency. Without proper evidence of the debt, Rubin & Rothman will not have a good case against you. In fact, if they cannot provide evidence that they can sue you, and that you owe a specific amount, they will not be able to do so.

In other situations, you may notice that you are being sued for a very old debt. This debt may be past the statute of limitations in your state. The statute of limitations is a time period that varies from state to state. It is usually between four to six years. After the debt exceeds the statute of limitations, you can no longer be sued for it. You should also avoid paying on the debt, because any activity on a delinquent account will start over the clock on the statute of limitations.

You can challenge Rubin & Rothman's right to sue you by sending them a Debt Validation Letter when they first contact you about the debt. This letter requires Rubin & Rothman to legally verify the debt by providing the following information:

The amount of the debt.
The name of the creditor.
The collector will assume the debt is valid unless the consumer sends them a Debt Validation Letter within 30 days.
If you send the collector a Debt Validation Letter they will need to mail you validation of the debt.
If you send them a Debt Validation Letter they will need to mail you the name and address of the original creditor.

SoloSuit can help you draft a Debt Validation Letter in minutes.

Settle the debt with Rubin & Rothman

It is very common for a creditor to contact you and make it seem like you need to pay for the complete debt. In some cases, you may be able to settle out of court, and this is usually a better option. It also usually involves paying less than what you owe. Because they have usually purchased the debt for less, they normally won't mind. However, it is important to know how to negotiate.

Sometimes threatening to declare bankruptcy is a good option when it comes to a debt settlement. This is because it will scare them into settling for anything, rather than risking you not paying anything due to bankruptcy.

If you decide to settle the debt you will have one of two options. The first is a lump-sum payment, and the second is to choose regular monthly payments. Sometimes you will only be able to settle for less if it is in the form of a lump-sum payment. You may need to save up money overtime to make that happen. You can start the settlement process by sending a Debt Lawsuit Settlement Letter to Rubin & Rothman. To learn more about negotiating a settlement that works for you, watch this video:

Your Rights Under the FDCPA

There are federal laws that protect you against unfair practices by debt collectors and creditors. One of these laws is the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA). It regulates the behavior of collection agencies. For example, it prohibits the actions of using abusive language or harassment in any way. It also prevents the use of false or misleading information to collect a debt.

What is important to note is that if you want to enforce your rights, or recover money for violations you will need to raise this in court. You may even want to countersue. In fact, consumers who have been violated are able to recover damages of up to $1,000 per incident, plus attorney fees and court costs. But what counts as a violation of the FDCPA? Keep reading to learn more.

Do You Have a Case Against Rubin & Rothman?

You might wonder if it is worth it to counter sue and bring a case against Rubin & Rothman. If the following pertains to your situation, then Rubin & Rothman have violated the FDCPA, and you may have a strong case against them. Consider filing a counterclaim if any of the following has happened to you:

You are receiving multiple calls per week
You are receiving early morning or late night calls (before 8 am and after 9 pm)
You are receiving calls at work
Debt collectors are calling your friends, neighbors, or coworkers to discuss your debt
Collectors are threatening you in any way
There is an attempt to collect more than what you owe
You are being threatened with negative credit reporting
Criminal accusations are being made towards you
Someone has used obscene language during an attempt to collect money from you
Automated robocalls are being made to your phone in an attempt to collect

Respond to the Summons and Complaint from Rubin & Rothman

Like we mentioned before, the first step to beating Rubin & Rothman in court is to file a written Answer into the case through the court. Here are 6 handy tips for drafting an Answer that will help you win your case:

Avoid telling your side of the story in detail: At this stage of the lawsuit, it's not up to you to prove anything. Rather, the burden of proof rests upon the plaintiff's shoulder (or in this case, Rubin & Rothman). You should avoid any elaborate or detailed descriptions of your side of the story in your Answer. Including such information can actually end up hurting your case. For now, just focus on responding to each allegation (or claim) that is listed in the Complaint from Rubin & Rothman.

Deny, Deny, Deny: Respond to each allegation from the Complaint by denying it. This is just the fancy way of saying, "Prove it." When you deny a claim, Rubin & Rothman are required to prove it with documentation or other evidence. This requires more work and time on their part. Most attorneys recommend that you deny as many allegations as possible in order to strengthen your case.

Include Defenses: After you've responded to each allegations, you should include a section for your affirmative defenses. This is where you can list any reason that Rubin & Rothman don't have a case against you. For example, the statute of limtiations on the debt may be overdue. Another example is that the amount Rubin & Rothman claim you might be incorrect. SoloSuit can help you make the right affirmative defense the right way.

Use standard formatting or “style”: Your Answer should look clean and professional. It should begin with a caption that lays out the court's information, party information, and the case number. Then, it should include a section for your responses to the Complaint's claims and a section for your affirmative defenses. Use standard font style, size, and margins.

Include a certificate of service: You must show proof that you have served Rubin & Rothman with a copy of your written Answer. This is known as a certificate of service, and it should be placed at the end of your Answer document. It should include the address and name to which you sent the Answer, and you should sign it.

Sign the Answer: Finally, remember to sign your Answer. Most courts will reject any Answers that lack a signature.

To learn more about these tips, check out the video below:

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

Respond with SoloSuit

"First time getting sued by a debt collector and I was searching all over YouTube and ran across SoloSuit, so I decided to buy their services with their attorney reviewed documentation which cost extra but it was well worth it! SoloSuit sent the documentation to the parties and to the court which saved me time from having to go to court and in a few weeks the case got dismissed!" – James

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