CONSUMER AND TAX LAW OFFICE OF ROBERT STEMPLER,

a professional law corporation

Disclaimers

Consumer and Tax Law Offices of Robert Stempler, a Professional Law Corporation (the “Firm”), and its principal, Robert Stempler, are authorized by the State Bar of California to offer legal consultations and services only on cases that may be based in California. As its office is located in Riverside County, California, the Firm limits its case load to those that may be filed in courts within Southern California, such as U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles or Riverside, though exceptions can be made. As the Firm hold a copyright over the materials on this Web site, written consent of the Firm’s principal is required for commercial use.

This web site is made available on the World Wide Web for educational purposes only. Though the views expressed are believed to be accurate for California Superior and U.S. District Courts, no materials in this Web site should be construed and are not offered as legal or professional advice. Certainly, none of the materials address the facts or evidence in any visitor’s particular case. Visitors are urged to seek legal advice from competent legal counselors within their respective state of residence, though the Firm has sometimes represented out-of-state consumers in cases against debt collectors having their place of business in Southern California.

Persons who submit e-mail to the Firm (including, but not limited to, use of the Contact form), by doing so, indicate their having read fully and accepted without qualification these disclaimers and the Firm’s Privacy Policy. Unless a written fee agreement is executed by the Firm’s principal, no person may inform others that the Firm represents them or will represent them in any matter. If anyone lacking a current, written fee agreement signed by the Firm’s principal, misrepresents or implies to third parties the existence of a present attorney-client relationship, the Firm will take all steps necessary to effectively correct any mistaken beliefs or misunderstandings about the Firm’s lack of a present agreement to represent such person(s).

When the Firm responds to an e-mail received, the author attempts to understand the limited facts presented and offer suggestions and/or thoughts based on the implicated laws. Such responses are limited in usefulness and tentative, as insufficient information is typical and the facts presented contain only one side of a case that may have several possible views of the facts and evidence. Such responses are provided for educational purposes only and cannot replace a complete analysis of the facts and review of available evidence.

The Firm does not take all cases involving debt collection harassment, even if such cases can be filed within Southern California. For example, many cases of harassment do not involve debts covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Acts (federal or California). In numerous instances, there may appear to be insufficient evidence for the Firm to consider representation. The Firm may reconsider a matter, however, if further evidence or facts develop at a later time.

Some of the views expressed on this Web site relate to rescinding or canceling an otherwise binding and legally enforceable contract. Canceling contractual obligations and/or refusing to make payments required under a contract, naturally, entails a number of risks and ramifications. For example, a creditor may provide derogatory information to one or more credit reporting agencies, thereby damaging the credit worthiness of such consumer. Additionally, creditors often file lawsuits to enforce obligations, even if the consumer had just cause to rescind a contract or withhold payments. Defending such lawsuits is costly and the party enforcing a contract often seeks attorney’s fees and costs against the party in default, which the court may award, under certain circumstances. Accordingly, competent legal counsel should be consulted before attempting to rescind a contract or withholding payments on a contract.

Almost all laws (a notable exception is for the crime of murder) contain a statute of limitations period and some consumer statutes contain other significant requirements. A statute of limitations may have intricate formulas as to when the limitations period begins, ends, and/or “tolls.” Unless and until represented under a written fee agreement, the Firm is not responsible for compliance with any requirements or deadlines, including, but not limited to, any statute of limitations period. If you believe that you have been harassed by a debt collector in connection with a consumer debt, generally speaking a lawsuit must be filed in a court of law within one year (365 days) from the date of occurrence to claim damages under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Acts (federal and California). There are numerous exceptions, but that is the general rule for such matters. Furthermore, the sooner any case is filed, the greater detail that witnesses are likely to remember.