Newsletter Fall 2022

A WORD FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

We begin this new academic year with a spirit of
excitement and hope. The past few years have been
something . . . but our faculty, staff, and students are
thankfully still standing, eager to engage in the work
of serving the community like never before.

We don’t do our work alone. Thanks to a committed
community of supporters the Law Center continues to
provide free legal services for low-income individuals with consumer, immigration, and workers’ rights matters. Below, we highlight our Consumer Practice, whose service delivery model includes community education and outreach, advice clinics at the Superior Court, and direct representation. The efforts make a difference not only for the individual consumer client but also for the public good.

Also, please join our annual virtual Celebration, “Community, Commitment & 
Courage,” on Wednesday, September 28th at 5:30 pm. Let’s gather together
once again to Celebrate excellence and give thanks! I look forward to seeing you there!

Deborah Moss West JD ’94
Executive Director

Consider making a gift; we’d be quite grateful.
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THE CONSUMER LAW PRACTICE – GOING STRONG

The Consumer Law Practice, led by Scott Maurer ’95 (clinical professor) and  Reuben Castillo (paralegal) trains law students to provide free legal services for low-income individuals who have been victimized as consumers and debtors by unfair business practices and fraud. “Nothing beats working with bright-eyed bushy-tailed students who have never seen things like triple-digit interest rates before. I had a great group of students this past year and that helps keep my batteries charged,” says Maurer.

The major types of cases handled include:
Consumer issues – fraud while purchasing a new or a used car; car repossession or towing issues; debt collection harassment; notario or paralegal fraud; fraud and deceptive practice in conjunction with door-to-door sales. Debtors’ issues – identity theft; unconscionable lending practices, alternatives to bankruptcy; credit reporting problems.

Below are select success stories illustrating the depth and breadth of the direct service work. Each matter is ably handled by a law student working under supervision. Nearly every consumer case that Law Center students take to court has resulted in a favorable outcome for the client. In addition, students demonstrate competence or excellence in a number of important skills including interviewing and advising, brief-writing, drafting discovery requests and responses, motion practice, taking depositions, and conducting negotiations. 

• DISMISSALS – UNCONSCIONABLE Interest rates: Two Law Center students recently forced the dismissal of suits that attempted to enforce loan contracts bearing interest rates of 187% and 138% respectively.
• CASE DISMISSED: Our client was sued on a disputed debt.  Four years after the suit was filed and the creditor still had not requested a trial, our client moved out of state.  The law student handling the case filed a successful motion to dismiss for lack of prosecution, then filed a successful motion for attorneys’ fees.
• DISMISSAL plus full restitution, penalties, judgment set aside: A client came to the Center for help because his wages had been garnished for a debt he knew nothing about. The Law Center determined that the judgment had been obtained based on an improper proof of service of summons at the client’s former address. The Center had provided evidence to the judgment creditor that our client had never been properly served and that he did not owe the debt. After the debt buyer ignored that evidence, a law student prepared and filed a complaint attacking the prior judgment.  A second student negotiated a settlement providing for full restitution of all funds taken from the client’s wages, statutory penalties, a set-aside of the underlying judgment, and a dismissal of that case with prejudice.
• DEMAND LETTER success: Another client came to the Law Center after his vehicle had been wrongfully repossessed by an auto title loan company the client had never borrowed from! The title company had already acknowledged it had made a mistake and had returned the vehicle to our client, but refused to compensate him for rental expenses. The Law Center demand letter caused the lender to reconsider. The lender not only paid all of the client’s rental expenses, it paid an additional $3,400 in statutory damages.

In addition to bringing peace of mind and economic stability for the clients they serve, law students leave with a clearer understanding of the legal needs of low-income consumers, and hopefully a social justice lens for future work.
 
“Assisting clients with legal disputes and teaching law students that they can make a difference never gets old. And witnessing the student response to a positive client outcome is priceless. That’s why we are here,” explains Castillo.