Cohen & Slamowitz, LLP is a high volume debt collection law firm with its main office located at 199 Crossways Park Dr., Woodbury, NY 11797-02016.

Cohen & Slamowitz has been sued repeatedly by New York consumers for its unfair and deceptive debt collection practices.  For example:

• Earlier this year, Schlanger & Schlanger LLP along with co-counsel Roddy, Klein & Ryan brought t a class action lawsuit against Cohen & Slamowitz and several of its attorneys for violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA).  The case relates to collection actions taken on judgments obtained via fraudulent service of process of which Cohen & Slamowitz had knowledge.  Specifically, in 2006 a process server who had spent years working for Midlantic Process admitted under oath that his former employer, who worked extensively for Cohen & Slamowitz, systematically filed thousands of false affidavits with New York courts.  Cohen & Slamowitz was aware of Mr. Vega’s affidavit, having been involved in the case in which it was filed, and did nothing about it.  They neither notified the impacted consumers, nor the Courts, that the Midlantic affidavits of service were false, nor that the law firm’s previous sworn statements regarding the affidavits were in need of revision.  To the contrary, when confronted with consumers who claimed lack of service, Cohen & Slamowitz pointed to the Midlantic affidavits as definitive proof that service had been made.  The case, Coble, et al. v. Cohen & Slamowitz, LLP, et al., 11-cv-1037 (S.D.N.Y. 2011), is still pending; check in here for more updates as the case progresses.
• Schlanger and Schlanger, LLP recently brought lawsuit against Cohen & Slamowitz under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for debt collection abuse.  Specifically, we sued Cohen & Slamowitz for harassing a consumer regarding a debt she had already settled in full. Cohen and Slamowtiz unsuccessfully attempted to have our case dismissed.  Federal Judge Colleen McMahon denied the motion, described Cohen & Slamowitz’s arguments as “idiotic” and sanctioned Cohen & Slamowitz for the “utter frivolousness” of its motion.  Click here to read the Court’s opinion.  Shortly afterwards, the case settled for $10,000 plus reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs of $68,282.  Click here to read the Court’s decision on fees.
• Schlanger & Schlanger has gotten several Cohen & Slamowitz credit card cases dismissed for blatant failure to properly serve consumers with a Summons and Complaint.  For example, in Midland Funding v. Shepherd, Cohen & Slamowitz sued our client to collect an old credit card debt.  Cohen & Slamowitz’s process server claimed to have served our client’s husband, who had passed away several years earlier.  The Court threw out the case and awarded our client costs in response to this debt collection abuse.  (Click here to read the Court’s opinion.)
• In another credit card case, Cohen & Slamowitz sued one of Schlanger & Schlanger’s clients on an old Discover card account and served him at an address where he hadn’t lived since high school.  Again, the Court threw out the case.
• The Attorney General and the Administrator for the New York State Courts accused Cohen & Slamowitz, among several large debt collection firms, of using process servers who intentionally failed to properly serve New York consumers with a Summons and Complaint.  See Pfau v. Forster & Garbus, et al.  In many of these cases, the process server claimed to be at several locations at once.  This practice, known as “sewer service” is a classic unfair debt collection practice that denies a debtor his or her day in court.  The Attorney General settled its claims against Cohen & Slamowitz in late 2010.
• A recent investigative report by MFY Legal Services, Inc. found that Cohen & Slamowitz filed 41,480 cases in 2007, in just New York City alone.  “Justice Disserved,” June 2008.  The consumer responded in only 6.84 percent of those cases.  Thus, the vast majority of those cases resulted in default judgments against the consumer.

Debtors have rights.  If you are suffering debt collection abuse and harassment at the hands of Cohen & Slamowitz or feel that Cohen & Slamowitz is violating your rights, contact the consumer lawyers at Schlanger & Schlanger, LLP at 1-800-685-2580 or by filling out our consumer questionnaire.