LVNV FUNDING, LLC, ETC. VS. JOSEPH DEANGELO (L-1242-09, GLOUCESTER COUNTY AND STATEWIDE) (A-0220-19T1)
Plaintiff commenced this collection action in July 2009, and in 2010 obtained a default judgment that defendant did not seek to vacate, under Rule 4:50, until 2018. The trial judge conducted an evidentiary hearing and found plaintiff's claim accrued no later than March 2004 – more than four years before the complaint was filed – meaning the action was time-barred when filed, N.J.S.A. 12A:2-725(1), and plaintiff's filing of the action violated the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1692 – 1692p. The judge, however, also determined that defendant's failure to respond to the complaint or plaintiff's post-judgment collection efforts was inexcusable. Balancing these circumstances, the trial judge concluded defendant was entitled to relief from the judgment and dismissal of the complaint.
In affirming, the court held that the judge's decision to vindicate the federal policy in favor of curbing "abusive debt collection practice" rather than the state interest in the finality of judgments was not an abuse of discretion.
