Fulton, Friedman & Gullace, LLP or FFGis a New York-based law firm that specializes in third-party debt collection. FFG has received complaints alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), including threatening to take actions that cannot legally be taken. If you have been contacted by Fulton, Friedman & Gullace, make sure you understand your rights before responding.
The harassing company pays our fees.
They’re legit. According to the BBB, Fulton, Friedman & Gullace, LLP was founded and incorporated in 2008. The BBB established FFG’s profile page in 2010. FFG is listed as a litigation law firm and collection agency. Buzzfile estimates FFG’s annual revenue at $6.3 million and the size of its headquarters staff at 2 employees.
Fulton, Friedman & Gullace does not maintain a publicly accessible website. In addition, there are no publicly accessible social media pages for this company. The Attorney New York website (www.attorney-new york.com) indicates that FFG “is an active debt collection law firm with offices in New York and other states. ”According to Bloomberg, FFG is a full-service law firm providing professional and commercial services in the consumer discretionary sector. FFG is headquartered in Rochester, NY, but Findlaw lists an additional address in Houston, TX.
A basic internet search shows many complaints about Fulton, Friedman & Gullace on many consumer protection sites. However, aside from an address, phone number, and basic information about FFG’s business licensing, there is very little information available about this company or their business practices.
Who are we? We are Lemberg Law, a Consumer Law Firm
Lemberg Law is a consumer law firm helping victims of collection harassment and abuse. We are ranked A+ by the BBB. We’ve helped more than 15,000 consumers stop harassment and recover money from debt collectors. Harassed? Abused? Misled by a collector? Call our Helpline today! There is no charge unless we win.
The BBB has closed 2 complaints against Fulton, Friedman & Gullace in the preceding three years, none of them in the previous 12 months. One complaint alleges problems with billing and collections; the other complaint alleges problems with customer service. As of April 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has closed 2 complaints against FFG. Justia lists at least 12 cases of civil litigation involving Fulton, Friedman & Gullace.
Absolutely. Here are some Sample Cases against Fulton, Friedman & Gullace LLP
In January 2012, in United States District Court for the Northern District of California, a judge issued an Order in a case alleging several violations of the FDCPA. In this case, the plaintiff alleged that FFG, in cooperation with an attorney licensed to practice in California,“unlawfully attempted to collect a debt from him by filing a lawsuit in state court.” The plaintiff claimed that the effort to collect the debt was unlawful because he never owed it, and that Fulton, Friedman & Gullace and its attorney representative in California “made various misrepresentations in the course of prosecuting the state court lawsuit.” The plaintiff’s claim cited violations of both the federal FDCPA and California’s state Rosenthal FDCPA. Both of these statutes “prohibit, among other things, deceptive debt collection practices.”The January 2012 hearing was held to determine whether the plaintiff would be granted his motion to strike Fulton, Friedman & Gullace and its attorney representative’s “fifteen affirmative defense pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(f).”
In its decision, the court considered FFG’s defenses to the plaintiff’s charges that they had violated both state and federal FDCPA laws. To determine whether the defenses offered by Fulton, Friedman & Gullace should be allowed to proceed or be stricken, the court had to assess whether FFG’s “pleading of affirmative defenses… put the plaintiff on notice of the underlying factual bases of the defense,” or merely supplied labels and conclusions in the hope that they might buy time and delay a decision against them. At the January 2012 hearing, the plaintiff charged that each of FFG’s… fifteen affirmative defenses…did not provide…adequate notice of the facts underlying the defense.” In assessing whether FFG’s defenses were valid or mere boilerplate legal language that risked “spending time and money litigating spurious issues,” the court concluded that FFG’s defense alleged “nothing more than that various affirmative defenses exist.” For example, one of the fifteen defenses offered by Fulton, Friedman & Gullace was that the “purported claims set forth in the Complaint is barred in whole or in part by the applicable statutes of limitation and/or the equitable doctrine of laches.” The court assessed this defense as a textbook example of language that constitutes nothing more than ‘labels and conclusions.’” Not only did this defense fail to plead any facts, it “neglected even to identify a specific defense, offering Plaintiff a choice between statute of limitations ‘and/or’ laches.” The court noted further that in a legal setting, “the defendant must give the plaintiff fair notice of which defense they…assert rather than leaving it to the plaintiff, and this Court, to guess.” In addition, “a number of…FFG’s putative affirmative defenses are in fact negative defenses or otherwise not affirmative defenses… thus providing another reason for the Court to strike those putative affirmative defenses.” As a result, the court in this case “granted the plaintiff’s Motion to Strike filed…against” Fulton, Friedman & Gullace.
Fulton, Friedman & Gullace, LLP
28 East Main Street, Suite 500
Rochester, NY 14614
Telephone: (866) 563-0809
Federal laws protect you. The Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (FDCPA) regulates the behavior of collection agencies by prohibiting actions such as the use of abusive or threatening language; harassment; or the use of false or misleading information to collect a debt. The FCRA regulates how collection agencies and creditors report delinquent debts to credit reporting agencies. Additional consumer protection laws include the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA).
But here’s the rub: If you want to enforce your rights, or recover money for violations — you need to sue. These laws provide individuals like you with a means to seek monetary damages in court. For example, the FDCPA allows consumers who have been violated to recover damages of up to $1,000, plus attorney fees and court costs.
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Sergei Lemberg is an attorney focusing on consumer law, class actions related to automotive issues, and personal injury litigation. With nearly two decades of experience, his areas of practice include Lemon Law (vehicle defects), Debt Collection Harassment, TCPA (illegal robocalls and texts), Fair Credit Reporting Act, Overtime claims, Personal Injury cases, and Class Actions. He has consistently been recognized as the nation's "most active consumer attorney." In 2020, Mr. Lemberg represented Noah Duguid before the United States Supreme Court in the landmark case Duguid v. Facebook. He is also the author of "Defanging Debt Collectors," a guide that empowers consumers to fight back against debt collectors and prevail, as well as "Lemon Law 101: The Laws That Lemon Dealers Don't Want You to Know."
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