Debt Collection Companies Being Sued for Harrasment & Deceptive Tade Practices in Ohio, West Virginia, & New York

Ohio Attorney General filed a lawsuit Wednesday against a Cleveland debt collection agency
after getting calls from more than 200 Ohio residents complaining of threats, harassment and deception. Read the Ohio AG lawsuit here.

National Enterprise Systems of Solon, Ohio is accused of illegal collection practices.

The lawsuit was filed in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas.

According to the lawsuit, debt collectors with National Enterprise Systems of Solon used abusive language, failed to verify debts and made unauthorized withdrawals from consumer bank accounts in violation of state and federal law.

Officials in West Virginia have also filed a similar lawsuit against the firm. Read the WV complaint here.


New York Attorney General has shut down a New York collection operation that consisted of at least nine debt collection companies across Western New York, run by Buffalo resident Tobias Boyland.

According to hundreds of consumer complaints filed with law enforcement agencies across the country, Boyland's employees violated state and federal law by routinely posing as law enforcement officials, threatening to arrest consumers and throw them in jail unless they made arrangements to pay the company immediately.

The Attorney General filed suit against Central Resource Management, Final Claims Asset Locators, Final Control Asset Locators, Interchange Payment Solutions, Next Step Services, Portfolio Asset Assurance, Silverbay Services, and Teleport..

Read the NY Complain Here.


Read the article here: http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2009/07/22/Collection_agency_lawsuit.ART_ART_07-22-09_A6_8LEHS6P.html?sid=101

Minnesota Attorney General Sues National Arbitration Forum for Fraud, Misrepresentation, Deceptive Trade Practices

Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson filed suit this week against the National Arbitration Forum of Minnesota, the nation's largest arbitration company for consumer credit disputes, accusing it of consumer fraud, false advertising and deceptive trade practices by "misrepresenting its independence" and hiding its "extensive ties" to the collection industry.

The Attorney General's lawsuit claims the National Arbitration Forum has ties to debt-collection law firms and works against consumers by virtue of having a mandatory arbitration clause set forth in a credit card, bank, or retail contracts. Hundreds of thousands of consumer disputes are resolved each year not by a judge or jury, but by a private arbitration system.

The Attorney General’s suit alleges that the National Arbitration Forum represented to consumers and the public that it is independent and neutral, operates like an impartial court system, and is not affiliated with and does not take sides between the parties.

The lawsuit alleges that the National Arbitration Forum, while holding itself out as impartial, works behind the scenes—alongside creditors and against the interests of ordinary consumers—to convince credit card companies and other creditors to insert arbitration provisions in their customer agreements and then appointing the Forum to decide the disputes.

The lawsuit alleges that the Forum pays commissions to executives whose job it is to convince creditors to put mandatory arbitration clauses in their customer agreements. The suit alleges that the Forum does this to generate arbitration filings in the Forum—and hence, revenue—for itself.

The lawsuit alleges that, despite telling consumers and the public that it is not affiliated or aligned with the collection industry, the Forum in fact has financial ties to the collection industry.

The lawsuit alleges that, beginning in 2006 and through 2007, Accretive—a family of New York private equity funds—engineered two transactions. In the first transaction, Accretive formed several equity funds under the name “Agora” (meaning “Forum” in Greek), which invested $42 million in the Forum.

In the second transaction, three of the country’s largest debt collection law firms—Mann Bracken of Georgia, Wolpoff & Abramson of Maryland, and Eskanos & Adler of California—merged into one large national law firm called Mann Bracken. Accretive then acquired the majority interest in a debt collection agency called Axiant, which acquired the collections operations of Mann Bracken. Through these transactions, Accretive took control of one of the country’s largest debt collection enterprises and became affiliated with the Forum, the country’s largest consumer collection arbitration company. The lawsuit alleges that Accretive principals remain actively involved with the Forum.

The lawsuit states that, in 2006, the Forum processed just over 214,000 consumer collection arbitration claims, of which 125,000, or nearly 60 percent, were filed by the above law firms.

Swanson said that the Forum was aware of the affiliation problem in 2006 when it negotiated its relationship with Accretive. She pointed to an email from an officer of the Forum to the hedge fund stating: “…we should certainly plan for unwinding any deal in the event shared ownership becomes an acute issue.”

We'll follow this interesting story.

View the complaint here:
http://capwiz.com/nacanet/attachments/MN_Complaint_Against_NAF.pdf

Sources:
MN Attorney General Press Release

http://www.politicsinminnesota.com/2009/jul14/3464/swanson-files-suit-against-national-arbitration-company

Business Week

FDA Eyes Acetaminophen & Evalutes Risks Assocaited With Its Use

The Food and Drug Administration is pondering what to do about the wildly popular painkiller in Tylenol, Excedrin, Nyquil, TheraFlu, Vicodin, Percocet and many other commonly used drugs to treat aches and pains and alleviate fevers.

Since all of these medicines have considerable amounts of acetaminophen in them, when you take them collectively, you're getting pretty close to the maximum daily allowance.

After a two day meeting, the FDA panel is calling for sweeping changes to review acetaminophen's safety since years of public education efforts have failed to alleviate the problem.

The FDA now recommends lowering the maximum amount allowed in over-the-counter medications from 4 grams to a lower, undisclosed amount. It also recommends adding a visible warning label on combination drugs that contain acetaminophen, and decreasing the dosage of Extra Strength Tylenol.

ACETAMINOPHEN DANGERS

Acetaminophen is generally very safe and effective, but in excess doses it can cause liver failure. And because acetaminophen is so common -- more than 24 billion doses were sold last year in the United States -- even rare side effects can add up to a lot of problems.

According to the FDA, from 1998 to 2003, acetaminophen was the main cause of acute liver failure in the United States.

According to a June 2006 report published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety, between 1990 and 1998, each year there were an estimated 56,000 emergency room visits, 26,000 hospitalizations, and 458 deaths related to acetaminophen overdoses.

A 2007 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are 1,600 cases of acute liver failure each year in the United States, and acetaminophen is the leading and most common cause of liver failure.

The drug is an ingredient in so many products that people often don't realize they are getting multiple doses that could exceed the safe levels. The panel even went as far as to narrowly recommend pulling Vicodin, Percocet and similar products that combine acetaminophen with powerful narcotics from the market altogether.

Now, while the FDA usually follows the advice of its advisory panels, it doesn't have to, and is unsure at this time what action they will take. The FDA panel was split about pulling drugs like Vicodin & Percocet since these drugs are important to so many millions of Americans.

More than 200 million doses of those drugs that combine acetaminophen with narcotics were sold last year in the United States, making them the most common prescribed class of drugs.

The agency could leave drugs like Vicodin and Percocet on the market with stronger, more prominent warning labels. They could also work out a compromise with the companies that make these products where they voluntarily reduce the dosages and take other steps to make them safer.

In the meantime, officials say consumers should pay careful attention to how much acetaminophen they are getting from various products to reduce the chances of suffering complications.

Sources:

Washington Post

WKBW - Buffalo

Examiner.com

Florida appellate court upholds Florida law against generic drug switching - even if the generic has been FDA approved

Today, a Florida state appellate court ruled that a Florida law banning the substitution of certain drugs must be followed, even if a generic version gets federal approval from the Food and Drug Administration.

A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal unanimously said it would be unconstitutional for the Florida Legislature to give up its authority over generic swaps to the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The Florida law lists the drugs for which generics cannot be substituted. The appellate court ruled that the Legislature has to make any changes in that list.

The court sided with Abbott Laboratories, which appealed Administrative Law Judge Susan B. Harrell's decision to remove a thyroid drug, including its name-brand Synthroid, from the list.

"It upholds a fundamental right of patients to receive the medications that are prescribed and intended by their doctors," said Abbott spokesman Scott Stoffel in Chicago.

Abbott's drug is prescribed for patients whose thyroid glands don't make enough of a hormone that regulates energy and metabolism. Synthroid also is used to treat or prevent goiters - an enlargement of the thyroid gland - that can result from hormone imbalances, radiation treatment, cancer or surgery.

Harrell had ruled that a generic version made by Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc. could be substituted because the FDA in 2007 had given it an A rating, which meant it was the therapeutic equivalent of Synthroid.

Harrell based her ruling on another provision of the law that removes a generic from the list if it gets an A rating in the FDA's "Orange Book."

District Judge William A. Van Nortwick wrote that Harrell should not have applied that provision to editions issued after the law was passed in 2001.

It's up to the Legislature to update the list each year based on revised versions of the Orange Book, though it isn't required to follow the FDA's guidance, Van Nortwick wrote.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1108552.html

Debate about Generic Drug Substitution & US Marshals seize Generic Drugs from Caraco Parmaceutical Detroit-Based Plant Today

The headline about US Marshals seizing drugs and raw materials from a generic drug manufacturer grabbed my attention today and reminded me about what I heard earlier this week about 'generic drug substitution' or 'therapeutic switching.'


Generic Drug Substitution:

A debate seems to be brewing about pharmacists dispensing generic versus the brand name drug written on the prescription. A few days ago, it was reported that people suffering from epilepsy that are given generic, instead of the suggested brand named drug, are having increased seizures. This 'therapeutic switching' or generic substitution

Read the Detroit Free Press article. "To her surprise, Pauley found a generic drug, not Lamictal, a brand-name drug that had effectively controlled most of Cheyenne's seizures. In the next week, Cheyenne, age 11, had 21 seizures -- many more than usual."

A fierce legislative campaign is playing out in Michigan and other states over generic substitution and therapeutic switching, a practice that allows health insurers to fill a prescription with drugs similar to brand-name drugs.

Usually, a doctor can stop a switch by writing "DAW" on a prescription. But problems still can occur, and appeals are time-consuming. The Michigan Osteopathic Association (7,000 members) and the 3,000-member Michigan Association of Family Physicians have some worries. They're concerned that the preference by many health plans toward generics and nearly equivalent drugs called therapeutic substitutes leave too many patients and their doctors out of the decision-making about which drug they can prescribe or use.

Today, generic drugs made by Caraco Pharmaceutical Laboratories Ltd. were seized by U.S. authorities for violating manufacturing standards.

This is rather troubling since Caraco manufactures and markets 67 different products, according to the company’s Web site. The FDA said the seizure could affect 33 drugs in different dosages. Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., a Mumbai, India-based drugmaker, owns 76 percent of Caraco’s stock, according to Sun’s Web site.

Drugs and raw ingredients for pain, heart ailment and psychiatric medications were confiscated today at three Detroit, Michigan facilities to prevent Caraco from distributing its products until the manufacturing deficiencies are corrected, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in their statement.

The FDA said drug seizure could lead to shortages of one pill, choline magnesium trisalicylate, a generic pain-relief medication. If you are taking this, the FDA suggested consumers to contact their doctors about other alternative pain-relief medications.

Inspectors who visited the Caraco facilities in May 2009 found “serious violations” of manufacturing standards and “serious deficiencies” in quality control, Deborah Autor, director of the Office of Compliance at the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a briefing with reporters.

In October 2008, the FDA issued a warning letter to Caraco after inspections in May and June found manufacturing deficiencies, including the cross contamination of two drugs.

In April 2009, Caraco announced a voluntary recall of some undisclosed products, according to an April 17 federal regulatory filing.

During a May 2009 inspection of Caraco plants, the FDA found “unresolved violations” of manufacturing standards.

“Given the firm’s history, we thought this was the next appropriate step to protect the public’s health,” Autor said.

Corrective actions had been taken and “continual improvements” are being made while Caraco works with the FDA to resolve the agency’s concerns, the company said in a statement.

The drug seizure “may have a material adverse effect” on near-term operations, though the company hasn’t determined the financial impact, Caraco said in its statement.

Mesothelioma

Yesterday, I met with a client of mine. He is in his 80's and was diagnosed two months ago, with mesothelioma. He starts chemotherapy next week.

He reminded me much of my grandfather, whom I was very close. He was a child of the depression and World War II. He smiled and laughed as he described, in perfect detail, many aspects of his life that even his children had not known. His wife of 63 years nodded and smiled as he spoke of their life together her "country cooking". It made me yearn for the conversations that I had with my grandfather, who was of the same generation, grew up working in the mines, and believed in working hard, playing by the rules, reading his bible, and giving something back, especially to those in need or without.

I worry about his condition in 6 months and whether he will be alive a year from now.

We have all heard of Mesothelioma. We see ads on television day and night. We know the stories about the industry having knowledge of the dangers of asbestos going back to the turn of the century, but some basic information bears repeating.

Background

Mesothelioma is a rare form of cancer in which malignant (cancerous) cells are found in the mesothelium, a protective sac that covers most of the body's internal organs. Most people who develop malignant mesothelioma have worked on jobs where they were exposed to and inhaled asbestos particles.

Mesothlium cells are found in the sac lining of the chest (pleura), the abdomen (peritoneum), or the heart (pericardium). The specific type of mesothelioma is named for the tissue where the cancer originates.

Approximately 70% of mesothlioma cases starts in the chest (pleural mesothelioma), which surrounds the outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall.

Symptoms of the illness typically take 20 to 50 years to appear. While there is no cure, treatments involve a combination of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation.

Although reported incidence rates have increased in the past 20 years, mesothelioma is still a relatively rare cancer. About 2,000 new cases of mesothelioma are diagnosed in the United States each year.

Mesothelioma occurs more often in men than in women and risk increases with age, but this disease can appear in either men or women at any age.

The Center for Disease Control noted from a 2003 study that “because mesothelioma manifests 20--40 years after first exposure, the number of mesothelioma deaths will likely peak by 2010.”

If you or a loved one has been diagnosed with mesothelioma, please give me a call to discuss your case. 205-322-8880 or email me @ Chrish@PDKHLaw.com .

FDA urges consumers to stop using Zicam due to loss of sense of smell

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration advised consumer to stop using three Zicam products marketed over-the-counter as cold remedies because they are associated wtih the loss of sense of smell (anosmia) on June 16th.

The products are:
--Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Gel
--Zicam Cold Remedy Nasal Swabs
--Zicam Cold Remedy Swabs, Kids Size (a discontinued product)

More than 130 reports of loss of sense of smell associated with the use of these three Zicam products were reported to the FDA. Many people who experienced a loss of smell said the condition occurred with the first dose; others reported a loss of the sense of smell after multiple uses of the products.

“Loss of sense of smell is a serious risk for people who use these products for relief from cold symptoms,” said Janet Woodcock, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER). “We are concerned that consumers may unknowingly use a product that could cause serious harm, and therefore we are advising them not to use these products for any reason.”

People who have experienced a loss of sense of smell or other problems after use of the affected Zicam products should contact their health care professional. The loss of sense of smell can adversely affect a person’s quality of life, and can limit the ability to detect the smell of gas or smoke or other signs of danger in the environment.

The FDA has issued Matrixx Initiatives, maker of these Zicam products, a warning letter telling it that these products cannot be marketed without FDA approval.

See the FDA website links below for more information on Zicam :
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm166931.htm

NIH provides information about homeopathy: http://nccam.nih.gov/health/homeopathy/