Litigation Victory Signals End to California Courts’ Illegal Late Fees That Penalized Poverty for Profit

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Attorneys, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 25, 2023 MEDIA CONTACT: Raya Steier, 530-723-2426, rsteier@lccrsf.org   ***PRESS RELEASE*** Litigation Victory Signals End to California Courts’ Illegal Late Fees That Penalized Poverty for Profit.   San Francisco, CA- The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, and Bay Area …

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Investigative journalist uncovers significant additional evidence of “sewer service” by debt buyer ASI

| By BayLegal
Categories: Attorneys, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
An independent investigative report in inewsource—a nonprofit news service in San Diego—appears to corroborate and add data to the allegations against debt collector Achievable Solutions, Inc. (ASI) in the suit filed by Bay Area Legal Aid and co-counsel firms Kemnitzer, Barron & Krieg and Bramson, Plutzik, Mahler & Birkhaeuser, LLP. Jake Harper’s April 6th story, …

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Coverage of BayLegal’s suit against Achievable Solutions Inc. (ASI) for fraudulent debt collection practices

| By BayLegal
Categories: Attorneys, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News, Other
We are pleased to share this story by Shwanika Narayan in today’s San Francisco Chronicle, providing a closer look at Bay Area Legal Aid’s ongoing lawsuit against debt collector Achievable Solutions, Inc. (ASI). Our suit, filed in 2022 with co-counsel firms Kemnitzer, Barron & Krieg and Bramson, Plutzik, Mahler & Birkhaeuser, LLP, alleges that ASI …

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Victory! San Mateo Ends Collection of Illegal Court Fees that Penalize Poverty; Settlement Talks With California’s Statewide Judicial Council Continue

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
Bay Area Legal Aid, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, and the law firm of Fenwick & West LLP, are celebrating a significant victory this week in our ongoing litigation against the Judicial Council of California and the San Mateo Superior Court. In …

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A Big Win for Tenants in San Pablo

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
Gavel And Small Model House On Wooden Table
This summer, Alejandra Pérez Orozco of Bay Area Legal Aid’s Contra Costa County housing law team and Hilda Chan, Regional Counsel of Housing Litigation, with co-counsel from the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), achieved a major legal victory for tenants of an apartment building in San Pablo. California’s Tenant Protection Act of 2019 …

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California Discharges $500 Million in Illegal Court Fees in Response to Litigation, but Lawsuit Against the Courts Will Press On

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Homepage, Litigation, News, Other
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Friday, July 1, 2022 PRESS CONTACT Joe Rivano Barros, joe@theworkeragency.com, 510-798-0730 CALIFORNIA DISCHARGES $500 MILLION IN ILLEGAL COURT FEES IN RESPONSE TO LITIGATION, BUT LAWSUIT AGAINST THE COURTS WILL PRESS ON The Governor agreed on major relief, but ultimately failed to eliminate the needless court fee, known as the “civil assessment,” that …

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California Judicial Council Sued for Illegal Scheme to Fund Courts through Late Fees; San Mateo Court Stops Collecting Millions in Outstanding Debts and Waits for Governor and Legislature to Act.

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Homepage, Litigation, News
MEDIA UPDATES “San Mateo court agrees to stop collecting debt from unpaid fees in light of lawsuit,” Maria Dinzeo for Courthouse News Service, 5/25/2022 “San Mateo Courts Pause Late Fees in Response to Suit,” Dave Simpson for Law360, 5/25/2022 (requires paid subscription) “Civil Rights, Legal Aid Groups Pause Lawsuit Over $300 Civil Assessments,” The Recorder, …

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KQED reports on civil assessments

| By BayLegal
Categories: Homepage, Litigation, News
This morning’s KQED Morning Report includes coverage of civil assessments and the advocates who are pushing the Governor to propose their abolition in his May budget revise. As we reported in January, BayLegal has joined ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area Legal Aid, …

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BayLegal Joins Lawsuit to Stop Exorbitant Late Fees Used to Fund Court Systems in San Mateo County

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, Announcements, Attorneys, Homepage, Litigation, News
Today, the ACLU Foundation of Northern California, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area Legal Aid, and Fenwick & West LLP filed a lawsuit challenging San Mateo County Superior Court’s unlawful practice of automatically imposing a $300 charge every time an individual misses a payment or court deadline in their traffic …

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SFMTA Changes Debt Towing Policies in Response to Lawsuit, Promising New Protections for Vehicularly Housed San Franciscans (re-posted from LCCRSF)

| By BayLegal
Categories: Advocacy, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
Car being towed
SFMTA Changes Debt Towing Policies in Response to Lawsuit, Promising New Protections for Vehicularly Housed San Franciscans Posted: October 6, 2021 by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area Shared by BayLegal: October 7, 2021 Media updates: Bay Area CBS affiliate KPIX covered the story October 6, 2021. LCCRSF’s Zal Shroff will …

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CA DMV Reports Lifting 554,997 Improperly Imposed Driver’s License Suspensions

| By BayLegal
Categories: eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News
The CA DMV reported to the CA Court of Appeals that it has lifted 554,997 improperly imposed driver’s license suspensions. This action comes as the result of Hernandez v CA Department of Motor Vehicles, a statewide lawsuit on behalf of several plaintiffs filed by Bay Area Legal Aid, Western Center on Law & Poverty, The ACLU …

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Former BayLegal Attorneys Rebekah Evenson and Cristina Vazquez Receive 2021 CLAY Awards

| By Lia Dun
Categories: Attorneys, eNewsletter Story, Homepage, Litigation, News, Other
gold laurel
In March, Rebekah Evenson, Alameda County Superior Court Judge and former BayLegal Director of Litigation, and Cristina Vazquez, California Division of Labor Standards Attorney and former BayLegal Supervising Attorney, received two of the Daily Journal’s 2021 California Attorneys of the Year (CLAY) awards for their work on the case Anderson v. City of San Jose. …

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