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Oliphant Financial, LLC

The Langel firm will defend consumers against New York state court collection lawsuits brought by Oliphant Financial, LLC. In appropriate cases, we may investigate claims against Oliphant Financial, LLC for violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, Fair Credit Reporting Act, and other applicable laws.

Oliphant Financial, LLC purchases defaulted consumer debt to collect and sue on them. Its affiliated names include Oliphant Financial Group, LLC and Oliphant Funding, LLC.

In New York, Oliphant Financial, LLC was often represented by Stephen Einstein & Associates, P.C. and Malen & Associates, P.C.

New York Appellate Term of the Supreme Court Declines to Open Defendant Consumer's Default

In Oliphant Financial, LLC v. Leonidas (N.Y. Sup. App. Term 2011), the Supreme Court, Appellate Term affirmed a lower court order which denied a consumer's motion to vacate a judgment entered against her.

The underlying action was commenced when Oliphant Financial, LLC sought to recover $10,322.72 which was allegedly owed to Oliphant based on the consumer's default on a credit agreement. Oliphant moved for summary judgment, and the consumer failed to file written opposition to this motion. The Civil Court, Kings County, granted Oliphant's motion for summary judgment. When a judgment was entered against the consumer, she moved to vacate the judgment and the underlying order. The Civil Court denied her motion, and the consumer appealed its decision.

Because the consumer did not file written opposition to the motion for summary judgment, the Appellate Term of the Supreme Court considered the order as having been entered on default. Any oral arguments made on the motion were "unsworn and…of no evidentiary value." The Appellate Term thus treated the consumer's motion as one "seeking to open her default," and found that she failed to demonstrate a reasonable excuse for her default and a meritorious defense. Accordingly, the lower court order was affirmed.

Key Points:

  1. The defendant failed to file written opposition to the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, leading to an order in favor of the plaintiff.
  2. The defendant sought to vacate the judgment and underlying order, but the court found no merit in her appeal due to the absence of a reasonable excuse for her default and a meritorious defense.
  3. The court affirmed the order granting the plaintiff's motion for summary judgment, denying the defendant's motion to vacate the judgment and underlying order.

Case Citation: OLIPHANT FINANCIAL, LLC v. Marie F. LEONIDAS, Supreme Court, Appellate Term, New York, Second Department, 2nd, 11th and 13th Judicial Districts, No. 2010–2137 K C, Aug. 5, 2011.

Plain-Language Guide to CPLR § 5015: How to Seek Relief from Court Judgments or Orders

  1. Under this rule, the court that made a judgment or order has the power to relieve a party from it if an interested person makes a motion. This would be done based on certain terms deemed fair by the court.

  2. The following are the grounds on which such a motion can be made:

    • Excusable default: If the person making the motion does so within one year after receiving a copy of the judgment or order, or if they have entered the judgment or order within one year after such entry.
    • Newly discovered evidence: If there's evidence that wasn't discovered during the trial, which could have potentially changed the trial's outcome.
    • Fraud, misrepresentation, or misconduct: If there was any kind of fraudulent activity, false representation, or misconduct from the opposing party.
    • Lack of jurisdiction: If the court didn't have the necessary jurisdiction to make the judgment or order.
    • Changes to a previous judgment or order: If a prior judgment or order that the current one is based on gets reversed, modified, or vacated.

  3. The court clerk can vacate a default judgment if the parties involved, either personally or through their lawyers, file a stipulation of consent to such an action.

  4. An administrative judge can also start a proceeding to relieve a party from a judgment or order if there's evidence that default judgments were obtained through fraudulent or illegal means, or where such judgments were obtained in cases in which those defendants would be uniformly entitled to interpose a defense.

  5. If a judgment or order is set aside or vacated, the court can enforce restitution - a process to restore the victim to their prior state. This is similar to situations where a judgment is reversed or modified on appeal.

Oliphant Financial, LLC Biographical Information

According to the Better Business Bureau in 2023, Oliphant Financial, LLC is located at 1800 2nd St STE 603, Sarasota, FL 34236-5946 with its phone number (888) 238-3979 and its website here.

Previous or other listed addresses for Oliphant Financial, LLC:

Oliphant Financial, LLC is a foreign limited liability company incorporated in Florida and is principally located at 9009 Town Center Parkway, Lakewood Ranch, Florida, 34202. Oliphant Financial, LLC is licensed (#1244305) by the Department of Consumer Affairs to collect debts in the City of New York.

Oliphant Financial Group, LLC is a foreign limited liability company incorporated in Delaware and is principally located at 9009 Town Center Parkway, Lakewood Ranch, Florida, 34202. Oliphant Financial Group, LLC is licensed (#1355982) by the Department of Consumer Affairs to collect debts in the City of New York.

Oliphant Funding, LLC is a foreign limited liability company incorporated in Nevada and is principally located at 9009 Town Center Parkway, Lakewood Ranch, Florida, 34202. Oliphant Funding, LLC is licensed (#1445273) by the Department of Consumer Affairs to collect debts in the City of New York.

Identified Patterns in Consumer Complaints Against Oliphant Financial, LLC

Upon review of the complaints lodged against Oliphant Financial, LLC, several patterns emerge:

  1. Claims of Incorrect Debts: Consumers repeatedly assert that they do not owe any money to Oliphant Financial, LLC or have had any account with them. For instance, one person wrote: "I don't owe any money from this company, but I found out this company's name under my debt when I checked my credit report." Another person stated, "I have a negative mark on my credit as of May 20th 2023, when I checked it. I don’t owe them anything or have had an account with them."

  2. Absence of Debt Validation: Customers indicate that Oliphant Financial has not provided any debt validation letter to confirm the alleged owed amounts. One complaint expressed this concern: "They have not contacted me by mail or phone to provide a debt validation letter."

  3. Unverified or Erroneous Debts: A recurrent issue is the claim that Oliphant Financial is attempting to collect on debts that are unverified or erroneous. For example, one person complained that "Oliphant indicated that they would not send the account to the credit bureaus" and "they have violated federal law by continuing to report an account that is unverifiable."

  4. Claims of Violation of Rights: Customers have accused Oliphant Financial, LLC of violating their rights, particularly in terms of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and dealing with potential identity theft situations. One person stated, "they are in major violation."

  5. Refusal to Accept Company's Response: In multiple cases, customers have explicitly rejected Oliphant Financial's response to their complaints.

  6. Lack of Direct Contact: A common theme in the complaints is that consumers have not been contacted directly by Oliphant Financial, which makes it difficult for them to resolve their issues.

  7. Legal Threats: In response to their issues, several customers have threatened to take legal action. One said, "otherwise I’ll have to take a legal action against this," and another wrote, "I am now seeking an attorney (from the many online offering to sue debt collectors) to recover damages for each day that they have knowingly provided false information to each bureau."

In each case, Oliphant Financial's response has been largely the same, indicating that due to privacy laws, they cannot publicly discuss these issues and need permission to discuss these cases. They've also encouraged consumers to contact their office directly for resolution.