In a case highlighting problems created by the widespread inability of debtors to hire attorneys, a Nassau County judge has rejected an out-of-court settlement between a debt buyer and a pro se litigant who said she had been “intimidated” into taking the deal.
“It was painfully obvious to the Court that plaintiff obtained the settlement outside of court by taking undue advantage of defendant,” District Court Judge Michael A. Ciaffa wrote in LR Credit 21 LLC v. Paryshkura, 30821-2010. “Judges have the power and duty to make appropriate inquiries, and in appropriate cases, allow the defendant to withdraw from a proposed settlement.”
