Wondering if I might have a case.

[mdcoastie]

History
I am a member of the U.S. Coast Guard, back in 2005 I attempted to take several college courses but because of internet connectivity problems aboard the cutter I was sationed on at the time, I was unable to complete the courses or drop them by the required drop/add date. Upon retutrning to home port I sent the university a statement detailing the issues that caused my situation. I never heard anything else after this to include this debt never appearing on my credit report.

Current
I was less than a week from graduating from Avionics Electrical Technician A-School when I discovered that my pcs advances had been liquidated through the treasury offset program. I was in no way aware that they were going to do this. When I went to my command to seek advice on the situation, after spending the better parts of two days in the Administrative Officers office being questioned harshly about this and other issues, I was summarily disenrolled from the school and they are processing me for discharge from the CG without even a mast or any type of hearing.

Ultimate Question
Since this situation began I have been told by a number of people that I need to contact an attorney and begin the process of filing a lawsuit against the University of Maryland University College as well as the Maryland Central Collection Unit seeking compensation for irreperably damaging my career in the military in the fact that I was not notified of a judgement against me or that they intended to intercept any federal payments made to me by treasury offset. Also that I was not aware that the debt was even valid as it did not appear on my credit report. I am trying to find out if I may in fact have a case against the University, what kind of attorney I should contact, and how I should go about finding that type of attorney. I have also been told that I need to find an attorney that would take the case on a contingency.

Any help or advice on this situation that anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated.

I just found out that CGHQ just turned down the discharge package that was sent up. I am still interested in filing a suit against UMUC if I have a case against them.

[Peligroso27]

You have no case at all. I don't believe your story at all. I think a more accurate depiction would be that you deployed and just did not complete your courses.

[OldandTired]

Originally Posted by Peligroso27

You have no case at all.

Yes, in fact he does. He has the right to due process, whether it be in a civil setting, or criminal

Originally Posted by Peligroso27

I don't believe your story at all. I think a more accurate depiction would be that you deployed and just did not complete your courses.

This site is not about what you believe. The man came here asking a question and seeking an answer. Whether or not you believe anything has nothing to do with "Free Legal Advice". Get over yourself.

As far as the OP, contact an attorney. You have the right to respond to any actions taken against you, and if you were militarily indisposed, you have the right after-the-fact to answer to the claims against you.

Can you imagine what life would be like for all of the troops in Iraq if American companies just wanted to take legal actions against them while deployed?

The entire U.S. Armed Forces would be in Court day after day.

[mdcoastie]

OldandTired,
First off thank you for the support there. Second, do you have any suggestions as to how I should proceed.

mdcoastie

[OldandTired]

Contact an attorney that handles Civil Litigation. While you might not be in Maryland yourself, (better if you are), it's almost certain that any litigation against the College would be handled in their local courts. If you are either in MD, or within reasonable driving distance, you could consult an attorney that is local to the College, relieving you of paying the attorney you choose for travel expenses.

[Peligroso27]

Old and Tired, that is just bad advice, you should educate yourself. The OP is just going to end up paying more money for a baseless lawsuit. There is no chance that he will win this case. My point was that if you want solid advice it is generally more helpful to tell the truth. What other issues were brought up by the Admin Officer? It is doubtful that this incident was the sole reason for your discharge from the Coast Guard, which is not a part of the U.S. Armed Forces. The Coast Guard is a branch of the Department of Homeland Security and is considered a law enforcement agency. The answer still remains that you have no case and due process does not apply.

[OldandTired]

A civil action was taken against him. He has the legal right to respond to it. In that same process, he has the right for a Judge to consider an order removing the derrogatory remarks in his credit history, especially if he was deployed at the time, and physically not able to respond at the time given.

He obviously prove why these things should be done, and why he wasn't in default, but he still has the Constitutionally protected right to do so.

Are you inferring that if I wanted to go make a case against someone that owes me money, I could do so without them ever being able to respond? Of course you're not, because it's not allowed.

[questionia]

It's possible his issue is with a security clearance given that it is potentially a credit issue. The Coast Guard is small and it seems reasonable they may try to discharge someone who is unable to obtain the clearance appropriate to their rate. The first thing I would do is make sure I had my ducks in a row with the Coast Guard prior to filing any lawsuit. If they are sending up discharge packets that should be your top priority. Second, before finding an attorney make sure you have any and all paperwork relating to the course, your failure to complete, and your correspondence with the school as you tried to get it all straightened out.

[Peligroso27]

Originally Posted by OldandTired

A civil action was taken against him. He has the legal right to respond to it. In that same process, he has the right for a Judge to consider an order removing the derrogatory remarks in his credit history, especially if he was deployed at the time, and physically not able to respond at the time given.

He obviously prove why these things should be done, and why he wasn't in default, but he still has the Constitutionally protected right to do so.

Are you inferring that if I wanted to go make a case against someone that owes me money, I could do so without them ever being able to respond? Of course you're not, because it's not allowed.

In reality, he enrolled in classes, did not complete them, and did not pay for them. I think this case is more like a top up or TA issue in which his money was taken for failing classes. Mitigating circumstances (questionable excuses at best) do not change that fact no matter how you look at it. The case has been completed and unless he has a better reason than "connectivity" issues, which I find doubtful having served in the Navy, he is not going to have a debt removed from his credit report, which he stated it has not been posted on. You need a different hobby, giving bad advice is just going to mess up other peoples lives.

[OldandTired]

Originally Posted by OldandTired

Contact an attorney that handles Civil Litigation.

And this is bad advice how?

[Peligroso27]

Because he does not have a valid case!

[Eclark]

#1 Get the Discharge Taken care of and fight it like mad. Offer to reclass into something else if you have to but dont lie down and take it, instead go so a JAG Attorney Immediately and explain to him what the deal is. You are going to have to write alot of letters and possibly use your chain of command at some of the highest levels, however these people can be compassionate to your cause to stay in the CG and be a part of it.

#2 Find out the methods, contracts, and other types of contact methods that the collections department supposedly used to attempt to recontrol your debt. You have certain rights to due process, but also you have alot more rights being aboard a Sea Going Vessel that is activated under Title 10 USC and also Title 32 USC as a Technician. I am not sure which the CG falls under, however in most cases it would be Title 10 since they do adhere to the UCMJ.

#3 Under certain releif acts of Soldiers and Sailors you have certain rights while aboard such vessel and being in a deployed status that you are not aware of. Such as NO CIVIL Proceedings may be held where the Deployed Service Member is listed as either the plaintiff or the defendant of the case. Also while deployed or listed on TITLE 10 USC agencies especially colleges must place your file on hold until you get off of Title 10 USC orders and go back to Title 32 USC. Which would basically make their withdrawing of funds and the debt that has accrued and all that mess go away, and may possibly save your carreer as well as your credit report.

#4 Soldiers that are in Defaults Of Loans. Any interest accrued to the loan must be dropped down to 6 percent according to the SSRA Soldiers and Sailors Relief Act. You are entitled to pay down that loan at 6 percent interest.

So you need to see JAG about this immediately and get this issue straight, and DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE rely on what JAG tells you. Go in there armed to the teeth with knowledge of US Coast Guard Regulations as well as the Title 10 USC Regs, Soldiers and Sailors Relief act and also read and write down the excerpts of the sections paragraphs and page numbers of said articles before seeing JAG. They may not want to hear it, however I had an issue come up and I relied on what JAG was telling me. However I now when I have an issue come up I dont get screwed on it because I tell the lawyer what the reg says, so most of his work is done so that he is a little more excited to take the case with less work on his end.

[OldandTired]

Originally Posted by Peligroso27

Because he does not have a valid case!

Originally Posted by Peligroso27

Old and Tired, that is just bad advice, you should educate yourself.

I did not quote this to prove a point; i.e; one was right and the other was wrong. I quoted this to show that while one person's opinion is that he never had a valid case, in my opinion he does. I believe that Eclark thinks so too, and seems to have more knowledge about these scenarios than either myself or Peligroso......

So let everyone see that while one person may not believe another has a valid case, someone with extended knowledge might just come along to shed some insight.

Take care mdcoastie, I wish you luck.

[fozzy2]

I don't know if enough information has been give to determine whether there is a suit that could survive early dismissal. However, even if there is a suit that could be won, I doubt that it would pass a test of economic rationality. It does sound as if the original poster is not too familiar with how the law typically operates and what can be realistically expected from a suit (which is why people post here, after all).

To begin with, I'm not certain it is realistic to expect "consequential damages" from such a suit. In dealing with a University, you've probably signed multiple waivers to consequential damages (even if you've never read them), never mind that such damages are harder to prove even if you legally qualify. Secondly, it seems likely that there are a host of "administrative remedies" that you would need to exhaust before you could even think of a suit against a government entity. If your pay was taken by treasury offset then dollars to donuts the creditor agency provided legally suficient notice -- which does not necessarily mean that you got actual notice. I would imagine that the 'central collection unit', for example, falls under a regime of grievances, hearings, boards, etc. Have you filed a complaint with the creditor agency to ask if they provided notice? There is no legal requirement I'm aware of that anything gets reported to credit agencies or put on your "credit report".

I'm not certain what the SCRA would do for you, this is apparently a debt you took on after already being under orders. There is no suit to stay, etc. Indeed, if the problem that caused you to miss the classes and deadlines was "internet connectivity" then the fault may lie with the Coast Guard. Good luck with suing them. Even if your internet was down, the University may reply that you could have simply dropped a letter into your ships mail postmarked before the drop date, but you failed to. Did you comply with the University instructions (which you almost certainly agreed to before ) on drop procedures? They probably gave an alternative to internet.

I would suggest finding a Maryland consumer law lawyer who gives a free initial consultation. I doubt that you will ever find a lawyer who will take such a case on a contingency basis. If consequential damages are not in play, then the most you could probably win is a cancellation of tuition due or some other minimal sum. If you are rich and want to fight on principle there are lots of lawyers who will gladly tilt at windmills for $150 an hour. But I doubt that a suit is going to compensate you for your "ruined career" or any amount near that.

[OldandTired]

mdcoastie, would you be happy with the derogatory entries being removed from your credit, and be able to resume your education where you left off?