HARTFORD, Conn. (Legal Newsline) – A prolific plaintiffs lawyer who files telemarketing and debt-collection lawsuits has ended his lawsuit against a lawyer referral service he alleged failed to disclose it isn’t a law firm.
On Nov. 18, Sergei Lemberg of Lemberg Law notified a California federal court that he is dismissing with prejudice (likely because of a settlement) his case against eGeneration Marketing.
Lemberg filed the lawsuit in 2018 against the company, which maintains stopcollections.org. He says he lost prospective clients because of false advertising by eGeneration.
“While Defendants disclaim being an attorney referral service, their website hides such disclaimer in small print at the very bottom of the site,” Lemberg wrote.
“In reality, the website was designed with the intent of deceiving consumers into believing they are dealing with a law firm who can help them with their FDCPA claims, when in reality the defendants are really trolling for clients for unidentified lawyers.”
In May, Judge Charles Haight refused to dismiss Lemberg’s lawsuit, finding he’d stated plausible claims for false advertisement and violation of Connecticut unfair trade practices law.
“The Google ads and website at issue allegedly misled consumers regarding the identity of the service providers for assistance with (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act) claims, the ads and site were on the internet, and the plaintiff lost… revenue and consumers as a result,” Haight wrote.
Lemberg was also allowed to represent his own firm for most of the case but was ordered to hire trial counsel should it get that far.