The Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic is part
of the St. Vincent de Paul Legal program, Inc. It is an in-house,
one-semester civil litigation and advocacy clinic. Under the
supervision of two full-time clinical faculty members, our students
represent low-income, elderly Queens residents in cases
involving:
Deed Theft. Deed theft occurs when a person’s home
is essentially taken from them through fraudulent deed
transactions, sometimes as part of a foreclosure rescue scam.
When the victim is elderly, he or she may have diminished mental
capacity. The fraud is perpetrated through forged or fraudulently
obtained deeds and powers of attorney. The property is quickly sold
or “flipped” to another party, and the victim threatened with
eviction or foreclosure. Clinic students work to have title
restored to the true owner.
Foreclosure Defense and Predatory Lending. The
Consumer Justice for the Elderly: Litigation Clinic is a leader in
litigating predatory mortgage lending cases in the Queens courts.
We have had several large predatory lending cases in which elderly
clients were defrauded by unscrupulous mortgage brokers, and
entered into unaffordable mortgage loans, with the false promise
that their total debt burden would be lightened or that the house
they were purchasing or repairing would be as good as new. Now,
many of these clients are facing foreclosure and clinic interns are
fighting for our clients to keep their homes. Some of the
relief we obtain for clients are loan modifications through the
federal government’s Making Home Affordable Program.
Home Improvement Contractor Fraud Cases. Clinic
students have filed lawsuits against home improvement contractors
who sign contracts with our clients, take their money, but never
complete the home repair work or perform defective work. In some of
these cases, the contractor assists the client in obtaining a loan
on unfavorable terms to finance the work.
Debt Collection. Clinic students counsel clients
who are being harassed by debt collectors and occasionally commence
lawsuits in federal court under the Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act. When clients have been sued on a consumer debt, we defend
them. We also protect clients’ Social Security and other protected
income from being seized by judgment creditors.
Other Consumer Matters. We assist clients who have
suffered from deceptive business practices in the sale of
automobiles, in door-to-door sales, and in the sale of other
consumer items.
Clinic students practice law under a student practice order issued
by the New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second
Department. Working in teams of two or three, they develop the
following lawyering skills:
- Client interviewing and counseling
- Case assessment and strategy
- Professional responsibility
- Legal research and writing
- Courtroom and oral advocacy
- Pre-trial litigation
- Negotiation, informal advocacy, dispute resolution
- Collaboration
- Policy and Law Reform
- Community Lawyering
For more information on the Consumer Justice for the Elderly:
Litigation Clinic at St. John’s School of Law, please
contact us.