Tressler LLP, a Chicago-based law firm which, in part, specializes in representing condominium and homeowners’ associations, has been hit with a class action lawsuit, accusing it of improperly sharing information on debts owed by homeowners who are delinquent in paying association fees.
Attorneys Arthur Czaja, of Niles; Brian Wanca, of the firm of Anderson+Wanca, of Rolling Meadows; and Rusty A. Payton, of the Paton Legal Group, of Chicago; and Joseph S. Davidson, of the Law Offices of Joseph P. Doyle, of Schaumburg, filed the lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court in August, against defendants Tressler and AssocationReady.
Based in Suwanee, Georgia, AssociationReady is a vendor specializing, in part, in helping residential property associations collect unpaid fees and debts from owners.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of named plaintiff Monika K. Shershovech, identified in the complaint as a resident of northwest suburban Buffalo Grove.
According to the complaint, Shershovech fell behind on monthly fees owed to the association which manages the condominium development in which she lives, identified as Manor Homes of Chatham.
According to the complaint, attorneys from Tressler, which represented the condo association, then sent Shershovech a “Notice and Demand for Possession,” demanding she pay the back due fees or risk being removed from her home.
However, the complaint asserts Tressler sent the notice through a service known as ReadyCollect, which is operated AssociationReady.
In working with ReadyCollect, the complaint asserts Tressler allegedly improperly gave AssociationReady information about Shershovech, including her “status as a debtor,” the “precise amount of (her) debt,” and “the entity to which (her) debt was owed.”
AssociationReady then, in turn, allegedly communicated that information to another vendor, known as SouthData, which ultimately mailed the collection notice to Shershovech.
The complaint asserts Tressler’s alleged communication of Shershovech’s information to AssociationReady, and AssociationReady’s sharing of that information with SouthData, both allegedly violated the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
The lawsuit seeks to expand Shershovech’s claims to include a larger class of additional plaintiffs, which could include anyone in Illinois who similarly received collection notices via Tressler and AssociationReady, on behalf of condo associations and other associations, represented by Tressler, dating back to August 2020.
According to the complaint, and Tressler’s website, the law firm represents “hundreds of associations throughout the Chicago Metropolitan area.”
Attorneys for AssociationReady on Sept. 10 filed a notice of removal, moving the case from Cook County court to Chicago federal court.
AssociationReady is represented in the action by attorneys Martin R. Martos II and John C. Hawk, of Fox Rothschild, with offices in Chicago and Denver.