Credit Report Problems.com - Attorney Profiles

Francis & Mailman, P.C. is a law firm located in center city Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that concentrates in consumer protection litigation. Founded in 1998, the firm’s goal is to provide zealous advocacy to consumers subjected to unfair business, industry and trade practices. The firm represents consumers in individual actions, as well as through class action lawsuits, in the areas of unlawful credit reporting and debt collection practices, unfair trade practices, breach of warranty, truth-in-lending and other consumer matters. The firm’s attorneys have significant litigation experience both in federal and state trial courts.

The Firm’s Attorneys

JAMES A. FRANCIS is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, as well as the Pennsylvania state court. He is a 1992 graduate of Muhlenberg College (B.A., cum laude) and a 1995 graduate of the Temple University Beasley School of Law. In law school, he won the 1995 Wapner, Newman & Wigrizer, P.C. award for excellence in civil trial advocacy and was awarded outstanding oral advocacy. At Temple, he served as President of the Student Bar Association. Following law school, Mr. Francis was associated with Kolsby, Gordon, Robin, Shore & Rothweiler in Philadelphia, and concentrated in catastrophic injury litigation. Since 1998, he has focused his practice in consumer protection litigation, with a particular concentration in fair credit reporting, fair debt collection practices and consumer class actions. He has tried and successfully litigated cases on behalf of many consumers throughout Pennsylvania.

In 2007, Mr. Francis was ranked one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania in Philadelphia Magazine and Pennsylvania Super Lawyers magazine. He has been consistently ranked one of the Top 100 Super Lawyers in Philadelphia for the years 2004-2007. He has appeared on the NBC Philadelphia affiliate News 10’s Consumer Alert and ABC Channel 6’s Action News programs to discuss credit reporting issues.
 

Class Counsel Certifications

Jordan v. Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc., 237 F.R.D. 132, (E.D. Pa. 2006);
Seawell v. Universal Fidelity Corp, 235 F.R.D. 64 (E.D.Pa. 2006);
Perry v. FleetBoston Financial Corp., 229 F.R.D.105 (E.D. Pa. 2005);
Beck v. Maximus, Inc., 2005 WL 589749 (E.D. Pa. 2005), vacated on other grounds, Beck v. Maximus, 457 F. 3d 291, 2006 WL 2193603 (3d. Cir. Aug. 4, 2006)
Stoner v. CBA Information Services, 352 F. Supp. 2d 549 (E.D. Pa. 2005);
Bittner v. Trans Union, LLC, C.A. No. 04-2562 (E.D. Pa. January 4, 2005);
Wisneski v. Nationwide Collections, Inc., 227 F.R.D. 259 (E.D. Pa. 2004);
Petrolito v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC, 221 F.R.D. 303 (D. Conn. 2004);
Orloff v. Syndicated Office Systems, Inc., 2004 WL 870691 (E.D. Pa 2004);
Bonett v. Education Debt Services, Inc., 2003 WL 21658267 (E.D. Pa. 2003);
Gaumer v. The Bon-Ton Stores, C.A. No. 02-8611 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 30, 2003);
Street v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, C.A. No. 01-3684 (E.D. Pa. July 30, 2003);
Samuel-Bassett v. Kia Motors America, Inc., 212 F.R.D. 271 (E.D. Pa. 2000), vacated on other grounds;
Oslan v. Law Offices of Mitchell N. Kay, 232 F. Supp. 2d 436 (E.D. Pa. 2002);
Oslan v. Collection Bureau of Hudson Valley, 206 F.R.D. 109 (E.D. Pa. 2002);
Saunders v. Berks Credit & Collections, 2002 WL 1497374 (E.D. Pa. 2002);
Schilling v. Let’s Talk Cellular and Wireless, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3352 (E.D. Pa. 2002);
Fry v. Hayt, Hayt and Landau, 198 F.R.D. 461 (E.D. Pa. 2000);
Smith v. First Union Mortgage Corporation, 1999 WL 509967 (E.D. Pa. 1999);
Miller v. Inovision, C.P. Phila. County, December Term, 1999, No. 3504.

Notable Cases

Samuel-Bassett v. Kia Motors America, Inc., C.P. Phila. County, January Term, 2001, No. 2199--5.6 million dollar verdict for class of Pennsylvania car purchasers;

Cortez v. Trans Union, LLC, Civil No. 05-5684 (E.D. Pa., April 26, 2007)--$800,000 jury verdict against Trans Union in fair credit reporting case;

Ziegenfuse v. Apex Asset Management, LLC, 239 F.R.D. 400 (E.D. Pa. 2006)--obtained court decision holding that offers of judgment under Rule 68 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure cannot be used in class actions;

Stoner v. CBA Information Services, 352 F. Supp. 2d 549 (E.D. Pa. 2005)--obtained $772,500 settlement for class of consumers who disputed errors in their credit reports;

Perry v. FleetBoston Financial Corp., 2004 WL 1508518 (E.D. Pa. 2004)--defeated motion to compel arbitration in class action brought under Fair Credit Reporting Act;

Crane v. Trans Union, LLC, 282 F. Supp. 2d 311 (E.D. Pa. 2003)--federal court held that credit reporting agencies that merely parrot information from credit furnishers and fail to forward dispute documentation face claims for punitive damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act; violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act presents a violation of Pennsylvania’s Consumer Protection Law); Lawrence v. Trans Union, LLC, 296 F. Supp. 2d 582 (E.D. Pa. 2003)--same;

Wisneski v. Nationwide Collections, Inc., 227 F.R.D. 259 (E.D. Pa. 2004)--obtained class certification in Fair Debt Collection Practices action in which a Pennsylvania federal court held for the first time that statutory net worth limitation is not limited to balance sheet net worth, and includes equity, capital stock and goodwill;

Evantash v. G.E. Capital Mortgage Services, Inc., 2003 WL 22844198 (E.D. Pa. 2003)--federal court held that technical accuracy defense was not available to defendants under the Fair Credit Reporting Act;

Sheffer v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2003 WL 21710573 (E.D. Pa. 2003)--federal court held that Fair Credit Reporting Act permits as recoverable damage emotional distress in trying to correct errors in a consumer’s credit file, even where no pecuniary or out-of-pocket losses;

Sheffer v. Experian Information Solutions Inc., 249 F. Supp. 2d 560 (E.D. Pa. 2003)--federal court held that FCRA provides a private right of action against furnishers of information;

Sullivan v. Equifax, Inc. et al., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7884 (E.D. Pa. 2002)-- federal court held that reporting a debt to a credit reporting agency is a communication covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act;

Wenrich v. Cole, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18687 (E.D. Pa. 2000)-- federal court held that FDCPA provides protection for all persons, not just consumers;

Jaramillo v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 155 F. Supp. 2d 356 (E.D. Pa. 2001); 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10221 (E.D. Pa. 2001)--federal court held that single publication rule does not apply to actions brought for violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act;

Presentations/Lectures By Invitation

Faculty/Speaker, Credit Reporting and Debt Collection Litigation, Municipal Court Judicial Conference (CLE), Pennsylvania, PA, May 6, 1999

Speaker, Protecting Privacy, Ensuring Accuracy, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Albuquerque, NM, June 1, 2002;

Speaker, Litigating Accuracy Issues With Credit Reporting Agencies, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Chicago, Ill., May 14-16, 2004;

Speaker, Understanding Credit Scoring, Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, National Consumer Law Center, Boston, MA, November 7, 2004;

Speaker, The People’s Law School, Philadelphia Bar Association, Philadelphia, PA, October 2004;

Faculty, Fair Credit Reporting Litigation, Consumer Protection Law, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Philadelphia, PA and Mechanicsburg, PA, December 2004, March 2007;

Faculty, Consumer Financial Services Litigation, Practicing Law Institute, New York, NY, March 2007;

Speaker, Litigating Accuracy Issues With Furnishers of Credit Data, National Association of Consumer Advocates, New Orleans, LA, June 2-5, 2005.

Speaker, Philadelphia Housing Expo, Homeownership Counseling Association of the Delaware Valley, 2005 and 2006;

Guest Lecturer, Consumer Protection Law course, Temple Law School, 2003-2006;

Guest Lecturer, Consumer Protection Law course, Widener Law School, 2004-2006;

Mr. Francis serves on the Editorial Board of the Consumer Financial Services Law Report, as well as the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Lawyer Referral and Information Service Committee (LRIS) and Federal Courts Committee. He serves as an arbitrator for the Court of Common Pleas of Philadelphia County. He is a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association, Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, and National Association of Consumer Advocates.
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Mark D. Mailman-Francis & Mailman, PC

MARK D. MAILMAN is admitted to practice before the United States for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and District of New Jersey as well as the state courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. He is a graduate of Muhlenberg College (B.A. magna cum laude, 1991) when he was also inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Mailman received his law degree from the Temple University School of Law (J.D. 1995). While at Temple Law School, he achieved the highest grade in his Trial Advocacy clinic. Throughout law school, Mr. Mailman interned at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office where he tried cases and argued motions in the areas of domestic violence and sexual assault. Following graduation from law school, Mr. Mailman was an attorney with the law firm of Hwang & Associates where his practice focused on Lemon Law litigation. In 1996, Mr. Mailman was associated with the law firm of Fellheimer, Eichen, Bravermen & Kaskey where his practice focused on complex commercial litigation including creditor’s rights. He has been certified to serve as class counsel by state and federal courts in both contested and settlement class actions.

Class Counsel Certifications

Jordan v. Commonwealth Financial Systems, Inc., __ F.R.D. __, 2006 WL 2294855 (E.D. Pa. 2006);
Seawell v. Universal Fidelity Corp, 235 F.R.D. 64 (E.D.Pa. 2006);
Perry v. FleetBoston Financial Corp., __F.R.D.__, 2005 WL 1527694 (E.D. Pa. 2005);
Beck v. Maximus, Inc., 2005 WL 589749 (E.D. Pa. 2005); vacated on other grounds, Beck v. Maximus, __F. 3d__, 2006 WL 2193603 (3d. Cir. Aug. 4, 2006)
Stoner v. CBA Information Services, 352 F. Supp. 2d 549 (E.D. Pa. 2005);
Bittner v. Trans Union, LLC, C.A. No. 04-2562 (E.D. Pa. January 4, 2005);
Wisneski v. Nationwide Collections, Inc., 227 F.R.D. 259 (E.D. Pa. 2004);
Petrolito v. Arrow Financial Services, LLC, 221 F.R.D. 303 (D. Conn. 2004);
Orloff v. Syndicated Office Systems, Inc., 2004 WL 870691 (E.D. Pa 2004);
Bonett v. Education Debt Services, Inc., 2003 WL 21658267 (E.D. Pa. 2003);
Gaumer v. The Bon-Ton Stores, C.A. No. 02-8611 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 30, 2003);
Street v. Portfolio Recovery Associates, C.A. No. 01-3684 (E.D. Pa. July 30, 2003);
Samuel-Bassett v. Kia Motors America, Inc., 212 F.R.D. 271 (E.D. Pa. 2000), vacated on other grounds;
Oslan v. Law Offices of Mitchell N. Kay, 232 F. Supp. 2d 436 (E.D. Pa. 2002);
Oslan v. Collection Bureau of Hudson Valley, 206 F.R.D. 109 (E.D. Pa. 2002);
Saunders v. Berks Credit & Collections, 2002 WL 1497374 (E.D. Pa. 2002);
Schilling v. Let’s Talk Cellular and Wireless, 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 3352 (E.D. Pa. 2002);
Fry v. Hayt, Hayt and Landau, 198 F.R.D. 461 (E.D. Pa. 2000);
Smith v. First Union Mortgage Corporation, 1999 WL 509967 (E.D. Pa. 1999);
Miller v. Inovision, C.P. Phila. County, December Term, 1999, No. 3504.

Notable Cases

Samuel-Bassett v. Kia Motors America, Inc., C.P. Phila. County, January Term, 2001, No. 2199--5.6 million dollar verdict for class of Pennsylvania car purchasers;

Cortez v. Trans Union, LLC, Civil No. 05-5684 (E.D. Pa., April 26, 2007)--$800,000 jury verdict against Trans Union in fair credit reporting case;

Stoner v. CBA Information Services, 352 F. Supp. 2d 549 (E.D. Pa. 2005)--obtained $772,500 settlement for class of consumers who disputed errors in their credit reports;

Perry v. FleetBoston Financial Corp., 2004 WL 1508518 (E.D. Pa. 2004)--defeated motion to compel arbitration in class action brought under Fair Credit Reporting Act;

Crane v. Trans Union, LLC, 282 F. Supp. 2d 311 (E.D. Pa. 2003)--federal court held that credit reporting agencies that merely parrot information from credit furnishers and fail to forward dispute documentation face claims for punitive damages under the Fair Credit Reporting Act; violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act presents a violation of Pennsylvania’s Consumer Protection Law); Lawrence v. Trans Union, LLC, 296 F. Supp. 2d 582 (E.D. Pa. 2003)--same;

Wisneski v. Nationwide Collections, Inc., 227 F.R.D. 259 (E.D. Pa. 2004)—in fair debt class action, Pennsylvania federal court held for the first time that statutory net worth limitation is not limited to balance sheet net worth, and includes equity, capital stock and goodwill;

Evantash v. G.E. Capital Mortgage Services, Inc., 2003 WL 22844198 (E.D. Pa. 2003)—in fair credit reporting case, court held that technical accuracy is not a defense;

Sheffer v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 2003 WL 21710573 (E.D. Pa. 2003)--federal court held that Fair Credit Reporting Act permits as recoverable damage emotional distress in trying to correct errors in a consumer’s credit file, even where no pecuniary or out-of-pocket losses;

Sheffer v. Experian Information Solutions Inc., 249 F. Supp. 2d 560 (E.D. Pa. 2003)--federal court held that FCRA provides a private right of action against furnishers of information;

Sullivan v. Equifax, Inc. et al., 2002 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 7884 (E.D. Pa. 2002)-- federal court held that reporting a debt to a credit reporting agency is a communication covered by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act;

Wenrich v. Cole, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 18687 (E.D. Pa. 2000)--federal court held that FDCPA provides protection for all persons, not just consumers;

Jaramillo v. Experian Information Solutions, Inc., 155 F. Supp. 2d 356 (E.D. Pa. 2001); 2001 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 10221 (E.D. Pa. 2001)--federal court held that single publication rule does not apply to actions brought for violation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act;

Presentations/Lectures By Invitation

Faculty/Speaker, Credit Reporting and Debt Collection Litigation, Municipal Court Judicial Conference (CLE), Pennsylvania, PA, May 6, 1999;

Speaker, Protecting Privacy, Ensuring Accuracy, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Albuquerque, NM, June 1, 2002;

Speaker, FCRA/Building On Our Success, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Orlando, FL, March 7-9, 2003;

Speaker, Litigating Accuracy Issues With Credit Reporting Agencies, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Chicago, Ill., May 14-16, 2004;

Speaker, Understanding Credit Scoring, Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, National Consumer Law Center, Boston, MA, November 7, 2004;

Speaker, Litigating Accuracy Issues With Furnishers of Credit Data, National Association of Consumer Advocates, New Orleans, LA, June 2-5, 2005.

Speaker, FCRA: Playing to Win, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Las Vegas, NV, May 5-7, 2006.

Speaker, Protecting Vulnerable Consumers and Promoting Marketplace Justice, Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, National Consumer Law Center, Miami, FL, November 10-13, 2006.

Mr. Mailman has been voted and named one of Pennsylvania’s Super Lawyers by Law and Politics published by Philadelphia Magazine and Pennsylvania Super in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. Mr. Mailman has lectured before judges, lawyers and various professional organizations on the topics of Fair Debt Collection and Fair Credit Reporting litigation.

Mr. Mailman has litigated cases on behalf of victimized consumers throughout Pennsylvania. He concentrates his practice in the areas of Fair Debt Collection, Fair Credit Reporting, Warranty/Lemon Law and consumer class actions. He serves as a certified arbitration panelist with the Federal Arbitration Panel. Additionally, he is a member of the Pennsylvania Trial Lawyers Association, Philadelphia Trial Lawyers Association, Philadelphia Bar Association, and National Association of Consumer Advocates, and regularly serves on the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Federal Courts Committee. [^ back top]

JOHN SOUMILAS concentrates his practice in the area of consumer protection law, including fair credit reporting, fair debt collection, and consumer class actions. Mr. Soumilas advocates on behalf of consumers against credit reporting agencies, debt collectors, banks, credit card companies, and other financial institutions. He represents victims of identity theft, persons defamed and otherwise harmed by credit errors, individuals harassed and deceived by debt collectors, and many others who are subjected to unfair trade practices. Mr. Soumilas also advocates on behalf of consumers in the areas of fair credit billing, consumer privacy, warranty law, automobile lemon law, and consumer fraud. 

Mr. Soumilas’ career highlights include:

• $800,000 jury verdict in FCRA action against Trans Union for inaccurate credit reporting: Cortez v. Trans Union, LLC (Civil No. 05-5684, E.D. Pa., April 26, 2007);
• Selected by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers and Philadelphia Magazine as a “Rising Star,” a recognition for up-and-coming attorneys under age 40 received by only 2.5% of attorneys in Pennsylvania;
• Certified by federal courts as Class Counsel in several consumer class actions, including: Nienaber v. Citibank (SD) N.A., 2006 WL 2850535 (D.S.D. Sept. 29, 2006); Seawell v. Universal Fidelity Corp, 235 F.R.D. 64 (E.D. Pa. 2006); Jordan v. Commonwealth Fin. Systems, Inc., 237 F.R.D. 132, 2006 WL 2294855 (E.D. Pa. 2006); Perry v. FleetBoston Financial Corp., 229 F.R.D.105 (E.D. Pa. 2005); Wisneski v. Nationwide Collections, Inc., 227 F.R.D. 259 (E.D. Pa. 2004).
• Member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates;
• Former law clerk to Justice Russell M. Nigro of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Soumilas has been a featured speaker on consumer matters at the Philadelphia Housing Expo (2005 and 2006) and The People’s Law School in Philadelphia (2005). He has also lectured on fair debt collection and fair credit reporting at a continuing legal education seminar held by the Bucks County Bar Association (2005). Mr. Soumilas is the author of several papers and articles, including Compilations: Truth, Privacy, and the Work Product Doctrine, Temp. L. Rev. Vol. 74:1 (2000) and Recent EEO Decisions and Developments, with Mark S. Dichter, and is contributing author to Occupational Safety and Health Law (2d ed. 2002).

Mr. Soumilas is admitted to practice before the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, as well as the state courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

A 1994 cum laude graduate of Rutgers University, Mr. Soumilas was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa. He also holds a master’s degree in American history from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Mr. Soumilas received his law degree cum laude from the Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1999, where he was a member of the Jessup Moot Court and Temple Law Review. [^ back top]

MICHAEL J. SZYMBORSKI is a 1995 graduate of Holy Family College. He received his law degree from Widener University School of Law in 1998.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Szymborski was an associate with The Law Offices of Benjamin L. Winderman in Philadelphia, where his practice focused on wills and estates, bankruptcy, and domestic relations.

Mr. Szymborski also volunteers his time assisting those afflicted with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Acting in a pro bono capacity, Mr. Szymborski meets with PALS (Patients with ALS), and their families, to discuss their concerns, and sees to the drafting and execution of documents to meet their needs.

Admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the state courts of Pennsylvania, Mr. Szymborski concentrates his practice in the areas consumer protection law, including fair credit reporting and fair debt collection. [^ back top]

GEOFFREY H. BASKERVILLE  is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, as well as the Pennsylvania and New Jersey state courts. He is a 1982 graduate of Gettysburg College and a 1992 graduate of the Dickinson School of Law. During law school, Mr. Baskerville published an article entitled Human Gene Therapy: Application, Ethics and Regulation in the Dickinson Law Review, Vol. 96, No.4. Since graduating from law school, Mr. Baskerville has worked for both plaintiff and defense litigation firms practicing in the areas of medical malpractice, architect’s and engineer’s malpractice, the Federal Employer’s Liability Act, and trucking litigation. In 2007, Mr. Baskerville began to practice in the area of consumer protection litigation, including fair credit reporting and fair debt collection.

Mr. Baskerville is an active member of his community and volunteers his time by serving on his local Land Use Board and Historic Preservation Commission.
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JOANNE Y. PARK  is admitted to practice before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, as well as the Pennsylvania and New Jersey state courts. She is a 1995 graduate of Temple University (B.A., Psychology, cum laude) and a 2000 graduate of the Temple University Beasley School of Law where she was a member of the Moot Court Honor Society. Ms. Park has practiced in the areas of commercial, employment and immigration law, and currently practices in the area of consumer protection litigation, including fair credit reporting, fair debt collection, and consumer class actions. Ms. Park is also an active member of the Asian American Bar Association of the Delaware Valley.
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The Firm's Staff

The firm employs a highly qualified staff of paralegals, legal assistants and secretaries to advance its objectives.

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