Question:
A distant relative just commit suicide. He was 32 years old.
Remaining are his wife and their 3 children. He left a suicide note
that said he was killing himself because he could not stand the
harassment any longer from the bill collectors and collection
agencies.
I just spoke to his wife and she sounded like she is on the verge of a
breakdown. She said that she never suspected this, and their marriage
was fairly happy, despite their financial troubles, and these bill
collectors. She said these collectors had turned their lives to hell.
They were getting as many as 20 calls a day from bill collectors,
piles of threatening letters in the mail, and the police had been to
their door several times lately, to serve papers from these
collectors. She said they had just talked last week about looking
into filing for bankruptcy, because due to her husbands layoff at work
and her own health issues, they just could not keep up with the bills,
and there was no way out of the mess they had gotten in. She went on
an said that it's not like they bought fancy stuff, these were just
normal bills for necessities. It's just that his layoff came
unexpectedly and they could not pay their debts.
They even had their phone number changed to an unlisted one, and put
it under an alias name because these collectors had taken over their
phone almost entirely. She knew it was really getting to her husband,
and to her also, but she thought that they were at least making some
headway by making an appointment with the lawyer for possible
bankruptcy.
However, Saturday evening he left the house with his gun, and said he
was going to go by a friend to have the gun cleaned, so it was ready
for hunting season. He never came home. Sunday morning the police
found his body in their car with a gunshot to his head. The suicide
letter was on the car seat next to him.
She said these bill collectors caused his suicide and they should be
charged with murder. She said she plans to have their lawyer take the
companies to court and hopes they will be charged with murder.
Having been through a bankruptcy myself, I know how harassing these
bill collectors can get and how they take over a persons life. I would
have never done suicide because of it, but I too had to get my phone
shut off, and I mailed them form letters telling them to stop
contacting me, which did very little to stop the threatening letters
and the police from coming to my door. Apparently my relative took
them too seriously. Myself, after getting the phone disconnected and
sending out those letters, I just returned every collection letter
they sent to me, unopened.
Anyhow, can this wife legally file a suite against these bill
collectors, and does she have any chance of winning a murder case?
Answer:
There is no chance the collection agency or an individual collector will be
charged with murder. Murder is a specific intent crime. In most states,
that means the perpetrator had the intent to cause death or great bodily
harm. Do you think the collection agency had that intent? Or that it could
be proved?
The way to punish collection agencies or collectors is to take a few tons of
money away from them. Money is what they care about and taking it away will
hurt them. The widow should take her documentation to an attorney
experienced in civil actions under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Based on what you said, I think it is probable that liability will be found
against the collection agency. The lawsuit will be handled by her attorney
on a contingency fee basis. If she is hesitant about suing someone because
some people might think she is greedy, remind her that the debts won't go
away and the collection agencies won't go away either, unless she clobbers
them with the civil lawsuit.
Tell her she shouldn't delay, because there is a statute of limitations.
And other reason for filing suit swiftly.
This answer must not be relied on as legal advice for the reasons posted
here: http://mcgyverdisclaimer.blogspot.com
