Cary L. Flitter / Eastern and Middle District of Pennsylvania
Lundy, Flitter, Beldecos & Berger, P.C.
450 N. Narberth Avenue
Narberth, PA 19072
(Phone) 610-822-0789
(Toll-free Phone) 888-668-1225
(Fax) 610-667-0552
Email: cflitter@lfbb.com
Url: www.consumerslaw.com
Qualifications of Counsel
I am the partner responsible for litigation with the law firm of Lundy, Flitter, Beldecos & Berger, P.C. with offices in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania and Burlington County, New Jersey. My practice entails a variety of consumer credit matters and other diverse commercial disputes.
Bar Admissions
I have been admitted to the bar for 25 years (1981). I am admitted to practice and in good standing before the United States Supreme Court (1999), the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (1983), the Fourth Circuit (1990), and the Eighth Circuit (2001); the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (1981), Middle District of Pennsylvania (1995), District of New Jersey (1981), and the District of Nebraska (2000); the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania (1981) and the Supreme Court of New Jersey (1981).
Education
1976 - Philadelphia University - Bachelor of Science in Finance (Recipient, 1997 Hughes Award for the Advancement of Scholarship). President, Alumni Board 1990-92. Member, Board of Trustees, 1990-92.
1981- Delaware Law School of Widener University - Juris Doctor (Recipient), American Jurisprudence Award for Scholarship, Corporations and Partnerships (Recipient) 1998 Outstanding Service Award for dedication and service to the legal community;
National Institute for Trial Advocacy:
1986 - Trial Skills and Methods - University of Pennsylvania.
1990 - Federal and State Court Motion Practice - University of Denver.
Teaching Appointments
Widener University School of Law - Adjunct Professor, Consumer Finance Litigation and Identity Theft (1999 to present); Philadelphia University - Adjunct Professor, Commercial Law (1991 to 1998); Temple University School of Law, Guest Lecturer, "Automobile Dealer Finance Fraud," October 2002-October 2005.
Lectures/CLE Presentations
Presenter, Impermissible Access to Consumer Credit Reports, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Las Vegas, NV, May, 2006; Co-Presenter, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Developments, Ask the Experts, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Austin, TX, February 2006; Course Planner & Co-Presenter, Consumer Credit Litigation Developments, Montgomery Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education, November 2005; Co-Presenter, Identity Theft, (Including FCRA Remedies) Pa. Bar Institute, Continuing Legal Education, Atlantic City, NJ, August 2005; Co-Presenter, Settling Complex Financial Services Class Actions, and Co-Presenter, Developments in Automobile Financing & Leasing Litigation, Practicing Law Institute, 10th Annual Consumer Financial Services Litigation Institute, Chicago, IL, June 2005; Course Planner, Co-Presenter, Identity Theft: Don't Be Their Next Victim, Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, DE, Continuing Legal Education, April, 2005; Presenter, Fair Debt Collection Practice Act Developments, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Washington, DC, March 2005; Co-Presenter, Insurance Coverage for Consumer Credit Disputes, National Consumer Law Center Annual Conference, Boston, MA, October 2004; Co-presenter, Identity Theft, Pa. Bar Institute, Continuing Legal Education, April 2004 Philadelphia (Simulcast to Harrisburg); Presenter, Fair Debt Collection Practices Act Developments, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Kansas City, MO, April 2004; Presenter, Developments in Law of Access to Consumer Credit Reports, National Association of Consumer Advocates Fair Credit Reporting Act Symposium, Chicago, IL, May 2004; Civil Remedies for Identity Theft, Montgomery Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education, October 2003; Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ABC's, National Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, Oakland, California, October 2003; Co-Presenter Class Action Symposium: Developments in the Law of Plaintiff Adequacy Under Rule 23(a)(4), National Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, Oakland, California, October 2003; A Primer on Consumer Law for the Bankruptcy Practitioner, Pennsylvania Bar Institute Annual Bankruptcy Symposium, Harrisburg, PA, September 2003, Philadelphia, PA, August 2003; A Current Look at Federal Court - - the Eastern District of Pennsylvania with Hon. Edmund Ludwig and Hon. Linda Caracappa, Bucks County Bar Association, April 2003; Course Co-Planner and Presenter; Developments in Statutory Attorneys Fees with Hon. Lowell Reed and Timothy Myers, Esq., Montgomery Bar Association, April 2003; Use of Expert Witnesses in Consumer Financial Services Litigation, American Bar Association, Section on Consumer Financial Services @ Annual Conference, Washington, DC, August, 2002; Consumer Law Alternatives to Bankruptcy, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Annual Bankruptcy Symposium, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August, 2002; Course Co-Planner and Presenter: Impermissible Access to Consumer Credit Reports, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Albuquerque, New Mexico, June 2002; Auto Dealer Finance Fraud, Montgomery Bar Association, Debtor/Credit Committee Presentation, May 2002; Course Co-Planner and Presenter: Issues in Consumer Law, Consumer Credit Protection Act, Iowa Legal Services Corporation (simulcast to 10 locations), Council Bluffs, Iowa, February 2002; Consumer Law Developments 2001, Montgomery Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education - December 2001; Issues in Using Financial Experts After Daubert and Kuhmo Tire, National Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, Baltimore, Maryland - October 2001; Denver, Colorado - October 2000; Developments Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, National Association of Consumer Advocates, Las Vegas, Nevada - June 2001; Statutory Attorney's Fees with Honorable William H. Yohn, Jr. and Mark Kearney, Esquire, Montgomery Bar Association - July 2000; Consumer Law for Fun & Profit, Montgomery Bar Association, Continuing Legal Education - 1999, 1998, 1997; Statutory Attorney's Fees, National Consumer Rights Litigation Conference, Washington, DC - October 1999; San Francisco - 1996 (partial list).
Publications
Contributing author, Pennsylvania Consumer Law by Carolyn Carter, Bisel Publishing Co., 2003, Supp. 2005. This is the leading legal treatise in Pennsylvania on consumer law issues.
Contributor, Consumer Class Actions, 5th Ed., National Consumer Law Center, Boston, MA.
Legal Intelligencer - When is a Lawyer a Debt Collector? - February 2000; Legal Intelligencer - Consumer Protection Law Amendments Add Teeth - March 1997; The National Law Journal - Statutory Attorney's Fees - February 1999 (partial list).
Quoted/Featured/Contributed
Fox 29 TV News Consumer Alert: Local Car Dealership Customers Victimized by ID Theft - August, 2006; Consumer Financial Services Law Report, Do the Math: FDCPA Class Action Award Depends on Statutory Language - August, 2006; NBC10 TV News Consumer Alert - Legal Redress for Fraudulent Sales - April 11, 2006; Debt Collection Compliance Alert: Avoid These Traps - - 6 Mistakes that Can Get You Sued - July 2005; Consumer Financial Services Law Report: Liability May Follow Deviation From FDCPA Notice Language - May 18, 2005; Consumer Financial Services Law Report: ID Theft Claim Against Car Dealer Shifts Into Gear - August 11, 2004; Legal Intelligencer: "Kelly: 9.5 Million Damage Range Not Specific Enough for Discovery" - June 1998; Legal Intelligencer: "Class Action Settlement Worked out with Bally's Collection Attorney" - July 1997; Pennsylvania Lawyer Magazine: "Sleuthing Through the Ledger" - January/February 1999; CBS News Market Watch: "Effect of Credit Repair Organizations Act" October 2000; Fox-29 TV News: "Predatory Lending" - October 2000; Fox-29 TV News: "Automobile Financing Fraud" - November 2000; NBC-10 TV News: "Consumer Online Chat" - January 2001; Bankrate.com: "Consumer Remedies Under the Fair Credit Billing Act" - June 2002; Consumer Financial Services Law Reporter, "Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Expert Witnesses in Consumer Finance Litigation" - August, 2002; Philadelphia Inquirer, "Montgomery County Car Dealer to Face Class Action for Identity Theft" - October 2002.
Bar Association Appointments/Honors
I serve as the year 2006 Co-Chair of the Federal Courts Committee of the Montgomery Bar Association. In that capacity, I assist in liaison projects between the County Bar and the Eastern District bench; events and visits by our judges and planning and presentation of CLE program(s) on federal practice developments. I have also served as Co-Chair of that committee in 2000 and 2002-2005. We were honored with Committee of the Year Award (2000) by the president of the Montgomery Bar Association.
I was appointed by Chief Judge Giles to the Magistrate Judge Selection Panel, 2003-04. I was appointed by Chief Judge Bartle to the Magistrate Judge Selection Panel, 2006.
Appointment(s) as Class Counsel
I have been approved as class counsel or co-counsel in the following cases (partial list):
McCall v. Drive Financial Services, L.P. and Drive G.P., LLC, 2006 WL 1687167 (E.D. Pa. June 19, 2006)(AB)(Fair Debt Collection Practices Act "FDCPA" Class Action);
Rosenberg v. Academy Collection Service, Inc., U.S.D.C. E.D. Pa. No. 04-cv-5585 (JP) (March 31, 2006) (FDCPA Class).
Ciccarone v. B.J. Marchese,Inc., 2004 U.S. Dist. Lexis 26489 (E.D. Pa. Dec. 14, 2004) (Identity theft class action under Fair Credit Reporting Act, certified, later settled) ("Counsel for plaintiffs are commercial litigation attorneys from two different law firms with substantial experience in prosecuting and managing class actions. They are competent, well-qualified and conducted the litigation with forthrightness and vigor." Id. at *11);
Muse v. Dymacol, 2003 U.S. Dist. Lexis 21029 (TJS) (E.D. Pa. Nov. 7, 2003) (FDCPA class action);
Wells v. Coldata, U.S.D.C. E.D. Pa. No. 02-cv-6609 (AB) (June 26, 2003) (FDCPA class action);
Sabol v. Meenan Security Services, Court of Common Pleas, Delaware County, PA, No. 03-04502 (June 3, 2004) (Settlement class under Pennsylvania Consumer Protection Law, improper notices of right to cancel);
Hage v. General Service Bureau, 2002 U.S. Dist. Lexis 14443 (D. Nebraska, August 5, 2002) (Fair Debt Collection Practices Act class certified, adopting Magistrate Judge's Report and Recommendation for Certification, 2002 U.S. Dist. Lexis 16774 (March 26, 2002);
Tenuto v. Transworld Systems, Inc., 2000 U.S. Dist. Lexis 14344 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 2, 2000) (FDCPA class certified), later op., Tenuto, 2001 U.S. Dist. Lexis 17694 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 31, 2001)(settlement class approved);
Lake v. First Nationwide Bank, 156 FRD 615 (E.D. Pa. 1994) later op., 900 F. Supp. 726 (1995) (Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA") class action; settlement class);
Herrmann v. Meridian Bank, Philadelphia County, C.C.P., February Term, 1996, No. 1381, (RESPA class action; settlement class);
Shaw v. Perimeter Credit, L.P., U.S.D.C. E.D. Pa. Civil Action No. 95-7804 (AB) (FDCPA class action);
Goslee v. The Franklin Mint, U.S.D.C. E.D. Pa. Civil Action No. 97-8055 (EL) (FDCPA class action);
O'Neill v. Sovereign Bank, 1998 WL 1543498 (Philadelphia C.C.P., December 15, 1998) (certified class; RESPA class action).
I have represented defendant(s) in class actions in the following cases (partial list)
Black v. The Premier Co., U.S.D.C. E.D. Pa. 01-cv-4317 (JMK) 2002 U.S. Dist. Lexis 17165 (Title VII employment action; class certification refused);
McKowan Lowe & Co. Ltd v. Jasmine Ltd., U.S.D.C. D.NJ. 96-cv-2318 (JR) (securities fraud claim; class certification refused, later proceeding at McKowan Lowe & Co. v. Jasmine Ltd., 295 F.3d 380 (3rd Cir. 2002) (order vacated and remanded, class certified).