March 12, 2012 – Lillard Wise Szygenda PLLC is pleased to announce a complete victory against the Federal Trade Commission after a two-week trial in Federal Trade Commission v. Financial Freedom Processing, Inc., et al., No. 3:10-CV-2446-N (N.D. Tex.). The FTC sued three debt-settlement companies and four of their officers/directors to recover more than $58 million, alleging that the defendants violated Section 5(a) of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a), by making false and deceptive claims regarding the benefits of their consumer programs. In his findings of fact and conclusions of law, Hon. David Godbey wholly rejected the FTC’s position, finding that the defendants’ claims “were true for a majority of customers . . . who completed the program” and that the defendants did not violate the FTC Act. LWS’ trial team consisted of lead attorney, Bob Wise, Tom Lillard, and Katherine Hendler. The victory is particularly significant because the FTC rarely loses a deceptive-advertising action like the one brought against LWS’s clients.
