Stock

FACTS AND PROCEDURE

On March 19, 2002, Ard, the Sales Manager for Hart Recovery, LLC, sent a

solicitation letter to Stock offering to collect on his behalf a $10,000 plus court judgment,

which public records indicated Stock had recently won. Central to portions of Stock’s

action against Ard is the following statement in that solicitation: “ . . . our service is risk

free. Our fee is strictly a percentage of what we recover for you. If we do not recover,

we do not collect. We stand all collection costs. If we do not recover, we are out the

collection expenses—not you.”

On December 18, 2009, Stock, his wife, and Ard entered into a contract that listed

a number of judgments owed to the Stocks and provided that Hart Recovery, LLC, would

receive the stated percentages of the amounts recovered on those debts.

Stock became unhappy with Ard’s efforts on his behalf. On June 25, 2010, Stock

sent a letter to Ard asking him to “return all matters to me at your early convenience” and

enclosing a cancellation letter for Ard to sign.

On July 30, 2010 Ard sent a letter to Stock offering to release Stock from the

contract in exchange for Stock paying an invoice for “time and…