Too many consumers have been harmed by powerful interests. Tycko & Zavareei LLP's experienced team of lawyers fights back, using smart, creative litigation strategies to seek justice and make the marketplace more fair.
Why Tycko & Zavareei LLP?
Too many consumers have been harmed by powerful interests. Tycko & Zavareei LLP's experienced team of lawyers fights back, using smart, creative litigation strategies to seek justice and make the marketplace more fair.
Kristen G. Simplicio is a Partner at Tycko & Zavareei LLP, and has devoted her career to representing victims of illegal debt collection practices, false advertising, and other fraudulent and unfair corporate schemes.
Ms. Simplicio is currently representing plaintiffs in several cases in the education field. She is serving as counsel for plaintiffs in a case against a prominent university and its for-profit recruiting partner over a decade-long advertising campaign centering on the school’s artificially inflated U.S. News rankings. She is also currently representing plaintiffs in a RICO suit against an online for-profit university over a deceptive scheme to enroll students into fraudulent professional degree programs. She is also representing Perkins loan borrowers in a lawsuit against a loan servicer charging illegal servicing fees.
In addition to her work in the education space, in recent years, Ms. Simplicio has secured a number of victories on behalf of homeowners as a result of her work representing plaintiffs in over a dozen cases filed around the country against mortgage loan servicers over fees charged in violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and related state statutes. Ms. Simplicio has made important changes to the mortgage servicing industry, securing five settlements that have included not just refunds to affected borrowers but also agreements to stop charging these fees.
Ms. Simplicio has also achieved a number of successes on behalf of consumers in the areas of false advertising and unfair and deceptive trade practices. She has also litigated a number of cases brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (“RICO”). Ms. Simplicio is currently litigating a case against a bank over its conspiratorial role in collecting illegal payday loans from 140,000 victims around the country.
Ms. Simplicio graduated cum laude from American University, Washington College of Law in 2007. She holds a bachelor’s degree from McGill University. Before and during law school, Ms. Simplicio worked for other plaintiffs’ law firms. While Ms. Simplicio is now based in Washington, D.C., she spent the first decade of her practice in California, where she successfully litigated a number of false advertising cases as well as a RICO lawsuit on behalf of small business owners trapped in predatory leases for credit card processing equipment, obtaining millions of dollars of relief and changed practices for the victims.
Currently representing plaintiffs in over a dozen cases filed around the country in cases alleging violations of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and related state statutes. The plaintiffs in these cases allege that their mortgage loan servicers improperly assessed fees when they paid their mortgage over the phone or internet.
Currently representing a plaintiff in a putative class action lawsuit against Grand Canyon University and related individuals and entities. At issue in this RICO case is the for-profit school’s pattern of omitting the fact that it does not have the requisite accreditation needed to obtain professional licensure in a variety of fields.
Previously represented plaintiffs in three different lawsuits that alleged that several major olive oil manufacturers falsely advertised their olive oil as both “extra virgin” and “imported from Italy.” Class certification and classwide settlements were obtained in all three. In addition, the manufacturers agreed to changed practices, including removing the offending “Imported from Italy” claim from the label and adopting improved quality control procedures for the production and transport of the oil to preserve its extra virgin status.
Previously represented several small business owners in a lawsuit against 18 defendants in the credit card processing and equipment leasing industry. The business owners brought claims under RICO, alleging that they were fraudulently enrolled in overpriced equipment leases and targeted in an improper debt collection scheme. The case was resolved through two separate classwide settlements, which included refunds to affected business owners and changed practices.
Successfully defeated a motion to dismiss claims arising under California’s Rosenthal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.
Obtained approval of a classwide settlement and successfully defended on appeal over objections.
In the case where the defendant moved to federal court and then challenged the plaintiff’s Article III standing to obtain a public injunction, Ms. Simplicio successfully persuaded the court to remand the claims to state court.
Successfully defeated defendants’ motion to compel arbitration and obtained a classwide preliminary injunction enjoining unlawful RICO debt collection scheme.
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