NY State Professional Bondsmen Pres Sues Seeking Emergency Injunctive Relief In NY Appellate Court

April 25, 2011 - PRLog -- New York City, NY—Monday April 25, 2011; George Zouvelos, the president of the New York Professional Bondsmen & Agents (http://www.NYPBA.com), principle lobbyist and a New York State professional bail bondsman announces today that the series of lawsuits aimed against entities who seek to undermine bail agent private client contracts and imposing ‘extra judicial’ anti commercial bail industry policies have been filed in two separate New York State courts.  The lawsuits have been filed in the New York State Appellate Division First Department in Manhattan against the New York Department of Insurance (NY DOI); the second suit in Kings County (Brooklyn) Supreme Court against Financial Casualty Insurance Company (FC&S) of Harris County Texas (http://www.fcsurety.com).

The NYPBA reports that lawsuit against the NY DOI was filed in March 2011 by NYPBA president George Zouvelos and is pending in the high court under Docket # 101652 / 2011. This ‘groundbreaking’ legal action for the first time specifically targets the New York Department of Insurance, in the New York Appellate Courts, seeking emergency injunctive relief against newly enacted actions and policies of the Department that the commercial bail industry has deemed discriminatory and ‘extra-judicial’. This suit addresses detrimental 'extra- judicial' policies that the NYPBA believes will render New York bail bondsmen so uneconomic and operating so difficult that the taxpayer saving bail bondsmen service may be denied absolutely, or effectively, to persons charged with crime.

“In New York, I have legally challenged the NY DOI and will continue to challenge any entity attacking the security and stability of New York bail bondsmen that service the public-at-large at zero cost to the taxpayers of this state. This will take time, but today we are off to, and in full support our brothers and sisters bail bondsmen in Denver Colorado to fervently fight against Colorado Senate Bill 11-186 that will be addressed on Tuesday the 26th of April.  This despicable Senate Bill is the thoughtless and disgusting alternative bonding bill sponsored by misguided State Senator and other lawmakers.  We need to remind them of the benefits of the commercial bail industry and why these types of misguided Bills; and in New York, the ‘extra-judicial’ unwritten regulatory policies seek to completely destroy commercial bail bonding and deny the public to affordable access to freedom at zero cost to taxpayers. If successful each will deny the rights and traditional protections Americans hold dear such as the sacred ‘presumption of innocence’ doctrines and will cost the America taxpayers hundreds of Millions of dollars annually during the most horrific economic time in recent American history,” said George Zouvelos.

The NYPBA reports that the second lawsuit filed on April 13, 2011 in Brooklyn’s Kings County Supreme Court, Docket # 52539 / 2011, charges that (FC&S) Financial Casualty and Surety of Harris County Texas for damages arising out of larceny by trick / fraud, failure to return collateral, replevin, tortuous interference with private contract(s) and fraudulent inducement. These lawsuits are aimed to stop the aggressive eradication of the New York commercial bail industry by the imposition of arbitrary and capricious policies and by private contractual interference.  Bail Agents in New York and nationally rightfully rely on strict adherence by indemnitors and defendants to private contracts and insurance indemnity agreements prior to executing a bail bond and assuming costly financial liability.

The NYPBA is in full support of lawsuits that charge the NY DOI, and separately FC&S, of enacting discriminatory policies that are irresponsible and detrimental to the bail agent, the consumer, and taxpayers alike.  NY DOI’s policies seek to eliminate the ability for bail bondsmen to mitigate lose and protect themselves by private contract, making it prohibitive to conduct business in New York State while directly attacking the sacred ‘presumption of innocence’ doctrines American society  holds dear.

“The lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court is against FC&S and it charges tortious interference with private contracts in clear violations of fiduciary responsibility to the bail agent, fraudulent inducement and failure to return cash collateral.  The lawsuit charges FC&S clearly violated and continues to violate fiduciary trust when they arbitrarily and capriciously apply certain NYDOI examiner preferences that directly contradict and conflict with "black-letter law”.  We have charged FC&S with totally disregarding NY DOI Office of General Counsel Legal Opinions, precedent, NY Criminal Procedure, case, and common laws,” said Zouvelos.

In the case of, ‘People v. Peerless Ins. Co., 21 AD 2d 609 - NY: Appellate Div., 1st Dept. (616) it is well settled that, “The professional surety does perform a valuable social function and its operation should not be rendered uneconomic or so difficult that its service may be denied absolutely, or effectively, to persons charged with crime."

‘The Brooklyn Supreme Court lawsuit also charges FC&S is unlawfully withholding much of our client collateral cash since last year and refuses to disburse it as contractually required.  FC&S has previously admitted other highly suspect practices such as my deposited ‘collateral funds’ are being commingled with all other agent funds, and FC&S cannot, provide me a detailed accounting of my ‘collateral’ or ‘build up’ accounts for years. In addition, FC&S has withheld fully detailed ‘record-keeping’ which the NY DOI has specifically requested as FC&S is required to maintain, amongst other questionable and most probably unlawful practices,” said Zouvelos.

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