DeLage Landen Financial Services, Inc. (DLL) is currently involved in several lawsuits filed in the courts of Chester County, Pennsylvania. If you are the victim of one of these DeLage Landen lawsuits, there are some things that you should be aware of in regard to DeLage Landen’s business practices and how they relate to the lawsuits being filed.
DLL is a “lease financing” company based in Wayne, Chester County, Pennsylvania. Normally in a lease financing deal, the lessee, typically a small business or non-profit, contacts a local vendor to lease a piece of equipment – be it an office copier, or piece of medical equipment – and the vendor then shows the lessee the equipment and describes its features. When the lessee decides that they are interested in purchasing the equipment, the vendor uses the lessee’s credit score and credit rating to obtain financing, in this case from DeLage Landen Financial Services. This is not “financing” in the strictest sense of the word in that DLL actually buys the equipment and immediately leases it to the lessee. The problem is that often times the lessee often does not realize that they are not dealing solely with the vendor. If fact, it is possible that DLL will use the assumed name of a different financing company which may be very similar to that of the vendor and DLL’s name does not appear anywhere on the leasing documents signed by the lessee.While this practice may seem deceptive, it is actually quite common in the lease financing industry.
When a company or non-profit is sued by DLL for non-payment, this may be the first time they aware that their contract is with DLL. Many of the companies sued by DLL are not based in the state of Pennsylvania, have never done business in Pennsylvania and never transacted with an entity in Pennsylvania. They are surprised to learn that they can be sued in the Chester Court of common pleas, usually due to “floating jurisdiction clause” which customarily appears in the lease. While these clauses have routinely been upheld by the judges of the Chester County Court of Common Pleas, it is possible, depending upon the lease to have the case dismissed by the Pennsylvania Courts.
The lawsuits DeLage Landen Financial Services files in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas are usually based on Breach of Contract, Conversion, Replevin – also known as claim and delivery – a way for a person or company to recover goods unlawfully withheld from their possession, and other various claims. If you have been sued by DeLage Landen Financial Services, Inc. in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas, it is important that you speak to an attorney who is experienced in defending these suits. The leases used by DeLage Landen Financial Services, Inc. are usually structured in such a way as to be favorable to DLL; there are still viable defenses that can be used, including claims against the vendor who helped structure the transaction.
If you are involved in a lawsuit brought by DeLage Landon Financial Services, Inc., contact a competent Chester County Lawyer to discuss the facts of your case and prepare a defense against the claims that you face.