If you have been served with a lawsuit from Absolute Resolutions Investments, LLC, you are dealing with a Bloomington, Minnesota debt-buying company that purchases charged-off consumer accounts from banks and then sues borrowers to collect. An Absolute Resolutions Investments LLC lawsuit almost always concerns an old credit card or consumer debt the company bought at a discount, and your outcome depends heavily on whether you respond on time and whether you force ARI to prove it actually owns the account.
Who Absolute Resolutions Investments Is
Absolute Resolutions Investments (ARI) operates alongside Absolute Resolutions Corporation (ARC), founded in 2001. The two entities function together, with ARC serving as records custodian for the accounts ARI acquires.1Absolute Resolutions Corporation. Privacy Policy The company buys what the industry calls “distressed consumer receivables” — charged-off credit card accounts, business lines of credit, and commercial leasing portfolios — directly from original creditors.2Absolute Resolutions Corporation. Absolute Resolutions Corporation It then tries to recover the full balance, plus fees and costs, through in-house collection or lawsuits.
ARI files those lawsuits nationwide, using local collection firms. In Michigan, its usual counsel is Stenger & Stenger, P.C., with attorneys Joe Jammal, Preston Nate, and Joshua Stiers appearing in district courts. In New York and New Jersey, ARI has used Pressler, Felt and Warshaw and Abrahamsen Gindin, LLC, which acquired the Long Island firm Forster & Garbus in 2023.3The Goldenberg Firm. Facing a Collection Lawsuit From Abrahamsen Gindin ARI remains active in California as well.4Los Angeles Superior Court. Case 25NWLC68877
What ARI Lawsuits Typically Look Like
The debts ARI sues on commonly originate from credit card issuers such as Citibank, First National Bank of Omaha, and HSBC Bank. In representative Michigan cases from 2020, claim amounts ran from roughly $4,000 to $5,600.5CollectionStopper. Who Is Absolute Resolutions Investment LLC If your complaint names an original creditor you no longer recognize, that is normal for a debt-buyer case: the account may have changed hands more than once before ARI acquired it.
Respond to the Complaint on Time
The single most important step is answering the lawsuit within the deadline set by your state, typically 21 to 35 days after service.6SoloSuit. How to Beat Absolute Resolutions Investments in Court Miss it, and ARI gets a default judgment. What follows is not theoretical. In 2014, Absolute Resolutions sued Caroline Francavilla in New Jersey over a defaulted HSBC/Sears credit card account, took a default judgment of $3,575, and obtained a wage garnishment set at five percent of her net earnings. By March 2017, she had paid $3,986.30 in satisfaction of the judgment.7New Jersey Courts. Francavilla v. Absolute Resolutions VI, LLC A default judgment can also lead to bank account levies and property liens.
Waiting until after a default judgment to fight is generally too late. When Francavilla later filed a separate class action arguing that Absolute Resolutions had bought her debt without holding a license required under the New Jersey Consumer Finance Licensing Act, the trial court dismissed the case and the Appellate Division affirmed on March 14, 2024. Judge Vanek held that the “entire controversy doctrine” barred the claims because the licensing defense should have been raised in the original collection case.8New Jersey Courts. Francavilla v. Absolute Resolutions VI, LLC Defenses used inside the collection case are far stronger than lawsuits filed after you’ve already paid.
Defenses That Have Worked Against ARI
Consumers and their attorneys have relied on several established defenses in ARI cases.
Lack of Standing and Chain of Title
This is the most productive line of attack. Because consumer debts often pass through several buyers before reaching ARI, courts require the company to prove an unbroken chain of assignments from the original creditor to itself. Defense attorneys who regularly oppose ARI have alleged that the company often files suit without proper assignment paperwork, relying instead on generic bills of sale or affidavits that don’t specifically reference the consumer’s individual account.5CollectionStopper. Who Is Absolute Resolutions Investment LLC When consumers file an answer and counterclaim challenging standing, these cases have frequently ended in dismissal or in settlements eliminating the claimed debt entirely.9CollectionStopper. Representative Cases: Absolute Resolutions Investment In multiple 2020 Michigan cases, defense counsel reported that filing an answer with a lack-of-standing counterclaim produced rapid settlements that wiped out the entire balance.
Statute of Limitations
State law caps how long a creditor has to sue on a debt, often four to six years from the last activity on the account.6SoloSuit. How to Beat Absolute Resolutions Investments in Court If ARI filed after the deadline, the case is subject to dismissal, but the defense is generally waived if you don’t raise it in your answer.
Hearsay and Evidentiary Problems
ARI has no first-hand knowledge of your account; it relies on records created by the original creditor. Its witnesses may lack the personal knowledge needed to authenticate those documents at trial, which can defeat the company’s ability to prove the balance owed.
Debt Validation
Under the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, you can send a debt validation letter demanding that the collector prove the debt is valid and that the account details are accurate.
Settlement
Because ARI buys portfolios at a steep discount, it is frequently willing to settle for less than the full amount claimed when consumers negotiate directly or through counsel.6SoloSuit. How to Beat Absolute Resolutions Investments in Court A settlement negotiated before judgment usually beats one negotiated after.
Federal Consumer Protection Cases Against ARI
ARI has been named as a defendant in multiple federal lawsuits under the FDCPA. In May 2018, a proposed class action filed in the Eastern District of Wisconsin alleged that a collection letter sent on ARI’s behalf falsely identified “MASTERCARD” as the original creditor, when Mastercard is a payment network that does not issue cards or own accounts.10ClassAction.org. Class Action Claims Debt Collectors Falsely Identified Consumer’s Original Creditor In October 2018, a proposed class action in the District of New Jersey alleged that a July 2018 letter concerning a WebBank debt told the consumer to “notify this office” to dispute the debt but failed to specify that disputes must be submitted in writing.11ClassAction.org. Class Action: Two Debt Collectors Misstated Consumer’s Rights in Collection Notice No outcomes were reported for either case in the available record.
If a collection letter you received contained similar defects, that may support an FDCPA counterclaim of your own. Talk to a consumer rights attorney before filing anything.
Practical Next Steps
Confirm the response deadline printed on the summons and calendar it immediately. File a written answer that denies the allegations you can honestly deny and raises applicable affirmative defenses, especially lack of standing and the statute of limitations. Request documentation of the full chain of assignment from the original creditor to ARI. If your finances allow, consult a consumer defense attorney; if they don’t, contact your local legal aid office or bar association referral service. The window to defend yourself closes quickly, and it does not reopen after a judgment.