Civil Division
In response to the Attorney General's initiative to ensure that there is compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Civil Division was responsible for determining whether major Iowa cities have 9-1-1 emergency response systems which are accessible for the hearing impaired. This required that five cities be audited for compliance (random testing of the equipment); adoption and maintenance of appropriate procedures and equipment; and training for the appropriate personnel. As a result of the audits which were conducted in 1999, new equipment was procured to ensure accessibility by the hearing impaired; training was provided to appropriate personnel; and procedures were developed and implemented. Random tests are routinely made by hearing impaired individuals and division staff to the 9-1-1 emergency response systems in the five cities and the results have been favorable. The Civil Division is also responsible for conducting intake of Americans with Disabilities Act complaints and conducting some ADA investigations.
The Civil Division attorneys and support staff work tirelessly to protect the interests of the United States and her employees and strive to ensure that justice is achieved for the residents of the Southern District of Iowa.
The Financial Litigation Unit
1. The FLU.
The Financial Litigation Unit (FLU) of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa is within the Civil Division. It consists of one attorney and one debt collection clerk. The FLU is responsible for collecting debts owed the United States or its agencies. If the FLU receives a referral from an agency requesting a judgment for a sum certain, such as on a defaulted student loan or enforcement of an administrative penalty already assessed, it will file an action itself for a monetary judgment. Other government claims, such as foreclosures or civil claims in which the sum due is subject to proof, are first handled by the attorneys in the Civil Division, and then the monetary judgment received is forwarded to the FLU for collection. Similarly, criminal debts, such as fines, crime victim assessments and restitution, are referred to the FLU for collection. Judgments entered in favor of the United States under the Federal Debt Collection Act, civil or criminal, create a statutory lien on all property of the debtor in the same manner as tax liens. These liens are filed with the County Recorder.
2. Payment Agreements.
Once a judgment has been entered, the FLU contacts the debtor to ascertain the debtor's ability to pay. The FLU will not enter into any payment arrangement with the debtor unless the debtor provides regular financial statements. Such statements are required at least twice a year. Most debtors who are unable to pay the full amount of the judgment immediately enter into some sort of payment agreement. Those who do not co-operate, either by making and keeping a payment agreement or by refusing to provide the requested financial statement, will be subject to forced collection proceedings.
3. Forced Collections.
Forced collection proceedings can take a number of forms. If the FLU is aware of the debtor's place of employment, a wage garnishment may be sought. The garnishment would apply to 25% of the debtor's net take home pay, (i.e. gross pay less statutorily mandated deductions). Iowa law relating to allowable time periods or maximum recoveries in garnishments do not apply to the garnishments sought under the Federal Debt Collection Act by the FLU. They remain in place until either the debt is paid or the debtor and the FLU agree on a wage assignment or some other arrangement providing payment to the United States. Other forced collection remedies available to the FLU include execution on non-exempt property or obtaining an installment payment order or appointing a receiver to manage a business.
4. Debtor Examinations - Contempt.
If a debtor has failed to provide the information necessary for entering into a payment plan, and the FLU is unaware of his or her employment situation or of property subject to attachment, the FLU will ask the debtor to come to its office for an informal debtor examination. If the debtor fails to respond to the request for an informal examination, the FLU will ask the Court to order the debtor to appear at a specific time for a court ordered debtor examination. If the debtor does not appear as ordered by the Court, the FLU will ask the Court to issue an order directing the debtor to appear before the Court and to show cause why he or she ought not be found to be in contempt of the Court and punished accordingly. These disputes are generally resolved at the time of the show cause hearing by the debtor providing the FLU with the requested financial information. In the rare cases in which the debtor fails to appear at the show cause hearing, the FLU will seek a warrant for the person's arrest in order to compel attendance before the Court. While the FLU does not like the idea of incarceration of recalcitrant debtors, it has had debtors jailed awaiting contempt proceedings in the past. At this point, agreement to provide the FLU with current financial information may not be sufficient to satisfy the Court, and additional sanctions may be added punishing the contempt of court of the debtor.
5. Criminal Debts.
The FLU also is responsible for the collection of monetary awards in criminal judgments, including fines, restitution and crime victim assessments. Debtors in prison are expected to pay on these obligations in accordance with the Bureau of Prisons. The FLU relies upon the Bureau to collect what can be collected from these debtors under its Inmate Responsibility Program. To avoid confusion and cross purposes, the FLU has an agreement with the probation office that the FLU will not attempt to collect monies from debtors under the probation office's supervision. Rather, the probation office will require the debtor to pay off the debt in a manner consistent with their ability to pay. The FLU will impose forced collection procedures on a debtor under probation office supervision if that office requests such action. The FLU alone is authorized to enforce restitution orders. Crime victims may not go into federal court themselves to collect a restitution award. However, victims may file a separate civil damages action in State court. Such an action could ask for damages not included in the restitution order, such as mental anguish or punitive damages. Collection of such a State court action is the responsibility of the victim in whose favor the judgment was entered.
6. Student Loans.
The greater number of civil debtor cases handled by the FLU arise from defaulted student loans. There is no statute of limitations on actions to collect defaulted student loans. This means that an action to collect the debt, including accrued interest, may be brought at any time, even twenty to thirty years after the loan was made. The discharge ability of defaulted student loans in bankruptcy varies, depending on the agency giving the loan, the time passed since the student left school, and other factors. Therefore, anyone contemplating discharging a student loan through bankruptcy, should first obtain legal advice from a private attorney familiar with bankruptcy proceedings.
THE EXCUSES (with FLU's reaction in parenthesis):
10. My bank has my checking account all messed up, and has instructed me to not write checks for a couple of months. (Or at least until you pay for the ones you wrote last month)
9. I spoke with someone in your office who said I needn't worry about this month's payment. (There's only one of us and it wasn't me).
8. My spouse opens all the mail and handles the bills. Hasn't he/she been paying you? (Sure, and despite that we have written a number of letters to you demanding payment and are on the verge of garnishing your salary or executing on your bank account).
7. I had to help pay for my mom's funeral expenses. (Again?).
6. I'm unable to work because I've been so stressed out by the letters I've received from you office. (Rest up, a visit by a Deputy Marshal is even more stressful than one from the postal worker).
5. I didn't know where to send the check. (The same place you sent the previous checks and as printed in your monthly statement).
4. I thought when you sent in a financial statement you were automatically granted a two month suspension of payment. (Only if the statement is accompanied by a large check).
3. My sister died last month, my father died two months ago and my father-in-law is real sick. My mother [see #7 for last month's excuse] said deaths come in sevens so I probably won't be able to pay again for five more deaths. (Bereavement may justify leave from work, but does not preclude employment).
2. My car needed work and I won't be able to pay you for a couple of months. (No car is listed in your financial statement. We need to talk).
1. I didn't pay last month because I was on vacation in Hawaii. (If we'd only known, we could have garnished your return fare and transferred your case to the FLU in Honolulu).