Consumer Protection

Practice Areas: Consumer Class Action, Consumer Protection, Complex Civil Litigation Rachel Bentley has dedicated her practice to advocating on behalf of consumers who have been victims of corporate wrongdoing and scams. Ms. Bentley is an attorney with Gordon and Partners class action team and litigates consumer protection cases and complex consumer fraud class action cases. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Bentley prosecuted violations of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act as an Assistant Attorney General in the Consumer Protection Division of the Florida Attorney General’s Office. Before serving as an Assistant Attorney General, Ms. Bentley was the Senior Staff Attorney of the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach County, Inc.’s Consumer Advocacy Unit, where she protected the rights of disadvantaged members of the community and represented indigent consumers who were wronged by businesses and fraudsters. Ms. Bentley is a Co-Chair of the Florida Bar’s Consumer Protection Law Committee’s Legislative Subcommittee and serves on the Board of Directors of the Young Lawyers Section of the Palm Beach County Bar Association. She is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates and a scholar of the National Consumer Law Center. Ms. Bentley earned her undergraduate degree from Florida State University and Juris Doctor from Florida International University School of Law.

Consumer fraud attorney Robert Murphy is a trial lawyer who practices in the areas of consumer litigation in Florida and across the country. In over 25 years of practice, he has actively litigated cases under almost every aspect of the federal and Florida consumer protection laws. He has acted as lead counsel in the litigation of cases both individually and on a class basis in almost every venue in Florida. He is dedicated to advancing the consumer rights of Americans through both courtroom advocacy and the education of families and individuals concerning consumer protection laws.

Daniel Schlanger is a partner at Kakalec & Schlanger, LLP, where he heads the firm's consumer practice. His practice focuses on representing victims of unfair collection tactics, predatory lending, hidden fees, auto fraud, defective products, and other marketplace injustice. The firm brings affirmative litigation (including class actions and significant individual claims) on behalf of consumers and also regularly represents consumers who have been sued on significant debts, including credit card debt, medical debt, auto loans, home loans, lines of credit, personal guarantees, etc. Dan joined Kakalec & Schlanger, LLP's predecessor firm (Schlanger & Schlanger) in 2007 after working as a staff attorney at Legal Aid Society of Cleveland, where he was a member of that organization’s consumer law unit, and helped to found a program focused on wage and hour litigation on behalf of low-income workers. Prior to that, Dan clerked for the Hon. R. Lanier Anderson, III on the United States Court of Appeals, 11th Circuit. Dan received his law degree from Harvard Law School, cum laude, in 2004. He received his undergraduate degree from Carleton College, magna cum laude, in 1994.

Octavio “Tav” Gomez is a managing partner at The Consumer Lawyers. Previously he served as the Head of the Consumer Protection Department of Morgan & Morgan. He has represented Thousands of across the Nation. Mr. Gomez has earned a reputation for aggressive and dedicated representation in complex civil litigation. As an attorney, he is constantly striving to become a more educated and informed legal professional, and readily attends legal seminars and conferences to ensure his continuing legal education. Tav Gomez and his consumer team at Morgan and Morgan were recognized as “The Consumer Protection Group of the year” by Law360. Originally from Colombia, South America, Mr. Gomez moved to the United States as a child. He was raised in in Fort Lauderdale, FL and attended Florida State University for his undergraduate studies. After earning his Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, he went on to earn his Juris Doctorate at the Florida State University College of Law. While attending law school, Mr. Gomez served as an intern with the Agency for Health Care Administration. After graduating law school, Mr. Gomez began working as a state prosecutor at the State Attorney’s office in Tampa, Florida. As a prosecuting attorney, he handled a multitude of felony cases, including habitual felony offender, 10-20-Life cases, grand theft, and trafficking cases. Mr. Gomez moved on from the State Attorney’s office in 2003 to become a named partner with Taracks, Gomez & Rickman, practicing primarily in the area of criminal defense and personal injury. During his tenure at the firm, he handled high profile cases including 1st-degree murder, vehicular homicide, complex mortgage fraud, extradition and tax fraud. Mr. Gomez has also handled civil and administrative cases involving the Federal Trade Commission, the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Internal Revenue Service. Mr. Gomez’s became the National Head of the Consumer Protection at Morgan & Morgan and focuses primarily on Federal Litigation, on the FCRA, FDCPA, TCPA, and other consumer issues. He uses this extensive knowledge and experience in the courtroom, all to the benefit of his clients. Mr. Gomez has developed an invaluable understanding of the discovery phase and trial preparation. He has represented high profile cases in both Federal and State Court. Mr. Gomez has been involved in some of the largest individual settlement agreements in FCRA and TCPA cases around the nation. He has a deep understanding of the policies and procedures employed by most banks and debt collectors and has mastered credit reporting as instituted by Congress in relation to the FCRA. Mr. Gomez is a member of the Florida Bar, the Georgia Bar, The Pennsylvania Bar and numerous Federal Courts throughout the Country. He is fluent in Spanish and has served as lead attorney in more than 60 jury trials and hundreds of bench trials, in both Federal and State Courts. With over 20 years of legal experience, he handles cases with strategic aggressiveness to maximize case results.

Craig has been a protecting consumers’ rights nationwide for more than 15 years, focusing his practice on lawsuits brought under consumer-protection statutes like the Fair Credit Reporting Act. He helps consumers enforce their rights regarding not only the inaccuracies that pervade credit and background-check reports, but also as to reporting companies’ and employers’ failures to abide by the law in selling and using those reports. He also has represented clients with problems relating to identity theft, mortgages, and disputes with auto sellers and finance companies. Litigating mainly class-action cases, Craig has represented thousands of consumers in successfully obtaining millions in benefits for class members and has been appointed class counsel by numerous courts across the country. He is licensed to practice law in four states, and maintains a national practice. As a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, Craig assists in educating other lawyers on all aspects of consumer litigation, from discovery, to raising and briefing key issues, and through settlement value and case resolution. He also serves as NACA’s Chair for Virginia, a position he has held since 2018. Before joining Consumer Litigation Associates, Craig practiced complex and class-action litigation for ten years at one of the country’s most-successful boutique firms. There, he developed extensive knowledge of the FCRA as well as class-action procedure, having handled nearly every aspect of consumer class actions from intake, to drafting complaints and discovery, successfully defeating dispositive motions, obtaining class certification, valuing cases, and negotiating settlements.

We focus our practice exclusively on consumer protection and class action law. We work on behalf of consumers whose rights had been violated by advertisers, banks and other lenders, auto dealers, credit bureaus, debt collectors and landlords. Consumer protection laws are designed to protect consumers like you from predatory lenders, overzealous debt collectors, careless credit bureaus and other harmful business practices. At our firm, we work to enforce existing consumer protection statutes to resolve consumer problems with: Unfair collection practices/debt collection harassment Unwanted telemarketing calls (robocalls) and spam texts Junk faxes Identity theft Credit reporting problems Mortgage problems

An experienced and skillful legal advocate, Jeremiah E. Heck is a founding partner at Luftman, Heck & Associates and has practiced law since 2003. Mr. Heck’s practice focuses primarily on consumer and real estate law. As an Ohio consumer law attorney, his practice is weighted most heavily on consumer law where he represents consumers’ rights, including claims based on unfair debt collection practice by creditors, settling claims with creditors, and claims against businesses for unfair or deceptive trade practices. Mr. Heck has been sought out for his knowledge of consumer law. He was interviewed and quoted by SmartMoney.com, a prominent online financial website, regarding his opinions on consumer rights issues. Mr. Heck’s results on behalf of consumers have been featured on national consumer law websites. Mr. Heck’s advocacy on behalf of consumers has earned him a reputation amongst opposing debt companies and law firms and his strategies have been discussed at their conferences. After graduating from Meigs High School in Southeastern Ohio, Mr. Heck joined the United States Army. He completed basic training as a combat engineer at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. Mr. Heck was stationed at Camp Howze, Korea in the 44th Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Division from 1993 to 1994. He was then stationed at Fort Hood, Texas from 1994 through 1996 in the 2nd Armored Division and later in the 4th Infantry Division while holding the rank of Sergeant. Mr. Heck served three years in the Ohio National Guard as a Combat Engineer and three years in the West Virginia National Guard as a Diesel Mechanic. After ten years in the Army, Mr. Heck ended his military career and began study at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio. He graduated in 2000 with a Bachelor’s of Arts Degree in Legal Communications and a minor in Business Administration. Mr. Heck then pursued a Juris Doctorate from Capital University, graduating summa cum laude in 2003. While in law school, Mr. Heck was on the Executive Board for Capital University’s Law Review as Research and Notes Editor. As a part of this Executive Board, a scholarship was started to honor the Most Outstanding Law Review member, which continues to be awarded annually to this day. He also was the Teaching Assistant for Constitution Law and Criminal Law, which lead to his passion for teaching. Mr. Heck currently enjoys teaching Real Estate Law for the Capital University Law School’s Paralegal Program and General Practice, a third year law class, for the Capital University Law School. Mr. Heck’s recent accomplishments are numerous and varied. He was honored as the 2010 Super Lawyers Ohio Rising Star Attorneys. No more than 2.5 percent of the lawyers in the state of Ohio are named to the list. Mr. Heck was the only consumer law attorney selected as a 2010 Super Lawyer Rising Star Attorney for the State of Ohio. Mr. Heck has also received this honor in 2011, 2012 and 2013. In 2010, Mr. Heck climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. In 2012, Mr. Heck had the opportunity to run and finish the Great Wall of China Marathon. Outside of work, Mr. Heck enjoys playing softball with the law firm team and golfing. He is an avid reader and proud owner of Kili, a Siberian husky. He often participates in charity races benefiting dogs and frequently contributes to dog-related causes.

We give you the leverage you need to make sound decisions when disputes rise to the level of litigation. By quickly and aggressively advancing your interests, we efficiently and effectively move cases toward conclusion, whether by pre-trial settlement, alternative dispute resolution, pre-trial judgment, or trial. Every minute and dime you spend on litigation is time and money taken away from what's important to you. Therefore, we actively prosecute your claims and defenses so that you can focus on what's most important to you.

Frank Kerney III is a managing partner of The Consumer Lawyers. Frank grew up in central New Jersey before moving to Florida to attend the University of South Florida. After graduation, Mr. Kerney attended Stetson University College of Law where he was inducted into the law school’s honors fraternity and awarded the William F. Blews pro bono service award at graduation. Prior to co-founding The Consumer Lawyers, Frank worked for Morgan & Morgan’s national consumer protection department where he represented consumers across the Untied States in a variety of cases, with a focus on consumer credit reporting and illegal debt collection. Frank has been named a “Rising Star” by Super Lawyers magazine every year since 2016. Only the top 2.5% of lawyers in each state receive this award. In 2020, Frank was named a Top Attorney Under 40 by Law360, and was one of only two Plaintiff’s lawyers to be included in that list. Frank has been interviewed as legal analyst by multiple publications, including Law360, ABC, NBC, and Fox, and stories about his cases have been featured all over the world.

Tony has over 28 years of litigation experience in state and federal courts across the United States and has handled or managed thousands of cases under the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Tony is a graduate of the University of Georgia where he received his undergraduate degree in political science and was inducted into the Pi Sigma Alpha political science honor society. During his tenure at UGA, Tony worked as an intern in the Governor’s Honor Program assisting with the prosecution of criminal cases in the Conasauga Circuit District Attorney’s office. After graduating from UGA, Tony attended law school at the Georgia State College of Law in Atlanta. During law school, Tony was an Associate Notes and Comments Editor on the Law Review and a recipient of the American Jurisprudence Award for Research, Writing, and Advocacy. He also worked as an intern for the Legal Clinic for the Homeless around the time of the Atlanta Olympics to survey the treatment of Atlanta’s homeless population leading up to the Olympic events. After graduating from law school in 1993, Tony worked as a litigation attorney for several Atlanta law firms in the areas of personal injury, products liability, and general litigation. His work included representing plaintiffs in personal injury cases and, subsequently, representing defendants through his insurance defense practice. Tony subsequently began his two decades long career in the field of consumer litigation, including representing a number of Fortune 500 clients and a national consumer reporting agency in individual and class action claims arising under the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act and other consumer protection statutes. Tony has been continuously rated AV-Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell for over 17 years.