WHY HIRE PERLMAN DEPETRIS CONSUMER LAW?
Experienced New Jersey Consumer Law Attorneys
Together, Lee M. Perlman and Paul DePetris have over
40 years’ experience working on New Jersey consumer law cases. Before forming Perlman DePetris Consumer Law,
both Lee and Paul had extensive experience running their own consumer law
practices. After years collaborating
together on New Jersey consumer cases, Lee and Paul formed Perlman DePetris
Consumer Law to expand their consumer law services. Lee and Paul also continue to maintain their
own practices.
Lee M. Perlman
Lee M. Perlman graduated from American University in 1990 from the School of Public 
Affairs in Washington D.C. with a concentration in Government. After serving as
an assistant campaign manager in a United States Congressional Campaign in
Boston, Lee left to begin Thomas M. Cooley Law School in Lansing, Michigan.
After law school, Lee worked as a judicial intern for an Atlantic County New
Jersey Superior Court Judge in the Chancery Division for one semester.
Lee
is a member of the bars of the State of New Jersey, the U.S. District Court District
of New Jersey, the U.S. Court of Appeals 3d Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Lee
formed his law practice in 1994. Shortly thereafter was the
inception of Perlman and Block with Lee as the founding and managing partner.
That partnership dissolved in 1996 and Lee has been in solo practice ever
since. With three associates, Lee focuses on practicing consumer law, including
in the areas of consumer class actions, consumer bankruptcy, collection
defense, Fair Credit Reporting Act and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act cases.
He and his staff of ten oversee three offices and file well over 500 consumer
cases per year in New Jersey.
Lee
is a member of the National Association of Consumer Advocates, an attorney
member of the District Ethics Committee of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, in
addition to being a longstanding member of several county bar associations and
serving as a panelist at several CLE seminars. Most recently, Lee has been a
guest commentator on Fox News discussing identify theft and the proliferation
of credit card usage on college campuses, has appeared as a guest commentator
on the national Fox Business Network and serves as Attorney Instructor for the
Jersey Bankruptcy Law Foundation. Recently, Lee testified before the New Jersey
Legislature in support of a bill aimed at curbing abusive debt collectors in
New Jersey.
Lee
appeared on the radio program Legal Perspectives on 1210 am CBS Radio as a
guest attorney answering consumer questions about bankruptcy, debt and mortgage
related concerns.
Lee
received many awards and other forms of recognition in the legal
community. In 2010, Legal Services of
New Jersey presented Lee with a Justice Medal of Honor for outstanding pro
bono service. Since 2016 both SJ Magazine and South Jersey Magazine
have regularly named Lee as both as Awesome Attorney and Top Attorney
respectively. Lee maintains a 10 rating on Avvo.com. In 2019 he was selected as
a Super Lawyer in the area of consumer bankruptcy, a designation only shared by
2.5% of attorneys nationally.
Lee
authored the article Bankruptcy Reform Bills, Courier Post, September,
1998.
Lee
provided lectures at the following legal classes and seminars and testified or
served as a panelist at the following proceedings:
- Guest
Lecturer, “Introduction to Law”, Cumberland County College, 1998 – 1999- Testified
before the New Jersey Legislature in support of a bill aimed at curbing abusive
debt collectors in New Jersey, June 2009
- Panelist
speaking on mortgage servicing abuse in bankruptcy at the NJ Institute of
Continuing Legal Education, Summer 2008
- Presenter
at Camden County Bar Association Seminar on FDCPA, April 2009
- Presenter
at Pennsylvania Bankruptcy Conference, 2011
- Lecturer
at Rowan University Business School on financial management, 2011
- Presenter
at 16th Annual Bankruptcy Conference, Burlington/Camden Bar, January 2009
- Presenter
RRG, short sale symposium. January 2018.
- Attorney
presenter and panelist, RRG Boot Camp/Short Sale Symposium, January 2019.
- Testified
Lee
and his wife Kristen live in Haddonfield with their daughter Kate and son
Jared.
When
Lee is not working he enjoys swimming, traveling internationally with his
family when it permits, reading and comedy.
Paul
DePetris
Paul DePetris is a 1994 graduate of Temple University School of Law and 1991 graduate of Rutgers University. Paul is a member of the bars of the State of New Jersey, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Paul’s experience with consumer law began while in Law School as a law clerk for the law firm of Loveland, Garrett, Russell & Young. At that time, Paul researched consumer law issues involving the purchase of a used car. As an attorney, Paul began handling consumer cases in 1996 while an associate with a law firm focusing on lemon law and car fraud cases. Paul handled fraud, lemon law, breach of warranty and breach of contract cases in the District of New Jersey, the Court of Common Pleas of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. In 1998, Paul worked for a creditor’s rights firm, where he defended New Jersey fraud, lemon law, breach of warranty, breach of contract, repossession and Fair Debt Collection Practices Act cases.
In 2004, Paul opened his own office, focusing on consumer and commercial
litigation and a wide variety of civil appeals.
Paul successfully recovered millions of
dollars in settlements and judgments for consumers and businesses as well as
many replacement vehicles.
Paul handled the following types of cases:
- Boat repair lawsuits
- Boat storage lawsuits
- Car advertising fraud
lawsuits - Car parts sales lawsuits
- Car repair fraud lawsuits
- Car sales fraud lawsuits
- Car service contract lawsuits
- Car storage lawsuits
- Car towing
lawsuits - Car warranty lawsuits
- Lemon law lawsuits
Paul worked on consumer cases against
manufacturers and distributors such as the following:
- American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
- Audi USA
- BMW
- Bombardier
- Chrysler Corporation
- DaimlerChrysler Corporation
- FCA US, LLC
- Ford Motor Company
- General Motors Company
- Hyundai Motor America
- Jaguar
- Kia Motors America, Inc.
- Mazda
- Mercedes Benz USA
- Porsche
- Saab
- Saturn
- Toyota Motor Sales, USA
- Volkswagen of America
Paul handled cases against automotive
dealerships, automotive repair shops, marinas, retail businesses selling a
variety of goods and services and service contract businesses selling or
issuing service contracts. Paul also
handled cases against various banks and lending institutions.
Believing that the best informed consumer attorney is
one that is experienced prosecuting and defending consumer cases, Paul has
experience handling New Jersey consumer lawsuits for the following types of
businesses:
- Banks and lenders issuing car loans
- Businesses buying automobiles
- Car dealers
- Car parts dealers and
junkyards - Marinas
Paul has significant consumer class action experience, having qualified
as a class action counsel in the following cases: (1) Vitale V. P.J. Fitzpatrick,
INC., United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Camden),
Case No. 1:14-cv-03303-JEI-AMD a class action involving consumer
claims against a national home improvement contractor; (2) Thomas v. Solvay Specialty Polymers USA, LLC, United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Camden),
Case No.1:14-cv-01870 – a class action involving a chemical
manufacturer; (3) Kabana v. CARS
Protection Plus, Inc., Unn-L-2946-15 – a class action involving consumer
claims against an automotive service contract company; (4) Brody And O’Hara v. Borough of Brooklawn and Borough of Bellmawr,
L-3104-15 - a class action involving landlords’ claims against municipalities
relative to an illegal landlord licensing ordinance; (5) New Jersey Higher Education
Student Assistance Authority v. Hiorth, et al., Mer-L-1873 &
Mer-L-1874 – a class action involving debtors’ Fair Debt Collection Practices
Act claims against a collection law firm and collection attorney; (6) Ganz v. Borough of Union Beach, L-432-17
- a class action involving landlords’ claims against municipalities relative to
an illegal landlord licensing ordinance; (7) Kahn v. Barclay Glen At Crosskeys, LLC, GLO-L-735-16 – a class action involving
tenants’ claims of a landlord’s violations of the Tenants’ Rights Act and the
Consumer Fraud Act; (8) Pepperess v.
Borough of Penns Grove, SLM-L-11-17 - a class action involving landlords’
claims against municipalities relative to an illegal landlord licensing
ordinance; and (9) Green v. Mitchell L.
Morgan Management, Inc., et al., a
class action involving tenants’ claims against landlords and their property
manager about alleged overcharges of attorney’s fees for evictions.
Paul was also granted a fee award in the following multi-district litigation class action: In re: Rust-Oleum Restore Mktg., Sales Practices and Prods. Liab. Litig., Case No. 1:15-cv-01364, MDL No. 2602 venued in the United States District Court, Northern District Of Illinois, Eastern Division – a class action against the manufacturer of a deck restoration product.
Paul has significant courtroom
experience. Paul mediated, arbitrated
and tried nonjury and jury trials in the Superior Court of New Jersey involving
consumer disputes - prosecuting or defending those actions. Paul also served as a court appointed
mediator, mediating many consumer disputes. In addition to physically appearing
before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (Trenton
and Camden Vicinages), United States District Court for the Eastern District of
Pennsylvania and the Court of Common Pleas (Philadelphia and Northampton
Counties), Paul made appearances before the Superior Court of New Jersey in 20
of the 21 Counties of New Jersey, before the Superior Court of New Jersey,
Appellate Division and before the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
Paul has extensive appellate practice
experience, having worked on over 50 appeals.
Many of those appeals involved New Jersey consumer cases.
Paul is the author of New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act & Forms (New Jersey Law Journal
Books, published annually since 2007) – a publication exceeding 2,000 pages
used as a reference by attorneys statewide.
Paul is also the author of the following legal articles: Learned Professionals, Licensed
Semiprofessionals and the Consumer Fraud Act:
The Origins of the Licensed Professionals Doctrine (New Jersey
Lawyer, Oct. 2008);and Liability For Consumer Fraud In Real Estate
Transactions (New Jersey Law Journal, March 18, 2009).
Paul taught at least 10 New Jersey consumer
law continuing legal education and educational courses to over 600 attorneys
and non-attorneys, including seminars given in Camden, Gloucester, Mercer,
Middlesex, Morris and Salem counties.
Paul is often called on by other law firms
located inside and outside the State of New Jersey to assist them with
answering New Jersey consumer law questions.
Many law firms hired Paul to help them handle New Jersey consumer law
cases.