Milwaukee shuttered dental office must stop collection efforts
Milwaukee shuttered dental office must stop collection efforts
It's been years since Dr. Molar Family Dentistry closed its doors. In March, the legal battle over its collection notices finally came to an end.
MILWAUKEE - It's been years since Dr. Molar Family Dentistry closed its doors. In March, the legal battle over its collection notices finally came to an end.
Thousands of former patients are impacted by the court's decision.
Disputed debt
What we know:
Randy Luedtke in Milwaukee has no complaints about his dental care at Dr. Molar Family Dentistry. He says his dentist, Dr. Loc Nguyen, even helped him cut treatment costs.
"He said, "well, if you want to pay cash, I can give you a better deal. You don't have to go through the insurance company," said Luedtke. "He truly was a good guy."
Randy Luedtke
Luedtke says he stopped visiting Dr. Molar's office at 93rd and Bluemound after Dr. Nguyen became incapacitated. Nguyen died in 2020.
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In 2021, Luedtke got a collection notice for about $450.
"It was confusing," said Luedtke. "How can they come (after me) after I paid in full?"
Luedtke showed Contact 6 bank records that he says proves he did pay the bill. His records show a cashed check in 2018 for $450.
Collection notices sent years ago
The backstory:
Back in 2021, Contact 6 visited two former locations connected to Dr. Molar's business and found empty buildings. At the 93rd and Bluemound location, an oral surgeon had already moved into the space.
Dr. Molar's registered agent in 2021, Nancy Wilson, sent a statement at the time that said, "These are collections that are in the normal course of business for unpaid bills."
The legal battle
What we know:
Attorney Nathan DeLadurantey filed a class action against Dr. Molar Family Dentistry to stop all collection efforts.
"(Dr. Molar) were really good, back in the day, about offering services to people that needed it and then working with them," said DeLadurantey. "The problem is, the back-end on their books were atrocious."
Nathan DeLadurantey
DeLadurantey says that Dr. Molar's owners were trying to collect on bills that were already paid, were too old to collect, or were written-off.
"It came home to light that their books were so messed up that none of it was any good," DeLadurantey told Contact 6.
Dr. Molar enters receivership
Dr. Molar Family Dentistry eventually filed for a receivership, which is an alternative to bankruptcy. The receiver's job was to liquidate Dr. Molar's assets and pay off creditors.
At one point during proceedings, Dr. Molar's receiver petitioned the court to sell its accounts to a new collection agency.
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"I was able to have the court require the receiver to notify every single person who they'd been trying to collect on so they could weigh in," said DeLadurantey.
More contested collections
DeLaurantey says about 3,700 people got notices. One of them was Stacy Rhoads in Waukesha. Rhoads say she and her daughter visited Dr. Molar Family Dentistry, but she insists her bills were all paid.
"I was really careful to make sure that everything was covered by insurance before we did anything," said Rhoads.
Stacy Rhoads
Permanent injunction
Rhoads wrote a letter to the court, along with other former patients. In March, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge J.D. Watts found criteria had been met to issue an injunction prohibiting "any further collection effort."
Dr. Molar had no representation as its receivership had ended.
DeLadurantey says he didn't make any money from the case, but he considers it one of this most satisfying.
Dr. Molar's former receiver, Seth Dizard, told Contact 6 he could not help Contact 6 get in contact with Dr Molar's owners for comment on this report. Contact 6 was unable to reach them.
What to know
What you can do:
In Wisconsin, debt collectors have up to six years to collect on a debt. If you get a collection notice and don't recognize the bill, send a letter disputing the debt within 30 days. Send the letter by certified mail and request a return receipt. The collection company must sent written verification of the debt.
The Source: Information for this report comes from Milwaukee County Circuit Court records, plus collection notices and bank records provided to Contact 6 by former patients. Information also comes from interviews with Nathan DeLadurantey, Randy Luedtke and Stacy Rhoads.