Protester Believes He Was Thwarted By Judge in Arbitration Talks with Collection Agency

Sometimes, when the tide of justice (or the wave of justice or the lagoon of justice — look: there are a LOT of justice metaphors and I just got back from the beach and it turns out I’m kind of amazing at the beach so: beach) doesn’t wash your way, the only thing left for you to do is to put on a dirty American flag t-shirt and wave a sign.

Meet Aaron Maze, resident of Yuma, Arizona, and non-owner of a working washing machine. His story starts back in 2006, when Maze quit the military, after a 14-year career, to be closer to his children.

Maze accumulated around $9,000 in relocation costs on his U.S. Bank-issued Visa card. Then, around Christmas time of 2008, Maze took the calculated risk of skipping a credit card payment in order to buy some presents for his children.

That risk backfired.

To refresh your memories, 2008 is sort of smackdab in the middle of when that whole housing bubble thing was in the middle of voluptuously collapsing all over the economy. Risks that might not have been so risky in, say, 2005 — i.e., skipping a credit card payment in order to spend more money you don’t really have — were all of sudden made entirely of 100% risk by 2008. And then, by 2009, Maze learned what that risk cost him.

“I missed one payment not thinking it was going to be that big of deal,” Maze told the Yuma Sun. “But then on the next statement, after missing only one payment in 20 months, the credit card company raised my interest rate from 14.9 percent to 29.9 percent.”

That was only the first domino drop, though, in the repercussions. Maze’s Visa card had a $13,000 maximum credit limit. He was carrying a $10,000 balance. But skipping that payment not only raised the interest rate on the card, it also convinced Visa to lower his credit limit, too. He was now paying 29.9 percent on a card with a maximum balance that was less than the balance he was carrying.

Then, U.S. Bank sold Maze’s debt to a Texas-based collection agency, Riverwalk Holdings. They decided to sue Maze for $13,000. Maze decided to blame U.S. Bank for “set[ting] me up for failure.” (I’m still not entirely clear how. By creating Christmas? By forcing Maze to purchase presents for his children? By encouraging him to live beyond his means? By suggesting, “You know what’s a GREAT idea? Not making credit card payments!”?)

Yuma Superior Court Justice Maria Elena Cruz appointed an arbitrator so the two sides — Maze and Riverwalk Holdings — could come to an agreement. “Immediately [Riverwalk Holdings] asked the arbitrator for a summary judgment, which [the arbitrator] denied. Then the company asked for a 60-day delay so they could prepare their case,” Maze told the Sun. “I thought everything was going according to the way the system works. So since I had 60 days, I thought I was in a good position to offer a deal to the company so we could settle it out of court.”

Let’s remember that Maze also thought he was in a good position to skip a credit card payment in order to buy presents. No reason. Just thought it might be neat to remember that.

Maze offered Riverwalk $7,000, which, according to Maze, they accepted. However, while this was going on, Judge Cruz went ahead and awarded Riverwalk the original $13,000 judgment. And that’s sort of where Maze is stuck.

Aaron Maze in front of Yuma Courthouse (photo by Darren Daronco/Yuma Sun)

Maze says he’s living paycheck to paycheck, and cannot afford the $13,000 judgment. “They’re taking food out of my kids’ mouths. They’re taking vacations from my children.” So, what is this paycheck-to-paycheck guy’s best option?

Protesting, with signs like “Judge Cruz is Bad for Yumans,” outside of the courthouse every weekday morning — presumably before he has to go to work — through November 2012 in order to thwart Judge Cruz’s reelection chances.

“I’ve got food, water and a charger for my phone, so I am ready to go,” he said.