If you are sued in court by a debt collection company in every state, you are legally entitled to assert legal defenses to the claims being made in the lawsuit. That is, you do NOT have to accept what the debt collection company is saying as true. You have a RIGHT to challenge what the company is saying and tell the TRUE story. This is how you win debt collection cases, and when this happens, the debt collection company gets NOTHING.
Some defenses are factual defenses like “this is not MY debt,” “I paid this debt,” or the “debt amount is not right because I was not credited for this payment or that payment.” There are also defenses that are created by laws — law-based defenses. Essentially, in your state, lawmakers enacted a law that says: “For this reason, the debt cannot be collected.” One example of a law-based legal defense is called “debt barred by the Statute of Limitations.” In this article, the debt collection defense attorneys at the Guardian Litigation Group explain what the legal defense of ‘barred by the Statute of Limitations” means.
What is a Statute of Limitations?
In every state, lawmakers have enacted various laws called Statutes of Limitations. There are different Statutes of Limitations for different types of cases, and each state has its own set of Statutes of limitations, which are often different. A well-known example is the Statute of Limitations for suing because of a car accident. Many states have a one-year Statute of Limitations for filing a lawsuit for injuries or damage caused by an auto accident, other states have two-year Statutes, and yet other states have three-year or longer Statutes of Limitation.
These Statutes create deadlines by which people must file their lawsuits. If they fail to file their lawsuits by those dates, then their lawsuit will be dismissed permanently.
Statutes of Limitations in Debt Collection Lawsuits
The same rules apply in debt collection lawsuits. However, what is complicated is that different types of debts have different Statutes of Limitations. For example, in California, the Statute of Limitations for a debt based on certain written contracts is four years from the date of the breach and two years from the date of a breach of an oral contract. For debt collected on UCC goods, the statute of limitations is four years. Four years is also the deadline for credit cards and store credit in California (if based on written agreements).
As noted, in debt collection lawsuits, Statutes of Limitations are legal defenses. So, if the case is filed in California to collect a debt where the breach — nonpayment — was ten years ago, the debtor’s attorney says to the judge: “Your Honor. Collection in this case is barred by the four-year Statute of Limitations.” If the facts are true and the judge agrees, the judge will say: “Case dismissed.” In other words, the debtor will win, and the creditor will receive NOTHING.
It is not always that simple which is why it is important to hire experienced debt collection defense attorneys.
Contact Experienced Debt Collection Defense Attorneys
For more information, contact the debtor’s rights and debt collection defense attorneys at Guardian Litigation Group, LLP. We are here to help if you are being sued for a debt you owe. Our compassionate lawyers will listen to your concerns and advise you throughout the debt collection lawsuit process. Debt collection lawsuits can have lasting repercussions, so please do not hesitate to contact our legal team so we can help you fight back. Our job is to vigorously defend your rights.
