Q: Sued by collection agency for old cc debt. They filed before statute ran out but I was served AFTER - still valid?
Substituted service performed one day before statute of limitations expired - mailed packet was postmarked the day of statute of limitations, received in mail 7 days after. Can I contact them directly to settle or should I bank on passing of statue of limitations? Thanks :)
A:
You have asked a very good question. The statute of limitations is concerned only with the date that the complaint was filed. The date of service has nothing to do with the timeliness of the lawsuit filing. Thus serving you after the statute has run does not provide any basis to knock out the lawsuit.
I suggest you review your options with one or more bankruptcy attorneys. Settlement is one of the options that you should discuss with a lawyer.
Yelena Gurevich and Gregory Mark Fitzgerald agree with this answer
A: The statute of limitations is not based on the service date. Therefore you should respond to the lawsuit because if you don't, it will become a judgment. Even if the statute of limitations has passed, the court will not know that unless you tell the court by contesting the case. Collections lawsuits can be resolved favorably.
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