My wife is being sued about an old debt - what can we do?

if the debt was incurred in Pennsylvania, then i guess you need to check out the laws of the state first, though i am not very sure about it. i am sure someone more knowledgeable will be soon here to help you. don't loose hope. you will get out of this very soon.

Welcome numericalMonk--

First, that $10 check is about to become very costly for you. There is a law in each state that sets a statute of limitations on debts. That law sets the amount of time that a creditor has to take legal action on collecting a debt. Under Missouri law, that statute of limitations is 4 years for sale of goods, which is what this debt would be. But, when you make a payment, it restarts the clock on the debt. So, if you didnt make that $10 payment last year, this debt would be outside the statute of limitations and you could use that as your defense....and the case would be dismissed because of it. There is no way for a collection agency to legally bypass an expired statute of limitations once you bring it as your defense.

The big issue right now is that you were not served a summons. This should have happened already. I am curious about a few things, if you can provide some more details we can give you better answers as to what to watch out for. First, what is the name of the plaintiff in the suit? Each collection agency has different tricks they like to use and we can prepare you for what this one uses. Also, about this solicitation letter, what company sent it, and what did it say?

OK, the law in Missouri is what applies because that is where the suit was filed. So, in MO, they are required to serve the summons personally, meaning that a process server will come to your door and serve you the papers, or leave them with anyone over the age of 15 at that address. The only other way they can legally serve you this summons, if they have your location, is by certified mail, and you would have to sign for that so you would know about it.

Missouri law allows for other methods of service, but in order to use them the plaintiff would have to certify to the court that they couldnt find you. If you have lived at that same address for a while they would know where you were, or be able to locate you, usually. So, under normal circumstances that is out the window, unless there is a reason you can think of why they couldnt find you. If they cannot find you, the court will allow them to publish notification of the lawsuit in the local newspaper, once a week for four weeks. If youre living in a relative's house, for example, there may not be a record of you living there "officially".

But at this point, today being 2/19, it sounds to me like you would have two days after today to answer a summons. If you have lived at the same address where that collection agency contacted you before, when you sent that payment, or if the current collection agency has sent you any letters in the mail, then they know where to locate you, and service should have been attempted at that point. Sounds to me like they simply didnt bother. have you had any communication with the plaintiff in this case? Has that collection agency contacted you at all?

OK, as for the case, it is not legal for a plaintiff to not serve you. What will happen is that a default judgment will be entered against you because you did not go before the court in this matter. A lot of CA's get old debts that are outside the SOL and then sue on them like this, hoping that you wont show up so they can get a default judgment. A default judgment can always be appealed, and in this case I would do just that on the grounds of improper service. You can send notification to the court that you were never served summons and that you move for dismissal based on the grounds of improper service.

If you get to a position where this plaintiff is continuing collection of the debt, you need to request validation of the debt, including the age of the debt. It is possible that they dont even have the proof of the debt, and if they dont, then they are legally required to stop trying to collect from you. I dont advocate skipping out on legitimate debts--the validation is to show what their records are and also to prove that the amount they claim you owe is legitimate. If you request validation and they do not provide proper validation to you, then you will have a defense if they try to sue you on the debt again. But for now, you have two options--

1--dont do anything, and wait for the plaintiff to get a default judgment against you, then file a motion to vacate judgment on the grounds of improper service

2--send notification to the court that you learned of the suit by solicitation from a mediation firm and that you were never served, and move for dismissal on the grounds of improper service

Thanks for the wonderfully detailed reply!
Quote:

--My wife is being sued about an old debt - what can we do?--

Oh, I don't know. Maybe just pay a debt you rightfully owe and even you admit it.

I'll take a gander at this one. I'm bored and don't have to work until later.

I don't think the problem is not paying, I think the problem is coming up with money that isn't readily available. And since they are going to try and work out a settlement agreement I can't see this going unresolved for too long of a time.

I appreciate that, FYI.

Exactly. We know the debt is essentially valid; she never planned to default, but mitigating circumstances (including the death of her mother) got in the way.

We've been trying to get a decent momentum going in life so that we can reliably address issues like this; just didn't get it together quickly enough.

I have recieved letters fron NCO, myself. I live in PA. The leters, I have recieved, were on old debts, that are more than 9 or 10 years old...had 2 of them, for different things. I KNOW the SOL have ran out, for both. And, according to my Credit Report, they BOTH will 'fall off' this year. Let me ask you, 'No Nonsense Collector'..how can you be 'negative' about someone's situation? I'm sure you had debt, in the past, that you owed, too. This forum is to HELP people, not, put them down.

sd--dont even pay that one any attention. he's just a lonely debt collector that trolls in here because he doesnt have anything better to do.

Ok, so they do know where you live. If they try to serve in person and no one is home, they have the ability to send it certified mail in your state, and they would have to. the thing is this--the plaintiff must have the defendant served if the defendant is located....period. Thats the law. If they cant find you, that is one thing. But this plaintiff has sent you mail so they know where you are. It is only reasonable to think that they would have sent any certified letter to the same address.

Improper service carries weight because it means that the plaintiff broke the law. It means that they tried to pull a fast one, and hope no one was looking. It carries weight because you have the right to due process, and their action of not having you served takes away any chance you have of getting due process. So it is a pretty big deal. Now, I am not an attorney, and I cannot speak as to the result of the two options I listed, but I can say that the court is not supposed to allow a plaintiff to get away with not serving summons on you like that. I would think that improper service should be sufficient to put a stop to THIS case. It doesnt mean that they couldnt sue you again unless it is dismissed "with prejudice". The goal at this point should be to get this case dismissed, because of their refusal to follow the law, and then work on a settlement offer that you can pay back.

I guess you're right, Skydivr'......seems like the 'troll thing' to do, on his part. It's not that people, on this forum DON'T want to pay their debts. Obviously..if we din't, we wouldn't be on here. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Thanks again for the responses. This thread has put our minds at ease quite a bit.

numerical monk..I would like to say welcome!.. You will find some very wonderful people on this site who will indeed help you..
and I congratulate you for at least having a plan in mind for the momentum of responsibility..so many people out there are so currently overwhelmed with simply putting food on table and keeping a roof over their heads..that you are a step ahead of many others..indeed!