Clarifying SOL jurisdiction and when to PFD

[kgwinn]

Ok, I'm confused about which SOL applies. I've read posts saying its the state where you live, but then I've seen others saying its the state where the company holding the debt is located.

I have 4 collection accounts with Portfolio based on old credit card charge offs. 3 are with Capital one and 1 is a Dress Barn account with Comenity bank. All date back to fall of 2012. I live in AZ which has a brutal 6 year SOL, but I believe the companies in question are located in states with 3 year SOL. Am I under the guillitine for another 3 years, or does where THEY are change things?

Also, how likely that sending a PFD letter to any of them is going to get me sued inthe next 3 years? I really need to get rid of these things if I can, as I'm trying to buy a house. But I don't really fancy having to deal with 4 lawsuits, so what kind of realistic risk am I taking?

[gdale6]

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@kgwinn wrote:

Ok, I'm confused about which SOL applies. I've read posts saying its the state where you live, but then I've seen others saying its the state where the company holding the debt is located.

I have 4 collection accounts with Portfolio based on old credit card charge offs. 3 are with Capital one and 1 is a Dress Barn account with Comenity bank. All date back to fall of 2012. I live in AZ which has a brutal 6 year SOL, but I believe the companies in question are located in states with 3 year SOL. Am I under the guillitine for another 3 years, or does where THEY are change things?

Also, how likely that sending a PFD letter to any of them is going to get me sued inthe next 3 years? I really need to get rid of these things if I can, a as I'm trying to buy a house. But I don't really fancy having to deal with 4 lawsuits, so what kind of realistic risk am I taking?

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If its the OC they can use their state of incorporation, state you previously lived in or the state you are now in and also sue you in these jurisdictions. For a JDB they have to sue you in the county you are currently living so SOL would be current state of residence unless they have borrowing statutes that let you import another states SOL. You would only import if the period is shorter in a state that the OC can sue in.

If you are offering a PFD it means you have the money to pay so a lawsuit is most likely not going to be filed, it costs money to do so and why bother if the debtor is willing to pay but if they refuse the PFD and go ahead and sue just pay them before it goes to trial. These will have to be settled in order to close on your house.

[RobertEG]

The SOL that wil apply should legal action be filed will be the prevailing SOL in the jurisdiction where the action is filed.

A court must apply the SOL that is in effect in their jurisdiction.

If the action is brought by a debt collector, then FDCPA 811 specifically authorizes them to bring legal action in either the jurisdiction of current residency of the consumer or i the jurisdiction where the contract creating the debt was signed (unless the debt is secured by real estate), so the prevailing SOL would not be known until they filed their action.

For practical reasons, the debt collector will usually file in the current state of residency of the consumer.  That facilitates certain administrative requirments, such as servide of notice, and also precludes any need to obtain domestication of any judgment that they may be awarded from a court outside of your current state of residency.

When a consumer moves to a new jurisdiction, the SOL of their prior state is often "incorporated" into the prevailing SOL by specific provision in the SOL statute of your new state.  Many states have explicit provisions that will incorportate the SOL period of a prior state of residency if it is shorter than the period in your currrent state.

Check the SOL in your current state for any such provisions.