Not to rain on anyone's parade, but I still think it would be prudent to verify all this with a lawyer.
1. If there's already a judgment, the statute of limitations may not come into play.
2. It's not always that easy to find legal documents in court cases.
3. If a person never gets actual notice of a case, that does not mean they can't have a judgment entered against them.
@MITZIE wrote:ok so little update. maybe this can help others who have this prob. I got a free lawyer online in AZ. they found my case number from portfolio recovery. UGH! so they say they served me in 2015. i dont remember plus i moved. So i have to go to the court clerk and get a copy of the affidavit of service and see if the served the right address. if they did then i have to negotiate with these mororns. if it was served at the old address i can ask the judge to throw it out cause i wasnt properly served. So i will keep everyone posted to the next steps of this situation.
Under any circumstances you can ask the judge to throw it out if you never received notice of the case. The judge won't throw the case out, but might give you the chance to defend yourself this time.