Less Likely To Be Sued?

[Anonymous]

Are the chances of being sued for charged off credit card debt less likely with extremely old cards?  Old, meaning they were opened greater than 15 yars ago.  Just wondering what kind of records are necessary to file suit and how likley those would be available being so old.  Certainly there are shady collectors that will file suit anyways but was wondering.  Any thoughts?

[rmduhon]

When the cards were opened wouldn't have any bearing on whether or not the company decides to sue. If the owed amount is small I'd say it would be less likely than a large amount but you never know.

[RobertEG]

Every state has a statute of limitations on debt, after which a creditor cannot initiate a civil complaint to recover the debt.

The primary basis of SOL on debt is the recognition that documentation and proofs become more difficult with passage of time, and thus avoid issues of proofs on very old debts by preventing initiation of civil action after a set period.

[MrTom]

As others said, age of the account does not matter.

A 80 year old grandpa who had a credit card for 62 years can be sued.

If you stop paying, the creditor has x years to sue you from your last payment date.

x being what your states SOL requires.

Know your rights of if or how you can be sued:

1. Know your states SOL. 
   Don't confuse this with the date the entry is removed from your credit report. 
2. Never, never never admit, promise to pay, or even pay a penny if the SOL is expired or you are unsure if it has.
   There is nothing illegal trying to collect a 20, 30, 40, 50 ..etc year old debt.  Suing you is illegal on something this old.......
   BUT ignore the Never, never, never above and do one of those, your SOL clock reset it self and you can be sued.
3. Use the law to your advantage during a rebuild
   I'm not saying don't pay, but use it to help set your account priorities

[Anonymous]

Doesn't the creditor have to provide the actual agreement showing where you 'signed' and agreed to the terms of the credit agreement? 15 year old paper records seems like they may be harder to find than an electronically approved agreement.

[MrTom]

Technically you sign the agreement everytime you need to sign for a purchase.

[RobertEG]

If a credtor sues you for a delinquent debt, you can raise an SOL defense with the court.

You assert expiration of SOL, along with your proofs.

If you dont have a copy of the records showing the relevant date of running of the SOL period, you can request records under the pre-trial discovery process.

It is your initial burden to establish that you meet the requirments for expiration of the SOL.

The creditor can then rebut.

The judge then makes the actual decision as to expiration of SOL.

[rmduhon]

@RobertEG OP isn't asking about being sued outside of SOL, he's asking about being sued for an account opened 15 years ago, thinking that the OC/CA wouldn't be able to provide documents with his signature to open the account.

[Anonymous]

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@rmduhon wrote:
@RobertEG OP isn't asking about being sued outside of SOL, he's asking about being sued for an account opened 15 years ago, thinking that the OC/CA wouldn't be able to provide documents with his signature to open the account.

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This.

[RobertEG]

A debt that is greater than 15 years old will be outside of the SOL in most, if not all, states.

The post emphasizes debts greater than 15 years old.

I raise the issue of SOL, as the legal basis for SOL statutes is the recognition that parties normally do not retain records for such extended periods, and thus removes any issue of evidentiary consideration of proofs when the documentation is old.  Old is defined by each state, and almost invariably shorter than 15 years.

If the event that an old debt is still within the state SOL period, then the plaintif must meet an initial burden of proof of their complaint.

It is the initial burden of the plaintiff, if suing on a debt, to establish a reasonable basis for their suit.

The defendant can motion for dismissal if the plaintiff fails to meet their initial burden of proof.

If the plaintiff lacks any documentation, then dismissal will likely occur without any further need by the consumer to prove their defense.

Whether the plaintiff meets that initial burden is up to the judge.  An account agreement is normally required as a preliminary to establishing any debt exists.