Delaware or Georgia SOL for Calvary Portfolio Services suing on Bank of America credit card
Hi Michael, I have received a summons for a lawsuit on an old Bank of America card. The collection agency is Calvary Portfolio Services. I'm being sued in Georgia. The last time I made a payment was 8/7/2009. They filed the lawsuit on 4/18/2013. I was reading that the statue of limitations in Delaware is 3 years. If that's the case, my affirmative defense could be the lawsuit is barred due to statue of limitations.
I was served with a packet that obtained the claim, an old credit card statement showing the balance, and a bill of sale between Calvary and Bank of America. I have 30 days to answer so I'm gathering all my resource to fight this. Once I finish writing my answer I'm going to send a certified letter to the attorney with discovery. It's funny I'm in school and I just took Business Law this past semester so they picked the right one! ;) Thanks!
What state does the statue of limitations apply, in the state of the card (Delaware) or my home state of Georgia? Also, another defense of lack of standing since I never entered into a contract with Calvary?
—James
I have read a few cases over the years that make challenges for which states statute of limitations would apply. Home state of the issuer has been used by people in the past. Hitting which states SOL would apply is certainly a logical chronology to follow. How prepared are you to cover all of the ground work on raising this issue? The reason I ask is that there are many other defenses you can bring to this that have fairly consistently resulted in voluntary dismissal from debt buyers like Calvary Portfolio. The generic contract they provided being just one.
Challenging which states SOL applies to your credit card debt.
Have you found a case in Georgia that raised this issue successfully?
I am seeing a barely perceptible turning of a tide where buyers are working with the collection attorney networks they use to bring more evidence of a debt to the table when suing. Some of that tide is motivated by state law changes. Some of it due to the new supervisory and regulatory oversight the CFPB has over larger participants in the debt collection industry. But this tide is nearly imperceptible still. The general denials followed by comprehensive and on point discovery requests are still leading to successes in getting debt buyer cases dismissed.
My point here is that leading with the SOL issue from the governing contract state first, may not be necessary if you do not have the time to dedicate to that, followed by other strategies that are more proven.
Have you connected with an experienced collection defense attorney in Georgia to discuss this, and the SOL angle you are looking at pursuing?
About Michael BoveeMichael started CRN in 2004 with a mission to provide people in need with detailed debt and credit help and education. Michael has participated as an expert panelist in federal consumer protection rule making, collaborated on state law changes governing debt consolidation, has worked as an expert witness in court matters related to the debt relief industry, and is a regular contributor to several personal finance websites.
