[lucey2]

My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: MO

My husband received a summons to appear on 11/4 from LVNV (Sears). On his credit report (from 2 of 3, waiting on snail mail for the other) it states the date opened, date of status AND reported since date all as Oct 2003. I have been searching posts and googling and have come up with different answers to my questions.

I searched his name on Missouri case.net and it shows that LVNV has file suit against him 2 previous times. Both cases they were unable to locate my husband. Under "Disposition" the first one stated "Dismissed Without Prejudice" and the second, "Dismissed by Parties". I understand DWP means they can sue again but I cannot find any information explaining dismissed by parties.

First, is the SOL 5 or 10 years? Most places state CC are considered open account which is 5 I believe but I have read some posts disputing that in my state.

Second, if SOL does apply what steps need to be taken such as a motion to dismiss and is an attorney necessary OR if SOL does not apply isn't it way too late to try demanding they prove the debt?

I would appreciate any advice I could get. I posted this on another site only to find out they reply to the threads that are easiest to poke fun at and spend more time degrading the poster or arguing with other members than actually helping anyone. I hope this site isn't the same. I believe my questions are reasonable. Thank you.

[Mr. Knowitall]

I would expect that "Dismissed by Parties" means the parties stipulated to the dismissal.

If your husband can figure out how to write, submit and argue a motion for summary disposition, he is free to do so. Unfortunately I can't find a copy of the Missouri Court Rules for trial courts online, save for a partial, incomplete version and some local rules; he needs to read those to learn court procedures and filing requirements. They should have a copy in the county law library or an area law school law library.

For the statute of limitations, read this case, Capital One Bank v. Creed, 220 S.W.3d 874 (Mo. App. 2007). If the credit card company can produce a signed contract promising repayment, they arguably can establish a ten year limitations period. If not, that case suggests the limitations period is five years.

[bobby623]

Lucey,

I don't know if you've filed yet, but I advise you to get an attorney. I'm going through a similar thing with a CC company. I filed a Motion for Dismissal With Prejudice and went to court today for my first appearance. About my Motion for Dismissal, the judge said that I needed to "Call upon the other Party." I told him that I'd sent a copy of the Dismissal Motion to the other party via certified mail. He said, "Yes, but you also need to call upon the party." I don't understand what he meant by that--I'm assuming that I'm supposed to serve them or set a hearing date. I have no idea.

So there is more to it than meets the eye.

After doing extensive research online, I wrote all of my own court papers, my Answer to the Court, My Affirmative Defenses, My Discovery Request, My Motions, got them all notarized, sent certified copies to the Plaintiff's attorney, and submitted them to the court myself. I believe I did a fairly good job, considering that I'm not a lawyer or have any formal legal training, but when it came to actually being in court and having to address the judge and arguing with the Plaintiff, I felt totally lost and didn't know what to say or do.

The whole thing was so frustrating to me that I decided to get an attorney to represent me today. The guy I hired is a real jerk, and said he wouldn't even look at my counterclaim or read my entire documents that I submitted to the court, but, hopefully, he'll represent me better than I was representing myself. He said the first course of business in cases like this is to write an Answer and deny all of their claims and file a Discovery request--beause they have to prove their case, and hopefully, they won't have the needed material proof.

Also, I agree with the other poster who said that MO civil court procedure rules posted online is skimpy--definitely lacking, not a lot of helpful information for a Pro Se Defendant in Missouri. Be aware too that things are done differently in the St. Louis area so if you find legal information that pertains to that area, it may not pertain to the area where you live.

And the SOLs here are horrible, geared more for the creditor. Hopefully, they don't have a signed written agreement. If they do, yes, from what I've read, the SOL could be 10 years. I've also learned that Missouri is a "Cause of Action," state, meaning that the SOL starts ticking when the injury first occured to the other party. So if your first late payment was in, say: April 2004, the the SOL would be April 2009--assuming that it's not considered a written contract.

You could always pull your credit report to find out what the actual date of the last payment was. You can get free copies from all 3 major credit bureaus from AnnualCredit Report.com.

https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index.jsp

Good luck with your case. :-)

[divemedic]

Even so, if the creditor can prove that you were outside of the state, hiding from, or avoiding being served, the SOL can be tolled.