My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Washington
My wife and I were served with a civil summons recently over some very old medical bills that we had assumed a done deal and forgotten about. We have no paperwork, and I believe that if the debt is still valid, it is very near past the statute of limitations (7 years) and we're aware of no attempt whatsoever to collect on it prior to filing suit. It's a fairly sizable amount of money, and there's no way I'm paying it without a darn good explanation.
I had an attorney draft a response and notice of appearance (just that, we're going pro se so far with this) denying the charges, and filed it with the court and mailed a copy to the plaintiff's attorney. We also mailed to the attorney a FDCPA demand letter requesting proof (within 30 days) of the debt and that it is not past the statute of limitations. We mailed both letters on 02/28/2011, and as of 05/10/2011, we've received no response and nothing has been filed with the court.
What I believe this means is that the debt is now effectively wiped, whether or not it was ever valid, but I'm not sure how to proceed. The court case remains active.
It occurs to me that maybe I should file something with the court. Can the court now hand down a judgement in my favor? Should I file something, such as a motion to dismiss, or something else? How long would it generally take for the case to simply expire if I simply do nothing?

