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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Posts
    2

    Default Statute of Limitations Expired

    My question involves collection proceedings in the State of: Wisconsin

    A collection agency filed a small claims suit against me for past debt. They filed on Aug.
    2. I have a letter from them saying the last payment made was Aug. 22, 2005. According to that date the statute of limitations would expire Aug. 22 of this year. Do they have to prove a payment was made? The paperwork they sent me with any proof of payment was a payment made dated months before this Aug. 22 date they pulled from somewhere. Do you think I have a chance of the court throwing the case out basing it on the statute of limitations has expired? Court appearance is not until Sept. 2, 2011.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Posts
    19,901

    Default Re: Statute of Limitations Expired

    Actually, I'm not sure of Wisconsin, but in some states (like California) the action doesn't occur until 30 days after the last payment (i.e., the first missed payment after the last one you made), not that it matters to you here. You will have to assert the suit is not timely by indicating when you believe the last payment is. It's not a "beyond a reasonable doubt" thing in civil court, just a preponderance of the evidence that one side's view is more likely than the other. The court date is immaterial as long as the suit is filed before the SOL is up.

  3. #3

    Default Re: Statute of Limitations Expired

    I think that you can compel discovery in order to garner all of the information they have about when they last received payment from you. If it was just your word against theirs as to when the last payment was made, no one would ever successfully dismiss an action on statute of limitations grounds, as there would be lots of dishonest owners of debt who would claim that the last payment was made at some point that would allow the suit to have been filed in a timely manner. Since you can't prove that you didn't make a payment, i.e., you can't prove a negative, there has to be some way to force both sides to produce relevant information in order to determine when the last payment was made. That process is called discovery. Discovery is an aspect of the litigation process. You should probably talk to a lawyer. Some will give you a free consultation.

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