Understanding Debt Lawsuit Defenses

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0:20 What are defenses?
0:43 Affirmative defenses and why they matter
1:16 Common defenses in debt lawsuits
1:44 Statute of limitations as affirmative defense (example)
2:18 How to find your state's statute of limitations
2:59 Common affirmative defenses in a debt collection lawsuit

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Key Takeaways:

Defense vs. Affirmative Defense: What’s the difference?

DEFENSES:
When you raise a defense, you’re disputing a claim or multiple claims in the complaint document. This is the court document explaining why you’re being sued. If you’re directly disputing the accuracy of a claim in the complaint, you’re raising a defense.

This is part of the “admit, deny, don’t know” portion of the answer form covered here:    • How To Fill Out an Answer Form in a D...  

COMMON DEFENSES IN DEBT LAWSUITS
1) The debt isn’t yours because of identity theft or because the debt collector simply misidentified the account holder.
2) The amount of the debt is wrong.

AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES
With an affirmative defense, you’re telling the court that there’s relevant information that the debt collector left out of the complaint. And that in light of this information, they shouldn’t win the case. It might seem strange to admit that what the debt collector is saying is true while also asking the judge to let you off the hook, as you do in affirmative defenses,

COMMON AFFIRMATIVE DEFENSES IN DEBT LAWSUITS
1) The debt is too old/it's past the statute of limitations. This affirmative defense is quite common in debt collection lawsuits. Keep in mind that each state has its own statute(s) of limitations. Learn more here: https://upsolve.org/learn/statute-of-...

2) The debt collector harassed or deceived you while trying to collect the debt from you which violated your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDPCA). Learn more here: https://upsolve.org/learn/fdcpa/

3) The debt was discharged in bankruptcy

4) The debt collector didn’t properly serve the summons and complaint
or failed to follow other court rules — requirements for service vary by court, so you’ll need to know your court’s rules to figure out if this applies to you.

IMPORTANT: Every case is different. If you’re not sure how these defenses apply in your case get guidance from an experienced legal professional.