Legal Question in Bankruptcy in California
chapter 13 dismissal
A chapter 13 was filed 15 years ago. Due to employment problems payments were not made and dismissal was issued after only 1 year of payments. Can I be liable for unsecured or secured debt after all this time? Since most credit card companies sell the delinquent accounts to other third party loan companies. I am concerned because one of my current loans has been bought by one of my old charged off loan bank. So now I have a great credit history but one of my old credit card banks now owns one of my good accounts.
Help please
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: chapter 13 dismissal
If you have not made payments in the intervening four years past (assuming you're in California), the consumer debts may not be collected because of the statute of limitation.
Re: chapter 13 dismissal
Yes you could be liable for unsecured or secured debt that was not paid in your dismissed Chapter 13 case. However, if you are sued you could probably raise the Statute of Limitations under the California Code of Civil Procedure (this could be more complicated for the secured debts). The statute on written contracts is 4 years from the date of the last payment. However, the statute will not protect you unless you file a written response to a lawsuit and raise the statute as a defense.