Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Re: case management

yes, the statute of limitations for contractual debts is in fact 4 years from the TIME you made your last payment to the creditor at issue. Thus, this time period would be how the court determines if the claim is barred from creditor claim or not. this would be your husband's first line of defense (procedural). secondly, the service of process here is not defective per se, since a plaintiff can serve an adult living at the premises under what is called substituted service of process (accompanied by a letter to the residence as well). next, the legal form that you would file is called either a motion to dismiss or an answer to the complaint. however, if this is a small claims court matter, there is no requirement other than you just making an appearance on the court date to argue your case. further, if this is a small claims court case in california, a THIRD party collection agent/creditor CANNOT make an appearance on behalf of discover card. this means, in this scenario, discover would have to be the ones appearing, not an assigned collector or attorney, or else the case can be thrown out upon your proper and timely objection. If you would like assistance with all of this to BEST preserve your rights, contact us immediately today before too much time passes to properly defend this action.

Re: case management

The statute of limitations on a written contract is 4 years. However, determining when the statute begins to runs can be tricky.

In California, you only have 30 days from the date the summons and complaint are served within which to file a written response to the court. If no response is filed, the creditor can ask that your default be entered, and can proceed to obtain a judgment by default.

Although a summons and complaint should normally be personally served on the defendant, it can be, and is in a great many cases, served upon another adult present at the address of the defendant. This service is known as substitute service and generally is as valid a service as personal service, provided the process server does it correctly.

You should immediately take the summons and complaint to an attorney in your area and have them look at what was served, particularly since you think 30 days has already elapsed. Your husband may have already given up substaitial rights by not responding to the complaint.