Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Debt Collection - Apartment Lease

My husband and his ex-wife (divorced in '06) owe on a CA apartment from a lease that ended in 2/28/03. They moved out in March '03 and did not pay rent for the additional time spent in the apartment past the lease end date. The amount owed plus interest has been sent to collections. We did not receive any notification from the leasing company, just a letter from the collection agency. The agency later sent an itemized list of the debt to us in the mail, after we requested it. It was mailed Feb. 28th. According to the letter, my husband's ex-wife paid $200 on a $2400 balance. Her payment posted Feb. 28th '07. Does her payment void the 4 year SOL on written contracts and in effect, re-open the account for collections? Also, the agency states that since she made arrangements to pay a small portion of the balance, and since she called them first...he is responsible for the rest of the balance. Is this true?


Asked on 3/05/07, 12:26 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Scott Riddle Law Office of Scott B. Riddle, LLC

Re: Debt Collection - Apartment Lease

There is no statute of limitations on how long they can attempt to collect the debt, and the debt does not simply go away. The SOL may be a defense to a lawsuit, if raised properly, but that does not appear to be an iaaue here. We do not have the paperwork to see who is responsible for the debt, but generally, each party to a lease is responsible for the entire amount and the creditor can collect from either. The easy solution to stop all collection - honor the obligation and pay the debt.

Read more
Answered on 3/05/07, 1:08 pm


Related Questions & Answers

More Credit, Debt and Collections Law questions and answers in California