Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
At what point does the clock start for default in payment? For example if the payment was due on the 20 of the month and four years later (CA) on the 25th of month an application to appear for examination was requested by a collector to the courts is he still within the statute of limitations?
2 Answers from Attorneys
The statute of limitations only applies to filing a lawsuit to collect. If you have received an application for an order to appear for examination (what we call an OEX in lawyer slang), the lawsuit was already filed, you lost, and a judgment has been entered against you. The OEX is a post-lawsuit proceeding. You are correct that the limitations period for a debt default would start the day the last missed payment was due (or the last charge on the account by the debtor if they were permitted to make charges after missing the payment, such as with a credit card that does not get cut off immediately upon a payment being late). Clearly, however, if they have filed for an OEX four years and five days after the default, they must have filed suit well within the four year limitations period. The judgment they have is now good for ten years, and can be renewed every ten years indefinitely, as long as they renew it before it expires.
From your question, it sounds like the creditor already got a judgment, in which case the statute of limitation is no longer applicable.
However, generally the statute of limitation begins running from the last "activity" on an account -- meaning the later of (a) when you last borrowed any funds or otherwise charged on the account, or (b) when the last payment was made.
Douglas A. Crowder, Esq.
Crowder Law Center
350 S. Figueroa Street # 190
Los Angeles, CA 90071
Tel. 800-455-1592
Fax 877-772-7094
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