Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Statute of Limitation of a dismissed case

I had an MBNA card. After I've defaulted on payments in September 2003, a 3-rd party debt collector purchased it. They made demand on the account but I didn't pay nothing.

In October 2005, that DC sued me. I answered on time.

In November 2006, a year later, they by themselves dismissed the case without prejudice.

They still continue reporting me to CRAs.

Questions:

How long after a case is dismissed without prejudice can it still be prosecuted?

Is there a time limit?

Can I stop them from doing that? Shall I dispute that with CRAs and submit them a copy of the dismissal I got from the court?

Thanks


Asked on 3/26/08, 11:29 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Carl Starrett Law Offices of Carl H. Starrett II

Re: Statute of Limitation of a dismissed case

Dismissing a case without prejudice means that it can be refiled. The statute of limitation for breach of a written contract is 4 years from the date of the breach, so it appears they cannot refile the case.

However, they can still report the negative information on your credit for up to 7 years. Disputing the debt MIGHT get it removed from you credit report, but they can still legally report it until September 2011.

Read more
Answered on 3/26/08, 12:32 pm


Related Questions & Answers

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