Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Minnesota

My current boyfriend's ex-girlfriend is trying to sue him for credit card debt. She got a credit card in her name and put him as an authorized user. They both used the credit cards together since they were in a relationship for five years. Now his ex-girlfriend is trying to sue him so that he can pay the full amount, 13k.

Through messages on facebook and twitter in the past,he said that he would help her pay the credit card debt but has currently stopped due to the fact that all the money he has paid towards the credit cards was directly given to her, so he does not know if she truely used the money for the debt. She claims that the credit card debt is still at 13k. Also, my boyfriend and I are getting married to money is tight right now.

Can my boyfriend get sued for the credit card debt that is under her name and social? If he agreed to help pay is he obligated to pay even though there was so written signature on an agreement to help pay? What should he do?


Asked on 4/08/13, 11:24 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Thompson None

As an authorized user, your boyfriend is not obligated to pay the credit card. Only persons who have signed on to the credit card and accepted its terms must pay the amounts due on it.

However, if he made an agreement with his ex-girlfriend to pay the credit card and he stopped paying, she may sue him to enforce that agreement. The distinction here is that the credit card company cannot sue him, but the ex-girlfriend may be able to sue him. She would need to show that there was a valid contract between them and that your boyfriend received something in return for his promise to pay. Oral contracts are enforceable in limited contexts, but even if not the facebook/twitter messages could be construed to make up the written contract. Your boyfriend may have some defenses to enforcement. I suggest seeking an attorney to assist your boyfriend in the event she sues him.

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Answered on 4/11/13, 11:39 am


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