Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Missouri

Debt Collection

I was contacted by a collection agency about a judgement against me from 1997. They are telling me they will sue me if I don't pay the $1100. Can they sue me in court after it already went to court, and is the statutes of limitations expired for collecting the debt? I asked for proof of the original debt, and they say all they can give me is a case number. I called the court house, and the clerk said she could not find the records for it because it is so old. I thought I had paid this off through a paycheck garnishment in 1998. This occurred in the state of Missouri


Asked on 7/17/08, 11:07 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Anthony DeWitt Bartimus, Frickleton Robertson & Gorny, PC

Re: Debt Collection

This could very well be a collection agency acting outside the bounds of the law. If the debt was retirned in 1998 by a garnishment, and that was the last time anything was paid on it, it should no longer be collectible.

It would be worthwhile to go to the Courthouse and have them double-check the file. They will have to pull it from archives. But go get the file and see when the date of the judgment was. Then look and see when the last garnishment issued. If the last garnishment issued more than 10 years ago, the statute of limitations on judgments should protect you from a lawsuit, and a lawyer who sued on a debt this stale would be violating both the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act as well as Rule 55.03 in Missouri.

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Answered on 7/17/08, 5:52 pm


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