Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New Jersey

Re: Sued for a Repossestion of auto after Ten Years

If your facts are correct, the period of limitatoins would have expired several years ago. That does not mean that the suit automatically goes away. The way that you should respond to such a suit in order to get it resolved quickly is a bit non-standard. The summons does not tell the whole story.

Your question sounds as if you intend to do this yourself. That is probably not wise unless the amount is small.

Re: Sued for a Repossestion of auto after Ten Years

The statute of limitations for a debt like this is 4 years under the Uniform Commercial Code in NJ. As such, as long as you did not do anything to extend it, you have an affirmative defense to the lawsuit which you must raise in response to it. You may also have your own claims to raise. If the plaintiff is not the original creditor and acquired the debt after default, then it may meet the definition of a debt collector under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA). The attorneys who filed the suit may also meet the definition of a debt collector under the FDCPA. If either of them are debt collectors, then in addition to you not having to pay anything for the repo, you may also have claims to raise under the FDCPA for filing suit against you on a time-barred debt. If you do, you may be entitled to up to $1,000 in damages against each debt collector, plus any actual damages you may have suffered and attorney's fees. Feel free to call me for more info or visit my website: www.njconsumerfraudlawyers.com