Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

Re: collection agency

This is complicated. In the first place, when the collection agency first appeared on the scene, it should have sent you a verification letter that allowed you an opportunity to contest the debt. If you did not respond to that within 30 days, ten the agency is allowed to presume that the debt is valid.

Second, there is a six-year statute of limitations for a contractual debt. However, that does not end the question. Any time you make a payment on account of a debt, you are acknoiwledging the debt, and the six-year clock starts over.

If the water bill is classified as "additional rent" under your lease, then an argument can be made that every time you paid rent, you re-started the six-year clock. I don't know whether there are any court rulings on this issue, but it is the central issue in your case.

There are other angles to consider. However, this statute of limitations issue is critical. If this lawsuit is a summary landlord-tenant proceeding, then you probably should engage counsel immediately. If it's a regular lawsuit, again, you should speak to an attorney, though you have about 3 weeks from the time the lawsuit was started to respond. (The time period is much shorter in landlord-tenant court.)

This post is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is a comment on the legal question posed by the poster and should not be relied upon unless and until an attorney-client relationship is entered into. Doing so would require signing an engagement letter and depositing a retainer to secure payment of legal fees.