Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: Subject

We need a little more information than this. Of course I can only tell you about Virginia law. In Virginia, if there is a written contract you have 5 years from the date of BREACH (not the date when it was signed but the date when something that was supposed to be done was not done, such as a payment was missed). If there is a verbal contract, you have 3 years from the date of the breach or three years from the last payment that was made or three years from the last services that were provided, whichever is latest. (This rule about when the last services were provided is intended for businesses that provided services on open account; it may seem a little strange for other situations.)

You ask where you should bring a claim. This is where your question really does not give enough information. But in general you must bring the claim where the court has "jurisdiction" over the defendant. For example, if the contract or agreement or whatever was in Georgia, you might be able to bring a lawsuit in Georgia. But if the defendant did not do anything relevant in Georgia (and this can be a difficult question as to what qualifies) then the Georgia court will have no jurisdiction and no power to decide the case. If it is a consumer debt (if you are a business and a consumer owes you money) then you really MUST bring it where the debtor lives or where the contract was physically signed.