Can a Debt Collector Sue You After the Statute of Limitations?

Technically yes — filing a lawsuit on time-barred debt is not automatically illegal in most states, but the U.S. Supreme Court held in Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson (2017) that knowingly filing a proof of claim on a time-barred debt in bankruptcy may violate the FDCPA, and lower courts have extended that logic to collection lawsuits. In practice, whether the lawsuit succeeds depends entirely on whether you raise the statute-of-limitations defense.

The Core Problem: Courts Don't Check the SOL for You

Courts accept collection lawsuit filings without verifying whether the statute of limitations has expired. If you do not appear and raise the SOL as an affirmative defense, the court may enter a default judgment against you — and that judgment is legally enforceable regardless of whether the underlying debt was time-barred. This is how collectors profit from filing time-barred suits: most consumers ignore the summons.

A 2016 FTC study found that default judgments were entered in 70% of debt collection lawsuits filed in court — the majority of those defendants simply did not respond. Many of those cases involved old debt near or past the statute of limitations.

Step 1: Verify the SOL Before the Court Date

As soon as you receive a summons or collection lawsuit notice, use SOLCheck at /tools/sol-checker immediately. Enter your state, debt type, and last payment date. If the result shows TIME-BARRED, you have an absolute affirmative defense available to you — but only if you use it.

Do this the same day you receive the summons. You typically have 20–30 days to file a written answer depending on your state. Missing that deadline can result in a default judgment even if the debt is clearly time-barred.

What Midland Funding v. Johnson (2017) Actually Said

The Supreme Court's 5-4 decision in Midland Funding, LLC v. Johnson addressed whether filing a proof of claim in bankruptcy on a debt the collector knew was time-barred violated the FDCPA. The majority held it did not automatically violate the FDCPA in the bankruptcy context because the Bankruptcy Code has its own claim-objection mechanism. However, the decision was explicitly narrow to the bankruptcy context, and the concurrence and dissent made clear that filing time-barred suits in state court remains legally questionable.

Subsequent lower court decisions have found FDCPA violations where collectors filed or threatened standard state court collection suits on debts they knew were time-barred. The key phrase in FDCPA §807(2)(A) prohibits falsely representing "the character, amount, or legal status" of a debt — and characterizing a time-barred debt as legally actionable is, at minimum, an arguable misrepresentation.

How to Raise the SOL Defense if You Are Sued

File a written answer. When you receive a summons, you must respond in writing to the court — not to the collector's attorney. Your answer should include as an affirmative defense: "The claim is barred by the applicable statute of limitations under [your state statute, e.g., A.R.S. §12-548]." You do not need to prove the debt is time-barred in your answer — you just need to assert the defense.

Gather your evidence. Collect anything showing the date of your last payment: bank statements, credit report entries (which show the date of last activity), or letters from the original creditor. The burden may shift to the collector to show the debt is timely once you assert the defense.

Appear at all hearings. Failure to appear is treated as a default. Even if you have a strong SOL defense, not showing up forfeits it.

Consult a consumer attorney. If the debt amount is significant or if the collector appears to have known the debt was time-barred, an attorney may be able to countersue under the FDCPA for actual damages, statutory damages up to $1,000, and attorney fees. Many consumer attorneys handle these cases on contingency.

The FDCPA's "Threatening to Sue" Prohibition

Even without filing, threatening to sue on a time-barred debt is a separate FDCPA violation under §807(5), which prohibits threatening an action the collector cannot legally take or does not intend to take. If a collector says "we will sue you" or "you will be taken to court" about a debt that SOLCheck confirms is time-barred, that threat itself may be actionable.

Document every communication: date, time, caller name, what was said. If you receive written threats, preserve the letters. This is the evidence base for an FDCPA counterclaim or affirmative lawsuit.

What Happens If They Win a Default Judgment?

If a collector obtains a default judgment against you — because you did not respond — they gain powerful collection tools:

Wage garnishment (in most states): typically 25% of disposable income or the amount above 30x federal minimum wage, whichever is less
Bank account levy: the collector can instruct your bank to freeze and turn over funds up to the judgment amount
Property liens: in some states, a judgment can attach to real property you own
Judgment renewal: judgments are typically valid for 10 years and renewable

A default judgment on a time-barred debt is extremely difficult to undo. The window to vacate a default judgment is narrow — typically 30 days or on showing of "excusable neglect" — and courts are not required to grant relief even if the underlying SOL defense would have been valid. Do not ignore a summons.

When to Consult an Attorney

Contact a consumer protection attorney immediately if:

You received a court summons and the response deadline is within 2 weeks
A collector sued you and you believe the debt is time-barred
A collector threatened to sue you over an old debt
A default judgment was entered against you and you want to explore vacating it
Your wages are being garnished on a debt you believe is time-barred

The CFPB's complaint system (consumerfinance.gov/complaint) and the FTC's ReportFraud tool (reportfraud.ftc.gov) are also available for reporting FDCPA violations.

Compliance note: This article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Legal outcomes depend on your specific facts, state law, and whether you raise appropriate defenses. Always consult a licensed attorney before any court deadline. Primary sources: FDCPA, 15 U.S.C. §1692 | Midland Funding LLC v. Johnson, 137 S. Ct. 1407 (2017) | FTC Debt Collection Report 2016.