Being served with a complaint for an overdue debt can be a scary thing. Sometimes these debts are from creditors alleging an open account, breach of contract, or some other cause of action for past-due credit card debt.
You might think that your chances of successfully defending the lawsuit are slim; however, there are several valid defenses against these claims. When creditors sue for these claims, they must follow requirements, provided by law, in order for their claim to be successful. These include making sure the debt is actually owed to them and making sure that the statute of limitations has not ran.
An example of these requirements is, Florida Rule of Civil Procedure 1.130(a) which states “All bonds, notes, bills of exchange, contracts, accounts, or documents upon which action may be brought or defense made, or a copy thereof or a copy of the portions thereof material to the pleadings, shall be incorporated in or attached to the pleading.” If the creditor does not attach the contract that they are attempting to enforce in a breach of contract claim, then you probably have a valid defense to their claim. This is just one example.
Procedural arguments are not your only potential defenses. It is possible that you may have a counterclaim for breach of the FCCPA or FDCPA or TCPA. These claims would include a creditor harassing you, cursing at you, continuing to call you after you request that they stop, or calling during hours that are prohibited by law. These are just a few possibilities that may help you defend the law suit or at least give you more power during the negotiations.
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