Arizona Statute of Limitations Law for Repossessed Car is Four Years

Collecting a Deficiency Balance on a Car Loan.

When an Arizona consumer loses a car to repossession, the bank typically sells the car and applies the proceeds from the sale to the balance owing on the loan. If the car does not sell for enough to pay off the loan balance, the bank will usually try to collect this balance — known as a deficiency balance — from the Arizona consumer. Other times the bank will sell this “loan balance” to a third party or “bad debt buyer” who then tries to collect from the debtor.

The Lawsuit Must be Filed within Four Years of Default.

A creditor, whether the bank or a bad debt buyer, has only four years from the date of default to file suit against an Arizona debtor to collect the deficiency balance for a car loan. A.R.S. § 47-2725 states:

      A. An action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within four years after the cause of action has accrued.

The cause of action accrues no later than when the car is repossessed. If a creditor repossesses the car then clearly it considers the account in default. However, in most situations payments have been missed for several months before the car is actually repossessed, so the four year statute of limitations period may have begun to run several months before the car is actually repossessed.

Statute of Limitations is an Affirmative Defense.

In order for a consumer to be protected from judgment under Arizona law, the defense of statute of limitations must be raised in the lawsuit by the consumer. If the consumer fails to assert the defense of statute of limitations, then the court may give the bank or debt buyer judgment.

Find Out if the Statute of Limitations Defense Applies to Your Case.

I regularly represent Arizona consumers who have been sued for deficiency balances on repossessed cars.

If you are an Arizona debtor who has recently been served with a lawsuit to collect an auto loan deficiency, please call Floyd W. Bybee at the BYBEE LAW CENTER, PLC (480) 756-8822 for a free phone consultation.

Do You Need an Arizona Consumer Lawyer?

If you are an Arizona consumer who has been abused or harassed by a collection agency, or been sued on a delinquent credit card account or auto deficiency balance, then a consultation with an Arizona lawyer with experience in consumer protection law is important.

I am surprised by the number of Arizona consumers who tell me that the other lawyers they have consulted with advise them that even though the collection agency, car dealer, credit bureau, etc. has abused them, committed fraud, or otherwise violated their rights under the law, they are told by these same lawyers that nothing can really be done–that it costs too much to pursue the claim. Even when the consumer has been sued on an old credit card debt or an auto deficiency balance, these lawyers tell the consumers to try to settle the claim by offering to pay the debt buyer money even though the consumer has a complete statute of limitation defense to the lawsuit.

Should you consult an Arizona consumer lawyer? The answer is yes. Consult with a lawyer not only experienced in consumer law, but one who has practiced in the Arizona courts and is familiar with the local judges and local attorneys on the other side. Know what your rights are.

Experience counts! ARIZONA experience counts even more!!!

If you need a consultation regarding a consumer issue, please call Mesa, Arizona consumer attorney Floyd W. Bybee at the BYBEE LAW CENTER, PLC (480) 756-8822.

Maricopa County Superior Court Rules that Arizona Statute of Limitations on Credit Card is Three Years

Arizona Legislature Changes Statute of Limitations on Credit Card Accounts.

The Arizona Legislature recently changed the law to make most credit card collection cases subject to a six year statute of limitations. A.R.S. Sec. 12-548 now states that "if the indebtedness is evidenced by or founded on . . . a credit card. . ." it is subject to the six year statute of limitations.

The following case will no longer provide the persuasive precedent that we have previously enjoyed.

Maricopa County Court Commissioner Eartha K. Washington recently dismissed a collection lawsuit stating that the First USA Bank credit card debt was an open account and therefor subject to the three year statute of limitations under A.R.S. § 12-543. 

DSS Financial Group, LLC filed suit in the Arizona South Mountain Justice Court against an Arizona consumer on a credit card debt it claims it purchased from Unifund CCR Partners, which claims it purchased the debt from Chase bank, the predecessor to First USA Bank.  The case went to trial and the Justice entered judgment in favor of DSS Financial.  The court denied DSS Financial’s request for attorney’s fees and costs.  The consumer appealed Judge Cody Williams judgment to the Maricopa County Superior Court arguing that the statute of limitations had run since the debt had been in default more that three years prior to the suit being filed, and that DSS Financial had not properly shown ownership of the First USA Bank debt.

Commissioner Washington did not address the question of whether DSS Financial or Unifund had purchased the debt from First USA Bank or Chase, but rather ruled that the case should be dismissed based upon the three year statute of limitations.  Commissioner Washington also awarded the Arizona consumer all her attorney’s fees and costs of the litigation. 

Debt buyers are filing hundreds of lawsuits each month against Arizona consumers on accounts they claim to have purchased.  Many of these credit card accounts are not collectable because 1) they are too old, meaning the statute of limitations has run; 2) they have no proof of ownership of the accounts; 3) they cannot prove the balance owed or how the claimed balance was calculated; and 4) the Arizona consumer either does not owe the debt because of identity theft or misuse of a stolen credit card.

These debt buyers file suits against Arizona debtors believing that most consumers (over 90%) will not know their rights, and the debt buyer will be able to obtain judgment by default without having to prove their case. Common debt buyers who file suits in Arizona include:

• American Commercial Credit

• Arrow Financial 

• Asset Acceptance, LLC

• CACV of Colorado, LLC

• Cavalry Portfolio Services, LLC

• Centurion Capital Corporation

• Debt Buyers Inc.

• DSS Financial

• Easy Loan Corp.

• Faslo Solutions, LLC

• First Resolution Investment Corporation

• Generation Funding

• Hilco Receivables

• Hudson & Keyse

• LVNV Funding LLC

• Midland Credit Management

• Midland Funding, LLC

• MRC Receivables Corp.

• NCO Financial

• Palisades Collection LLC

• Persolve, LLC

• Portfolio Recovery

• Resurgent Capital Services

• RJF Financial

• Unifund CCR Partners 

• Western States Financial

• World Wide Asset 

There are also many new debt buyers showing up all the time.

If you are an Arizona consumer who has recently been served with a lawsuit by a debt buyer, please call Floyd W. Bybee at the BYBEE LAW CENTER, PLC (480) 756-8822 for a free phone consultation to see if you may have a defense to the lawsuit.