Statute of Limitations on Debt in Minnesota

Edited by Hannah Locklear

If you've been sued over old debt in Minnesota, don't give up on the case; you have a great chance of winning the lawsuit. This is because ignoring the lawsuit could cost you more financial stress, especially if the court awards the debt collector a wage garnishment order to collect part of your wages until the debt is cleared.

For this reason, knowing the statute of limitations for different types of debts in Minnesota will help you create the best strategy to respond to debt collection complaints against you.

Use SoloSuit to pick the right affirmative defense and win your case.

Statute of limitations laws in Minnesota explained

Minnesota Statute of Limitations on Debt
Debt Type	Deadline in Years
Written	6
Oral	6
Judgements	10
Auto Loans	4
Source: Findlaw

The statute of limitations for most debts in Minnesota is six years, including open accounts and written contracts. Creditors and debt collectors can file a lawsuit for breach of contract under Minnesota law within this period to hold you legally responsible for an unpaid debt. After this period elapses, the court can dismiss such a lawsuit on the grounds that the debt is time-barred.

However, some debts have a longer or a shorter statute of limitations than the general six-year limit. For example, money judgments and judgment liens have a 10-year limit from the date the judgment was entered.

This period is also renewable for an additional 10 years as long as the request for renewal is made before the initial period expires.

Debts prescribed differently under the Uniform Commercial Code can also have different statutes of limitations. These are debts arising from contracts between merchants and involve movable items, excluding money and securities. A good example is auto loans; they have a four-year statute of limitations in Minnesota.

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How to respond to debt collectors in Minnesota

If your debt has been handed over to a debt collection agency, you should expect to receive numerous notices through phone calls, emails, text messages, or mail requesting payment. Debt collectors are more persistent than creditors because they make their profit by recovering as many debts as possible.

However, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act governs their collection practices, shielding debtors from abuse and harassment. For example, debt collectors in Minnesota are prohibited from:

• Calling you during odd hours such as late at night or while you're at work.
• Calling your workplace if you've requested them not to.
• Speaking to any other person about your debt other than you or your lawyer.
• Using profane language when talking to you.

Although creditors can be annoyingly persistent, it's never a good idea to ignore them. This is because when they fail to reach you, they may decide to file a complaint against you in court. The court will then enforce the debt through various means such as wage garnishment, bank levy, or property lien.

Again, ignoring such a lawsuit only makes it easier for the debt collector when the court automatically rules in their favor.

Instead, it's always advisable to respond to the complaint on time to stand a chance of challenging the debt collector in court. Below are the steps to take when you've been served with debt Summons and Complaints in Minnesota.

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Find out the deadline for responding to the complaint

You must file your Answer with the court within 21 days of receiving the summons and complaints in Minnesota. It doesn't matter if the debt is time-barred or you don't owe the amount stated in the complaints. Failing to respond to the lawsuit leads to an automatic victory for the debt collector even if you had a good chance of challenging the suit.

Prepare the answer document

You can use the general Answer Form designed for civil cases in Minnesota. All you need to do is fill out all the required information as per the document and respond to the complaints stated by the plaintiff.

You can respond to the complaints by either admitting, denying, or refuting the claims based on a lack of information about the allegations. However, answering some of the questions can be difficult, especially if you don't understand how the different debt collection laws work.

Assert your affirmative defenses

If you have any reasons to believe that you don't owe the debt, you need to state them in your Answer. Remember to collect crucial evidence of the affirmative defenses; you'll need them during the court proceedings.

Some strong affirmative defenses include:

• The statute of limitations has expired.
• The debt was already cleared.
• The debt was incurred due to fraud.
• The debt amount is incorrect.

File your answer to the court

Ensure that you file the signed Answer with the court before the deadline and serve the plaintiff with a copy. In addition, you should mail the Answer certified with a return receipt to prove that the debt collector was also served on time.

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Use SoloSuit to respond to the debt collection complaint

You've probably already come across legal help platforms that help defendants file answers for different kinds of lawsuits. However, SoloSuit is the best web application for generating Answers specifically tailored for debt-collection lawsuits.

SoloSuit guides you through the Answer generating process using a set of questions to tell your side of the story. The application also gathers all the necessary information needed to create an acceptable Answer document.

You can then print the document once it's complete and mail it to the court and the plaintiff as your response. The best part is that all these services are available freely!

SoloSuit helps debtors win lawsuits by offering them a fair chance to respond to the summons. And when you have your Answer reviewed by a SoloSuit recommended attorney, it significantly increases your chances of winning the case. This web application can also help you file your Answer to the court (and a copy sent to the plaintiff) on time at a fee.

If you can't afford a lawyer to help you respond to your debt collection summons or barely know how to respond correctly, SoloSuit is the app you need. The best thing about it is that the app lets you file an attorney-approved answer in three simple steps, increasing your chances of receiving a favorable outcome.

What is SoloSuit?

SoloSuit makes it easy to respond to a debt collection lawsuit.

How it works: SoloSuit is a step-by-step web-app that asks you all the necessary questions to complete your answer. Upon completion, you can either print the completed forms and mail in the hard copies to the courts or you can pay SoloSuit to file it for you and to have an attorney review the document.

>>Read the FastCompany article: Debt Lawsuits Are Complicated: This Website Makes Them Simpler To Navigate

>>Read the NPR story on SoloSuit: A Student Solution To Give Utah Debtors A Fighting Chance

How to answer a summons for debt collection in your state

Here's a list of guides for other states.

All 50 states.

Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri

Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah; File a Motion to Satisfy Judgment Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming

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