You may have received a bankruptcy attorney mailer stating that you are going to receive a debt collection summons. Or potentially, a sheriff served you the physical summons at your Tennessee residence.
Firstly, is the debt your debt? In the lawsuit, did they provide any proof that it's your debt.
If it is your deb, the purpose of this article is to relieve you from this debt burden. We will also cover how you may be able to get your lawsuit dismissed.
Also, this article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. If you’d like legal advice, you can add your information here for a free consultation with attorney near you.
If you do not have the physical summons, you can access that for free online. Firstly, you may search “Your County Name, Tennessee Civil Cases Search”.
Your search should bring up your county’s civil court case search. From there, you may be able to search with your name or within the last 7 days. Debt collection lawsuits may have a "CV" in case ID and the description may include "Collections Limited". If you have trouble finding your case, please give us a call or text at 833-272-3631, and we can troubleshoot with you (100% complimentary).
If the debt is past the statute of limitations for debt in Tennessee, it may mean that the time frame which a creditor can legally sue you to collect on that debt has expired. For example. here is the statute of limitation for debt in Tennessee.
| Statute | Time | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Collection of Debt | 6 Years | §28-3-109 |
| Written Contract | 6 Years | §28-3-109 |
| Oral Contract | 6 Years | TN CODE § 28-3-109 |
| Enforcement of Judgment | 10 Years | TN CODE § 28-3-110 |
| Assault and Battery | 1 Year | Tenn. Code § 28-3-104(a)(1) (2020) |
| Car Accident | 3 Years | Tenn. Code § 28-3-105(1) (2020) |
| Wrongful Death | 1 Year | Tenn. Code § 28-3-104(a)(1) (2020) |
| Fraud | 3 Years | Tenn. Code § 28-3-105(1), (2) (2020) |
| Libel | 1 Year | Tenn. Code § 28-3-104(a)(1) (2020) |
| Collection of Rent | 6 Years | TN CODE § 28-3-109 |
| Trespassing | 3 Years | Tenn. Code § 28-3-105(1) (2020) |
| Professional Malpractice | 1 Year | Tenn. Code § 28-3-104(a)(2) (2020) |
| Medical Malpractice | 1 Year | Tenn. Code § 29-26-116(a)(1) (2020) |
| Personal Property | 3 Years | Tenn. Code § 28-3-105(1) (2020) |
Debt collection lawsuits are often regarded as written contracts. So, the Tennessee written debt law below (Source: §28-3-109):
(a) The following actions shall be commenced within six (6) years after the cause of action accrued: (3) Actions on contracts not otherwise expressly provided for.
Let’s next cover alternatives to responding to the debt collection lawsuit.
In Tennessee, you have a certain number of days to respond to the debt collection lawsuit. We will cover how to respond later, but your response timeline is very important to know, so we are going to cover that first.
Generally, the response timeline start from when you receive the summons. So, if you have not received the summons, your clock may not have started. Obviously, you’d want to read the summons information for the most up to date information, but that is generally how it works.
Specifically, in Tennessee, here’s the response time:
30 days
Generally, this is in calendar days, so you may want to answer the summons as soon as possible after you receive it.
In some states, you have to pay an answer filing fee. This filing fee might be paid when you mail your response. The entity below can help you calculate whether there's a filing fee.
Here's the filing fee information we have for Tennessee. For the most recent information, you may want to check this Tennessee government website covering filing fees.
We could not find a filing fee, but you may want to check our government source website.
Now, let’s cover how to respond to respond to the debt collection lawsuit for free in Tennessee.
The first step in responding to a debt collection lawsuit in Tennessee is to carefully review the lawsuit and gather information. It can be helpful to understand the nature of the debt, the amount owed, and the original creditor or debt collector.
You may also review any documentation related to the debt, such as account statements, payment records to confirm whether the debt is within the Tennessee debt statute of limitations (which we will discuss below), and correspondence with the creditor or debt collector.
After reviewing the lawsuit, you need to file a response with the court within within a specific number of days.
Also, Tennessee does provide an example response template, but sometimes these forms aren't necessarily user friendly. So, if it's helpful, please feel free to request our free form above.
3. Consider Seeking Legal Help
A legal defense counsel may be able to help if you are unsure how to respond to the debt collection lawsuit. The could also help in structuring a legal defense and counter claims. The attorney can also help you understand your legal rights and options and can assist you in the process.
Be on the lookout for any correspondence related to a court hearting. After you file your response, the court will schedule a hearing to go through the case. You may want to attend the hearing, and bring any evidence or documentation that supports your position. In the hearing, the judge may hear both sides of the arguments to make a decision on the case.
Next we will cover if the debt is within the statute of limitations in Tennessee.
There are two common alternatives to responding to a debt collection lawsuit, so let’s cover both of those next.
One common option is to settle the debt.
Settling debt is an option where Tennessee debt relief firm or you would call the original creditor or the lawyer on the complaint and try to negotiate the balance in what’s called a stipulated judgment. This agreement can be where you pay the balance in full over a payment plan or a reduction of the balance in a lump sum or structured settlement.
As long as you meet the terms of the stipulated judgment, your account may be paid in full at the end of the agreement. If you do not, then you may face a default judgment.
Filing bankruptcy in Tennessee is an option that may eliminate the debt collection lawsuit altogether. The two most common bankruptcies are the Chapter 13 bankruptcy in Tennessee and Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Tennessee.
If you have no disposable income after each month even before paying your debt, you may be able to qualify for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A Chapter 7 bankruptcy case can eliminate unsecured debts as soon as 90 - 120 days after filing. Use our free Tennessee Chapter 7 calculator to estimate qualification and cost to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy as this bankruptcy often requires qualification via the Tennessee bankruptcy means test. Also, the cost to file bankruptcy in Tennessee is $313 for a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and $338 for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy, not including attorney fees.
If you can afford to pay some of your debts or need help keeping your home or car because your equity exceeds the Tennessee bankruptcy exemptions, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy may be a way to resolve your debt. Through a court order 3 - 5 year payment plan, you can reorganize your debts into an affordable monthly payment to eliminate yoru debt. A Chapter 13 bankruptcy can also prevent foreclosure and repossession. Try our free Tennessee Chapter 13 calculator to estimate your Chapter 13 monthly payment plan.
What Should You Do?
It’s ultimately your decision whether to respond to the Tennessee debt collection lawsuit, but here are some questions that you can ask yourself:
To aid in your research, we also built a free debt collection lawsuit resolution calculator that compares the cost and duration of your different potential options to resolve the debt collection lawsuit. The calculator is 100% free and does not even require an email address unless you’d like some additional assistance.
