Sued for Credit Card Debt in Florida?
If you have been served with a credit card lawsuit in Florida, the lawsuit is real and should not be ignored. Whether you are being sued by a credit card company you recognize or a debt buyer you have never heard of, failing to respond or appear as required can result in a default judgment being entered against you.
A credit card lawsuit does not automatically mean that the plaintiff will win. The company suing you still has to prove the legal claim it has filed. At the same time, most credit card lawsuits do not involve a hidden technicality that will simply make a legitimate debt disappear.
The first step is understanding who is suing you, what they are claiming, and what you are required to do next.
Who Is Suing You for the Credit Card Debt?
Credit card lawsuits in Florida are generally filed by either the original creditor or a company that purchased the debt.
An original creditor is the company that originally issued or serviced the credit card account. Companies such as Capital One, Chase, Bank of America, American Express, and Discover may file lawsuits directly to collect unpaid credit card accounts.
A debt buyer purchases charged-off accounts from credit card companies or other debt owners. Companies such as Midland Credit Management, Portfolio Recovery Associates, LVNV Funding, Cavalry SPV, and Jefferson Capital Systems regularly appear in consumer debt collection lawsuits.
If you do not recognize the name of the company suing you, that does not necessarily mean the lawsuit is fraudulent or that you do not owe the debt. The account may have been sold after it was charged off.
However, who filed the lawsuit can affect what the plaintiff needs to prove. An original creditor generally relies on its own account records. A debt buyer must also establish that it acquired the particular account it is attempting to collect.
Understanding who is suing you is the starting point for determining what the lawsuit is actually about and what options may be available.
What Does the Plaintiff Have to Prove in a Credit Card Lawsuit?
A company cannot win a contested credit card lawsuit simply by showing the court that it claims money is owed. The plaintiff must prove the legal claim alleged in the lawsuit with evidence the court can properly consider.
Credit card lawsuits may be brought under different legal theories. Two commonly asserted claims are breach of contract and account stated.
Breach of Contract
A breach of contract claim generally alleges that you entered into a credit card agreement, used the account, failed to make the required payments, and now owe a specific amount of money.
The plaintiff must establish the existence of the contractual relationship, the alleged breach, and the damages it claims resulted from that breach.
The evidence used to prove the case may include account agreements, applications, billing statements, payment histories, and other account records.
Account Stated
An account stated claim is different from a traditional breach of contract claim. Rather than focusing solely on proving the original credit card agreement, the plaintiff may attempt to establish that account statements showing a particular balance were provided and that the balance became accepted as the amount owed.
This is one reason the common internet advice that a credit card company must always produce an original signed contract is misleading. The documents and evidence necessary to prove a case depend in part on the legal claim the plaintiff actually filed.
What If a Debt Buyer Filed the Lawsuit?
Many credit card debts are sold after they are charged off. If a debt buyer files the lawsuit, it must establish that it has the legal right to pursue the particular account involved in the case.
Debt buyer lawsuits can raise issues that are different from lawsuits filed directly by the original creditor. These cases are discussed in greater detail on our page about defending debt buyer lawsuits.
What Happens After You Are Served With a Credit Card Lawsuit?
What you need to do after being served depends in part on the type of case that was filed and the court where the lawsuit is pending.
In many Florida civil cases, the summons requires a written response within a specific period of time. Small claims cases may follow a different procedure and require you to appear at a scheduled pretrial conference.
The most important thing is to read the summons and court documents you actually received and not ignore the case.
If you fail to respond or appear as required, the plaintiff may seek a default. A default can prevent you from raising defenses that might otherwise have been available and may ultimately lead to a judgment being entered against you.
Once you have been served, the lawsuit should be reviewed to determine:
- Who filed the case and what debt is involved.
- What legal claims the plaintiff is asserting.
- Whether the amount claimed appears accurate.
- Whether any legitimate defenses may exist.
- Whether defending the case, negotiating a settlement, or considering another option makes the most sense.
Responding to a lawsuit does not mean that you are claiming the debt is not yours or that you must fight the case through trial. It simply allows the case to be addressed before the plaintiff obtains a judgment by default.
Do Credit Card Lawsuits Actually Have Defenses?
Sometimes. But far less often than many websites and online forums would lead you to believe.
There is no automatic defense simply because a debt has been charged off, sold to another company, or placed with a collection agency. There is also no universal rule requiring a credit card company to produce an original signed contract before it can recover money allegedly owed.
Legitimate defenses can exist when, for example, the wrong person has been sued, the account resulted from identity theft, the debt was previously paid or settled, the debt was discharged in bankruptcy, the lawsuit was filed outside the applicable statute of limitations, or the plaintiff cannot prove the claim it actually filed.
The existence of a possible defense depends on the facts and evidence in the individual case.
In many credit card lawsuits, the debt is legitimate and the plaintiff has sufficient evidence to prove its claim. When that is the case, the focus should shift from searching for a nonexistent technical loophole to determining the most practical way to resolve the lawsuit.
What If You Do Not Have a Strong Defense?
If the debt is legitimate and the plaintiff has the evidence necessary to prove its case, continuing to litigate simply to delay the inevitable may not be the best strategy.
That does not mean there are no options.
Many credit card lawsuits are resolved through settlement rather than trial. Depending on the creditor, the status of the lawsuit, and your financial circumstances, it may be possible to negotiate a resolution for less than the full amount claimed or arrange payment terms.
The goal should be to evaluate the lawsuit realistically and determine the best available outcome—not to spend time and money pursuing defenses that are unlikely to succeed.
Can You Settle a Credit Card Lawsuit After You Have Been Sued?
Yes. The filing of a lawsuit does not prevent you from attempting to settle the debt.
Settlement negotiations can take place at different stages of the case. The amount a creditor may be willing to accept can depend on many factors, including the creditor involved, the balance owed, the age of the account, the status of the litigation, and the consumer’s ability to make a lump-sum payment or other arrangement.
However, the terms of a settlement reached during an active lawsuit should be carefully reviewed. Some agreements may provide for the lawsuit to be dismissed after payment, while others may involve stipulated judgments or other terms that can have significant consequences if the agreement is not completed.
A settlement should resolve more than just the payment amount. It is also important to understand what will happen to the pending lawsuit and what documentation will be provided once the settlement obligations have been satisfied.
For someone facing one manageable credit card lawsuit, settlement may provide a practical resolution. For someone facing multiple lawsuits or more debt than they can realistically afford to settle, resolving one account at a time may not solve the larger financial problem.
When Should You Consider Bankruptcy Instead?
Being sued for one credit card debt does not necessarily mean you should file bankruptcy.
However, if the lawsuit is only one part of a larger financial problem, it may make sense to consider whether bankruptcy provides a more complete solution.
Chapter 7 bankruptcy may allow qualifying consumers to eliminate credit card debts and other unsecured obligations. Chapter 13 may provide another option for individuals who need to reorganize their debts or address financial problems that cannot be resolved through Chapter 7.
The decision should be based on your overall financial situation—not simply on the fact that one creditor filed a lawsuit.
If you are dealing with multiple credit card accounts, several collection lawsuits, wage or bank garnishments, or debts that you cannot realistically afford to settle, resolving each lawsuit individually may only postpone the underlying problem.
What Happens If the Credit Card Company Gets a Judgment?
Once a creditor obtains a judgment, it may have additional legal tools available to attempt to collect the money owed.
Depending on the circumstances, a judgment creditor may attempt to garnish wages, freeze funds in a bank account, or pursue other nonexempt assets.
Florida law provides important exemptions and protections for certain income and property. For example, some consumers may qualify for Florida’s head-of-family wage protections, and certain funds held in bank accounts may also be exempt from collection.
Those protections do not mean a judgment should be ignored. Exemptions may need to be properly asserted, and dealing with a garnishment after it begins can be far more disruptive than addressing the lawsuit before a judgment is entered.
If a judgment has already been entered against you, the available options may be different from those available earlier in the lawsuit.
Does Hiring a Credit Card Lawsuit Lawyer Make Sense?
Not everyone who is sued for credit card debt needs to hire an attorney.
The amount being claimed, whether legitimate defenses exist, the possibility of settlement, the risk of a judgment or garnishment, and the cost of legal representation should all be considered.
An attorney can review the lawsuit and evidence, identify defenses that actually apply, communicate with the plaintiff’s attorneys, negotiate toward a possible settlement, and help determine whether defending the lawsuit or pursuing another option makes financial sense.
For consumers with significant additional debt, an attorney who handles both debt defense and bankruptcy can also evaluate the larger financial picture rather than looking at one lawsuit in isolation.
The purpose of hiring an attorney should not be to pursue technical arguments that have little chance of succeeding. It should be to understand your options and determine the most practical strategy for dealing with the lawsuit.
Talk to a Florida Credit Card Lawsuit Lawyer
If you have been sued over a credit card debt in Florida, ignoring the lawsuit can limit your options and eventually lead to a judgment.
Shmucher Law represents consumers throughout Florida who have been sued by credit card companies and debt buyers. Attorney Ofer Shmucher has more than 20 years of experience representing consumers in debt-related matters and has handled thousands of cases involving financial problems.
Some credit card lawsuits have legitimate defenses. Many are better resolved through settlement or another practical solution. The first step is determining which situation you are actually facing.
Contact Shmucher Law to discuss your credit card lawsuit and the options that may be available.