What Difference Does Jurisdiction Make in Debt Collection Lawsuits?
I get this question all the time: “I’m being sued by debt collectors in California (or name the state), is that different than Missouri?” Well, yes and no. Every state has its own laws and legal system, and every state has its own rules that control the ways the courts act on a day-to-day basis. In some aspects of life these differences can be pretty big. Fortunately, the laws controlling debt litigation are similar in every jurisdiction throughout the country. That is, the basic principles of American law-that the plaintiff must prove its case, that the law applies “equally” to everybody-apply in every state in the U.S. The similarities are much larger than the differences. Given that the general rules of law are the same, the major features of debt lawsuits are economic rather than legal. That is, in most cases the debt collectors bring their lawsuits in quantity (it is actually called “bulk” filing some places). The amounts in dispute vary from one or two hundred dollars to much mor
