Sued in the wrong county
A debt collector that sues you on a consumer debt must file in the judicial district where you signed the contract or where you live when the suit is filed. A suit to enforce an interest in real property must be filed where the property is. Suing you anywhere else violates the FDCPA's venue rule, and the collector can owe you damages even while you defend the collection case.
Where a collector sues you matters. A lawsuit filed hours away is harder to answer, harder to attend, and more likely to end in a default judgment. Congress addressed that directly. The FDCPA requires a debt collector to sue on a consumer debt only where you signed the contract or where you live when the suit is filed.
A collector that files anywhere else has violated the Act by filing, and you can hold it responsible while you defend the collection case.
What it looks like
- The collector's home court. A suit filed in the county where the collector or its law firm is located, not where you live.
- Your old address. A suit filed where you lived years ago, when you did not sign the contract there.
- The wrong borough or county. A New York City resident sued in a county court outside the City, or a New Jersey resident sued in a distant county.
- Out of state. A Florida resident sued in the state where the lender is headquartered.
- A judgment you never knew about. A far-away suit, no real service, and a default judgment that surfaces when your bank account is frozen.
The law
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692i(a), any debt collector who brings a legal action on a debt against a consumer must:
- in an action to enforce an interest in real property securing the obligation, sue only in the judicial district or similar legal entity where the property is located (§ 1692i(a)(1));
- in any other action, sue only in the judicial district or similar legal entity where the consumer signed the contract sued upon, or where the consumer resides at the commencement of the action (§ 1692i(a)(2)).
The statute also says that nothing in the FDCPA authorizes collectors to bring legal actions (§ 1692i(b)). The rule restricts where they may sue; it does not give them a right to.
What counts as a "judicial district or similar legal entity" depends on how the state organizes its courts, and it can be narrower than a whole county. A lawyer will look at the specific court and the court's territorial reach.
Collection law firms are debt collectors under the FDCPA when they regularly collect consumer debts (Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)). The firm that files a suit in the wrong place is often a proper defendant along with the debt buyer.
What you have to show
That a debt collector sued you on a consumer debt, where you lived on the date the suit was filed, where you signed the contract, and the court where the suit was filed. A lease, a utility bill or a driver's license can prove your address; the summons shows the court and the filing date.
What you can recover
Under 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(a), a collector that violates the FDCPA is liable for your actual damages plus additional statutory damages of up to $1,000 per lawsuit. The FDCPA requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. A collector that files many suits in the wrong place can face a class action, with class statutory damages capped at the lesser of $500,000 or 1% of its net worth.
In Florida the FCCPA provides statutory damages up to $1,000 (Fla. Stat. § 559.77(2)); in New York GBL 349 provides actual damages or $50, whichever is greater, increased up to three times actual damages capped at $1,000 for a willful violation. This site does not estimate what a case is worth.
What to do now
- Do not ignore the papers. If you have been sued, respond by the deadline, even in a far-away court. The answer deadline is short. Read sued by a debt collector.
- Note the filing date. It is on the summons or the court's docket, and it fixes where you "resided at the commencement of the action."
- Gather proof of your address. A lease, a deed, utility bills or tax returns showing where you lived on that date.
- Find where you signed. The application or agreement, if you have it, or where you lived when you opened the account.
- Check for a judgment you did not know about. Search the court's records in any county where you have been sued before.
The clock
| Claim | Time to sue | Authority |
|---|---|---|
| FDCPA | 1 year from the violation | 15 U.S.C. § 1692k(d) |
| Florida FCCPA | 2 years from the violation | Fla. Stat. § 559.77(4) |
| New York GBL 349 | 3 years | N.Y. CPLR 214(2) |
When a venue violation occurs, at filing or at service, can be argued. Counting from the filing date is the safe assumption. There is no discovery rule under the FDCPA (Rotkiske v. Klemm, 589 U.S. 8 (2019)).
In New York, New Jersey and Florida
New York. A suit filed in the wrong place, or a judgment entered without proper service, can support claims under the FDCPA and GBL 349, which lets the court award a prevailing consumer reasonable attorney's fees. New York consumer credit suits must also be brought within 3 years (CPLR 214-i). See the New York page.
New Jersey. The FDCPA venue rule applies in full to collection suits in New Jersey's courts. See the New Jersey page.
Florida. The FDCPA venue rule applies to collectors suing Florida residents. The FCCPA bars asserting a legal right the person knows does not exist (Fla. Stat. § 559.72(9)), reaches original creditors, and requires a company found liable to pay the consumer's reasonable attorney's fees and costs. See the Florida page.
Common questions
I moved after I signed the contract. Where can they sue me?
Under the FDCPA, either where you signed the contract or where you live when the lawsuit is filed. A collector may not sue you where you used to live if you did not sign the contract there, and it may not pick a court for its own convenience.
Does the venue rule apply to the original bank?
The FDCPA venue rule applies to debt collectors, including debt buyers and collection law firms. A creditor suing in its own name is generally not covered by the FDCPA, though state venue rules still apply to it.
Should I ignore a lawsuit filed in the wrong place?
No. Do not ignore the papers. A court can enter a default judgment even in a case filed in the wrong place, and undoing a default takes work. Respond by the deadline and raise the venue problem. The answer deadline is short.
I never got the papers and found out about a judgment later. Is that a violation too?
It can be. A collector that obtains a judgment without proper service may have violated the FDCPA and, in New York, GBL 349. Talk to a lawyer about both vacating the judgment and a claim against the collector.
Tell us what they did.
One conversation with an attorney, in your language. We tell you which laws the collector or the credit bureau broke, which deadline runs first, and what to save this week. If it is not a case we can take, we say so and tell you where to go.
(718) 484-7510The FDCPA and the FCRA require a company found liable to pay the consumer’s reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. Our fee arrangement is confirmed in a written retainer before we begin. English, Russian and Spanish in-house; an interpreter for any other language.