Statue of Limitations on Credit Card Debt in Louisiana

The statute of limitations on credit card debt in Louisiana is defined in Article 3494, Section 2 of the Louisiana Code. Credit card debt is considered no different than claims for back wages from employment, rent, borrowed money and compensation for services rendered. Once the statute of limitations expires, a creditor may find it very difficult to legally compel a debtor to repay a credit card debt.

Open Account Definition

In Louisiana and other states across the country, a credit card is considered an open account. This type of credit has no end date, meaning the credit is continually available as long as your account is in good standing. An open account also has no fixed term of repayment, which means you could take as long as you like to pay the balance of the account, as long as you continue to make the creditor's minimum monthly payment to keep the account in good standing.

Statute of Limitations

The statute of limitations for collecting credit card debt in Louisiana is three years. This is a relatively short amount of time when you consider other debts in the state, including written contracts and domestic judgments, have a statute of limitations as long as 10 years. A creditor has up to the statute of limitations to force you to repay the debt through a lawsuit. In Louisiana, a creditor may obtain a wage garnishment for up to 25 percent of your disposable weekly earnings, or up to 30 percent of the federal minimum wage rate of weekly earnings, whichever is less.

Defense in Court

The expiration of the statute of limitations on a credit card debt does not expressly prevent a creditor from suing you. If a creditor does elect to sue you past the expiration of the statute, all you have to do is point out the debt is time-barred by the expired statute. The court may then dismiss the lawsuit with prejudice. This means the creditor loses the suit, and is legally barred from suing you again to force you to repay the debt.

Contacting the Creditor

Contacting your creditor, including answering phone calls or responding to written requests, restarts the statute of limitations on your credit card account. This buys your creditor more time to get you to collect the debt, and may allow the creditor enough time to successfully sue you in civil court. If your statute of limitations is about to expire it is advisable to not contact your creditor in any way. Once the statute expires, the creditor may continue normal collection practices, including phone calls and emails, but cannot legally force you to repay the debt.