5-Year Limitations on Enforcement Actions / Stale Debt
Illinois Code of Civil Procedure (735 ILCS 5/13-205) provides a 5-year statute of limitations on actions for unwritten contracts, evidences of indebtedness, and 'all civil actions not otherwise provided for.' Although municipalities have argued local ordinances are exempt, Illinois courts have applied the 5-year period to enforcement of local debts in some cases. Old ticket debt referred to private collection (Linebarger Goggan, Harris & Harris) becomes increasingly defensible after 5+ years, especially if the City has not pursued judicial review or filed a debt collection action. ALSO: under §9-100-100, the City must mail Notice of Final Determination before initiating debt collection; absent proper Notice, no enforcement action can proceed.
Legal basis
735 ILCS 5/13-205; Chicago Municipal Code §9-100-100, §1-19-020 (collection); Fair Debt Collection Practices Act 15 U.S.C. § 1692
Sample appeal wording
TO: [COLLECTION AGENCY] / City of Chicago Department of Finance RE: Account [NUMBER] — Statute of Limitations / Validation Demand Under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, 15 U.S.C. § 1692g, I demand validation of the alleged debt: (1) full breakdown of charges; (2) original ticket numbers and dates; (3) proof of timely Notice of Final Determination under §9-100-100; (4) proof the City pursued enforcement within 5 years per 735 ILCS 5/13-205. Until validation is received, the demand is disputed. Continued collection without validation violates FDCPA. If the underlying ticket debt is older than 5 years and the City did not commence judicial enforcement timely, the debt is barred by limitations. Signed, [FULL_NAME] Date: [DATE]
Replace [PARKING DATE], [NtK DATE] etc. with your own dates before sending.
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- 735 ILCS 5/13-205
- Chicago Municipal Code §9-100-100
- FDCPA 15 U.S.C. § 1692