Debt collectors in Nebraska

Credit cards: No statute or Nebraska appellate decision classifying credit cards was found, and the search budget ran out before case law could be fully checked. Debt founded on a written contract gets 5 years (Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-205); an unwritten express or implied contract (open account theory) gets 4 years (25-206). Secondary sources treat it as fact-dependent, so 5 is the conservative figure; 4 years is the shorter alternative where no written agreement is proved.

Payments and acknowledgments: Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-216: in contract actions, a part payment, or a written acknowledgment of an existing debt, or a written promise to pay, starts a new full period from that event. A secondary source citing T.S. McShane Co. v. Dominion Constr. Co., 203 Neb. 318 (1979) says a voluntary part payment revives even an already-barred debt if it recognizes the whole debt, and that a payment the creditor applies without the debtor's knowledge does not count (not verified in the opinion). No consumer or debt-buyer revival ban was found.

Judgments: Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1515: a judgment becomes dormant and stops being a lien if no execution issues within 5 years of entry, or within 5 years of the last execution. Issuing executions at least every 5 years keeps it alive indefinitely. A dormant judgment can be revived only if a revival action is started within 10 years after it became dormant (25-1420).

Other rules: The official Nebraska Legislature statute site (nebraskalegislature.gov) refused connections throughout, and Justia returned 403. The text came from the FindLaw mirror (current to Jan. 1, 2024), so 2024-2026 amendments are unconfirmed. The credit card classification is unresolved; check for Nebraska Court of Appeals or Supreme Court authority. Secondary sources report no Nebraska statute on suing or collecting time-barred consumer debt and say expiration is an affirmative defense (Calvert v. Roberts Dairy, 242 Neb. 664 (1993), per a secondary source). The judgment figure here is the 5-year dormancy period; enforceability can be kept alive indefinitely by timely executions.

• open account: Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-205 (5 yrs written) vs 25-206 (4 yrs unwritten); no controlling credit card case found
• written contract: Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-205(1)
• oral contract: Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-206
• promissory note: Neb. U.C.C. 3-118(a), 6 yrs (NOT verified this pass: the Nebraska Legislature site was unreachable and FindLaw does not carry Nebraska's UCC); non-negotiable written notes: Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-205 (5 yrs)
• judgment: Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-1515 (dormancy), 25-1420 (revival within 10 yrs of dormancy)
• payment restarts: Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-216
• other: Uniform Conflict of Laws-Limitations Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. 25-3201 to 25-3207 (borrowing rule; cited by a secondary source, not read)

Sources: codes.findlaw.com · codes.findlaw.com · ezel.ai