Debt collectors in New Jersey

Credit cards: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1(a) gives 6 years for 'a contractual claim or liability, express or implied, not under seal,' which covers general-purpose credit card debt whether it is treated as written or open-account. 2A:14-1(b) excludes contracts for sale governed by UCC 12A:2-725 (4 years). A secondary source says an Appellate Division decision applied 12A:2-725 to a store-branded card usable only at one retailer, but I could not identify or verify that case. Bank-issued cards are not sales of goods by the card issuer.

Payments and acknowledgments: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-24: an acknowledgment or promise counts only if it is in a writing signed by the debtor; spoken words are not enough. The statute expressly preserves 'the effect of any payment of principal or interest,' so a part payment restarts the 6 years. A secondary source says New Jersey courts treat a payment on account as reviving the debt for a fresh 6 years, even after expiry and without a writing (case not identified). No consumer or debt-buyer revival ban was found.

Judgments: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-5: a New Jersey judgment 'may be revived by proper proceedings or an action at law may be commenced thereon within 20 years next after the date thereof, but not thereafter.' Revival within the 20 years yields a renewed judgment. Out-of-state judgments get the shorter of 20 years or the issuing state's period.

Other rules: The store-card UCC argument: if a card is limited to buying goods from one retailer, a debtor may argue that 12A:2-725 (4 years) applies. This rests on an unverified secondary report, and 6 years remains the conservative figure. Banks and other financial institutions cannot use the 16-year sealed-instrument period (2A:14-4). Statute text came from FindLaw (current to Jan. 1, 2024); the official NJ statutes site was not usable. I could not check for 2024-2026 New Jersey legislation on consumer debt limitations or time-barred debt because the search budget ran out. No enacted NJ statute barring suit on time-barred consumer debt was found; secondary sources agree none exists. Federal Reg F, 12 CFR 1006.26(b), bars FDCPA collectors from suing or threatening suit.

• open account: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1(a); cf. 2A:14-1(b) and 12A:2-725 (4 yrs, sale-of-goods contracts)
• written contract: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1(a) (contracts under seal: 16 yrs under 2A:14-4, but 6 yrs when the plaintiff is a merchant, bank, finance company or other financial institution)
• oral contract: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1(a)
• promissory note: N.J.S.A. 12A:3-118(a)
• judgment: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-5
• payment restarts: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-24
• other: N.J.S.A. 2A:14-4 (sealed instruments); N.J. Ct. R. 4:5-4 (SOL is an affirmative defense that must be pleaded); McCarrell v. Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc. (N.J. 2017) (choice of law for limitations follows Restatement (Second) Conflict of Laws sec. 142, per secondary source)

Sources: codes.findlaw.com · codes.findlaw.com · codes.findlaw.com