If you’ve been sued by a debt collector, do three things: read every page of the papers, mark your deadline, and don’t ignore the case. The deadline depends on where you live. In New Jersey, most collection suits give you 35 days to file a written answer. In Pennsylvania, small collection suits skip the written answer entirely: you defend by showing up to a hearing. Either way, you have more defenses than you probably think, and defaulting is the one sure way to lose.
What the papers mean and your real deadline: PA vs NJ
The packet you received is a summons and complaint. It tells you who claims you owe money, how much, and which court is handling the case. That last part matters, because your deadline depends on it.
In New Jersey, most consumer collection suits are filed in the Special Civil Part of the Superior Court, which handles claims up to $20,000. You generally have 35 days from the date on the summons to file a written answer, and the court charges a small filing fee. Miss the window and the collector can ask the court for a default judgment.
Pennsylvania works differently for smaller suits. Most start in magisterial district court, where there’s no written answer to file at all. The court schedules a hearing, usually 12 to 60 days after the complaint is filed, and you defend by appearing and presenting your side. The papers may also ask you to notify the court that you intend to defend. If you don’t show up, judgment can be entered against you by default. One more Pennsylvania quirk: even after a magisterial district court judgment, you can appeal to the Court of Common Pleas within 30 days and get a completely fresh trial, called a trial de novo. Larger Pennsylvania suits are filed in the Court of Common Pleas from the start and do require a written response.
| Pennsylvania | New Jersey | |
|---|---|---|
| Where most collection suits happen | Magisterial district court (larger suits go straight to the Court of Common Pleas) | Special Civil Part of the Superior Court (claims up to $20,000) |
| Your deadline | No written answer. Appear at the hearing, usually set 12 to 60 days after the complaint is filed | Written answer within 35 days of the date on the summons |
| What happens if you do nothing | Default judgment at the hearing, though you can appeal to Common Pleas within 30 days for a brand new trial | Default judgment, and the collector can move on to bank levies and a wage execution |
Why defendants win more than they expect
Most collection lawsuits are built for the defendant who never shows up. When you appear and make the plaintiff actually prove its case, the picture changes. Many of these suits are filed by debt buyers, companies that purchased your account from the original creditor. A debt buyer has to prove it owns your specific account, which means documenting every link in the chain of title, and it has to prove the balance with admissible records, not just a printout. Assembling that proof is the plaintiff’s job, not yours, and a lawyer who knows what to demand can test every piece of it. Mistaken identity, payments the collector never credited, and inflated balances are all on the table as defenses too.
Is the debt too old to sue on?
Every debt has a statute of limitations, a deadline for the collector to sue. In Pennsylvania, the limit for most contract debts, including credit cards, is 4 years (42 Pa.C.S. § 5525). In New Jersey, it’s 6 years for most contract debts (N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1). If the clock has run, that’s a defense, but here’s the catch: the court won’t raise it for you. You have to show up and assert it.
There’s a second layer. A federal debt collection rule, Regulation F, prohibits a debt collector from suing, or even threatening to sue, on a time-barred debt (12 CFR 1006.26), and suing on stale debt can also violate the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. So a lawsuit on an old debt isn’t just beatable. It may hand you a claim of your own.
What a default judgment actually costs you
Ignore the suit and the collector usually gets everything it asked for: the full balance, plus interest and court costs, locked in as a judgment. Then collection gets serious. In both states, a judgment creditor can go after your bank account. In New Jersey, it can also seek a wage execution that takes a portion of every paycheck. Pennsylvania is one of the few states that generally doesn’t allow wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debts (42 Pa.C.S. § 8127), but bank accounts and other property are still exposed. We cover the details, including the ways to stop a garnishment that’s already started, on our how to stop wage garnishment page.
Making the lawsuit the collector’s problem: FDCPA
The FDCPA polices how collectors behave, including in court. False or misleading statements about a debt violate section 1692e. If you dispute the debt in writing within 30 days of the collector’s validation notice, section 1692g generally requires collection to pause until the debt is verified. And when a collector crosses the line, the statute has teeth: statutory damages of up to $1,000, plus your actual damages, plus, in a successful case, your attorney fees and costs paid by the collector (15 U.S.C. § 1692k). Courts can also punish creditors who file baseless papers. In one of our cases, In re Heasley, we obtained Rule 9011 sanctions against a creditor (Bankr. E.D. Pa. 2025). Our consumer protection page covers these claims in depth. If the collector’s conduct outside the courtroom is the problem too, our debt collector harassment page covers what’s illegal and what it pays.
When bankruptcy is the cleaner answer
Sometimes the lawsuit isn’t the real problem. It’s the tenth symptom of it. If the debt is legitimate and it’s one of many, beating a single collection case wins the battle while the war grinds on. Filing bankruptcy stops the lawsuit the day you file: the automatic stay halts the case, along with the collection calls, the levies, and every other suit, and a discharge ends the debt permanently instead of one lawsuit at a time. For many people, Chapter 7 wipes out these debts in a few months, a repayment-based Chapter 13 fits other situations, and our Chapter 7 vs Chapter 13 comparison walks through the difference.
Either way, you don’t have to sort this out alone or guess at your deadline. We help people across Pennsylvania and New Jersey, everything can be handled by phone or Zoom, and our fees are affordable, with payment plans. Bring us the lawsuit papers and we’ll map out your options in a free consultation.
Read the papers to find the court and the deadline, then get advice before the deadline runs. In New Jersey that usually means filing a written answer within 35 days. In Pennsylvania’s magisterial district courts it means showing up to the hearing. Whatever you do, don’t ignore the suit.
Federal rules prohibit it. Regulation F bars a debt collector from suing, or threatening to sue, on a time-barred debt. But the statute of limitations is a defense you have to raise; the court won’t spot it for you. If the debt is older than 4 years in Pennsylvania or 6 years in New Jersey, tell a lawyer before you respond.
The collector will likely get a default judgment for the full amount plus interest and costs. After that it can levy your bank account, and in New Jersey it can pursue a wage execution. Pennsylvania generally doesn’t allow wage garnishment for ordinary consumer debts, but your bank account and property are still exposed.
Yes. The automatic stay stops the lawsuit the day your case is filed, along with most other collection activity. If the debt is discharged, the lawsuit is over for good. It’s often the cleaner path when the lawsuit is one debt among many.