Protecting the Rights of Consumers For Over 25 Years

We received a ruling from the Circuit Court of Cook County on December 12, 2018 that the Illinois statute of limitations on an equity line of credit is five years, not ten years. (An appeal from this ruling was dismissed.) Legal Aid Chicago obtained a similar ruling later. Under Illinois law, the expiration of the statute of limitations on a credit agreement bars action to foreclose the mortgage securing it as well and may entitle you to have it declared invalid.

Please contact us if you are being sued on a HELOC or similar credit extension.

We can help you both defend claims against you and assert your rights under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act and other laws. Our firm was involved in many of the key decisions dealing with the statutes of limitations applicable to consumer obligations in Illinois.

Note that there is a special federal limitations extension provision where the Government (usually the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) takes over a financial institution. It is six years from the date of the takeover, and applies unless the statute has already expired prior to the takeover. The Illinois Appellate Court has held that it applies to entities that buy the debts of a failed financial institution from the Government. This provision would take precedence over state statutes of limitations.

The 12 attorneys in our firm have a total of more than 100 years experience handling consumer lawsuits. We look forward to hearing from you about this or any other consumer legal problem you wish to discuss. There is no charge for consultation.

We have defended consumers in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Will, McHenry, Kendall, Grundy, Lake, DeKalb, Kankakee, Carroll, Clinton, Winnebago, Bureau, LaSalle, Boone, McDonough, Rock Island, Knox and Whiteside Counties, Illinois.