Private Law Theory

“John Oliver recently purchased and forgave about $15 million in medical debt. His objective was to draw attention to the dubious practices of debt collectors, as well as their ‘right’ to buy information about people who once owed money and to try to collect money from them, even if the debt is no longer legally binding because the statute of limitations has expired. (What I will refer to as expired debt is also known as ‘zombie debt’.) If a debtor makes or promises an additional payment or admits obligation, the statute of limitations may actually be extended and the dead debt may be revived …” (more)

[Aditi Bagchi, New Private Law, 13 September]

First posted 2016-09-14 06:17:21