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A 5619

Relates to the real property tax exemption for surviving spouses of volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers killed in the line of duty

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Anil Beephan and 11 co-sponsors

Prohibits reviving time‑barred consumer debts by post‑expiration payments, acknowledgments, or promises to pay, keeping the six‑year limit intact.

SUBSTITUTED BY S688A
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Bill Summary · A 5619

Summary — A5619 (substituted by S688A)

Topic: Prohibits revival of time‑barred consumer debt claims by post‑expiration payments, acknowledgements, or promises to pay

Note: The bill text and committee statement provided concern statutes of limitations for consumer debt. (The title shown at the top of your materials — about a real property tax exemption for surviving spouses — does not match the bill text. This summary follows the bill text.)

Purpose / Intent

A5619 prevents creditors and debt collectors from reviving otherwise time‑barred claims to collect consumer debt by relying on a debtor’s later payment, written or oral acknowledgement, or promise to pay made after the statute of limitations has already expired. The goal is to protect consumers from lawsuits on debts that are legally time‑barred.

Key provisions

  • Amends N.J.S.2A:14‑1 (the six‑year limitations statute for most contract claims) by adding subsection (d).
  • Subsection (d) provides that the statutory filing period for any cause of action to collect a contractual consumer debt:
    • shall not be tolled or revived by any subsequent payment, acknowledgement of the debt, or promise to pay, if that act occurred after the statutory limitations period had already expired.
  • Defines “consumer debt” as debt incurred by an individual primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; expressly includes:
    • consumer credit (as defined in N.J.S.56:11‑1), and
    • medical debt (as defined in P.L.2024, c.48, C.56:11‑57).
  • Retains existing exceptions in N.J.S.2A:14‑1 (e.g., subsection b excludes certain sales governed by N.J.S.12A:2‑725).
  • Effective immediately; applies to any cause of action filed on or after the effective date.

Who would be affected

  • Protected: Individuals (debtors) with old consumer, consumer‑credit, or medical debts whose statute of limitations (currently six years under subsection a) has expired.
  • Restricted: Creditors, collection agencies, debt buyers, medical providers and their attorneys who previously relied on debtor payments/acknowledgements to revive dormant debts.
  • Courts: May see fewer suits based on revived time‑barred consumer debt; may face litigation over interpretation of “subsequent payment,” timing, and what qualifies as acknowledgement or promise.

Background / rationale

  • Under New Jersey case law (e.g., Burlington County Country Club v. Midlantic Nat. Bank South, 223 N.J. Super. 227 (Ch. Div. 1987)), an acknowledgment or post‑limitation payment could restart the limitations period and revive a debt. A5619 overturns that rule for consumer debts.
  • The measure is modeled on Benchmark 10 from the National Center for Access to Justice’s 2024 Consumer Debt Litigation Index.

Procedural status (selected)

  • Introduced in Assembly: May 5, 2025
  • Reported by Assembly Regulated Professions Committee: May 15, 2025
  • Reported and referred to Assembly Judiciary Committee: May 15, 2025
  • Reported and placed on Rules/Third Reading calendar: June 11, 2025
  • Substituted by companion Senate bill S688A: June 11, 2025

Potential effects and considerations

  • Likely to reduce successful lawsuits by creditors based on revived, time‑barred consumer debts and to discourage collecting practices that rely on post‑limitation acknowledgements.
  • Creditors will need to file collection actions within the existing six‑year window or rely on other lawful bases; debt collectors may change communications practices to avoid inadvertent revival attempts.
  • May prompt litigation over boundaries (e.g., what communications constitute an effective “acknowledgement” and whether partial payments made before expiration are treated differently).
  • Does not change the underlying limitations period; it bars only revival after expiration for consumer debts.

If you want, I can:
- Extract the exact draft statutory language added by subsection (d);
- Compare this bill with companion S688A; or
- Draft a short explainer for consumers on how to check whether a debt is time‑barred under New Jersey law.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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