Hi,
A while back I was president of an Illinois sub-chapter 'S' corporation. A bank line of credit was extended to the company and this line was used to finance new projects. Unfortunately, the company ran into sudden financial harship due to being unable to collect several very large receivables (yada-yada), and as a result the company defaulted on this line of credit.
The corporation was simply dissolved by the state and never went into official bankruptcy proceedings. So here's my question:
I had signed the application papers for this line of credit and unbeknownst to me, I was personally guaranteeing this loan (it was in VERY small print on the documents I signed). However, every single place where my signature appears it is immediately followed by my title with the company. I feel this alone shows that I never intended to personally guarantee anything. However, whether that could hold up in court is another story. But here's a really interesting aspect of this story.
For years we had always made timely payments and were in good standing with this debt. During this time, the original bank which supplied this line of credit had been bought out by another bank and changed ownership. While the company was notified of this change in writing, I was never personally notified (I was an alleged guarantor and they had my personal address. So it's my understanding that they could've (should've?) sent such a notice).
It changed ownership another (and last) time when the debt was sold to another banking entity presumably for collection. Again, while the corporation received notice of this, nothing was ever sent to my personal residential address.
So now I am being personally sued for this debt. I guess my questions are:
1. What are the chances that a judge will find me liable for this debt?
2. Can the fact that my title always followed my signature on all loan applications and documents help me?
3(a). As a alleged guarantor of this loan, was I entitled to receive notice of change in ownership?
3(b). Having not received said notice, can this be grounds for dismissal?
4. The time between the last payment and actually being served the supboena was +5 years (longer than the statute of limitation, I believe). But the time between last payment and the filing for the supboena was 4 years and 9 months. Does this help me at all?
5. This is for a substantial amount of money. If a judge finds me liable, do I have a right to declare personally bankruptcy on this debt? (I heard that the personal bankruptcy laws changed for credit cards or something)
I'd really appreciate any insight on this. Thanks.