Charge off account threatening lawsuit

In 1991 I had a credit card that went into collections. The account was eventually written off and has not appeared on my credit report in several years. My husband and I purchased a house two years ago, and since then have taken out a seconde mortgage, refinanced to consolidate the two and recently bought a car. Today I received a call from a collection agency who bought the account and is threatening to file a law suit by Friday (15th) if I do not agree to a settlement. This was over 10 years ago! Is there a statute of limitations on collections in the state of California? What are my legal rights?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

The S.O.L. in California for written contracts; e.g., credit card debts, is 4 years from the date of your last usage or payment.

They can, in fact, file a lawsuit against you however. All you have to do is be smarter than them, and answer their Summons and Complaint using the "affirmative defense" of the Statute of Limitations (cite the code section in your answer). Also, file a Demurrer to their Complaint, pleading the Statute of Limitations.

Case dismissed.

IAAL

Can you elaborate on how to go about responding to this summons? I have received this and according to information I have located they are indeed past the statute of limitations. Do I respond to them directly or wait until my court date? I am in Tennessee with the same situation. However I believe my summons says Michigan vs myself. Either way the statute was 6 years in both states. I would also like to know how long they are able to report this to the credit agency. I thought they rolled off in 7 years. Is this true?