Sued by JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. in Texas Over a Chase Card

When a Chase credit card goes unpaid long enough, the lawsuit that follows is usually filed in the name of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Many people who are sued also bank with Chase, so the first questions tend to be practical: can Chase take money from my checking account, how long do I have, and what does Chase actually have to prove? This guide answers those questions under Texas law.

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Chase Bank USA, JPMorgan Chase Bank: Which Name Is Right?

For years Chase credit cards were issued by Chase Bank USA, N.A. According to JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s annual report for 2019 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Chase Bank USA, N.A. merged with and into JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. on May 18, 2019. Chase's current cardmember agreements, filed with the CFPB for the second quarter of 2026, identify the lender as JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., a subsidiary of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

So a new lawsuit should normally name JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. An older account history, an old judgment or a debt buyer's paperwork may still refer to Chase Bank USA, N.A. If the plaintiff is a debt buyer rather than Chase, the buyer must prove it owns your specific account. Texas Debt Law is not affiliated with JPMorgan Chase.

How Long You Have to Respond

Count from the day you were served, not the day the suit was filed:

• Justice court (up to $20,000): answer by the end of the 14th day after service (Texas Rule of Civil Procedure 502.5).
• County or district court: answer by 10:00 a.m. on the Monday after 20 days from service (Rule 99(b)).

Our answer deadline calculator can help. If Chase's lawyers later file a motion for summary judgment in county or district court, your response is due 21 days after the motion is filed for motions filed on or after March 1, 2026; see our update on the new Rule 166a deadline.

Can Chase Take Money From My Chase Checking Account?

Not simply because your card is past due. A federal rule, 12 C.F.R. § 1026.12(d), generally bars a card issuer from offsetting your credit card debt against funds in your deposit account at the same bank. The main exception is a payment you authorized in advance in writing, such as automatic card payments from that account. If you have autopay set up from a Chase account, review it.

The rule does not prevent ordinary court remedies. After a judgment, Chase can seek garnishment of a bank account like any other creditor, subject to Texas exemptions and federal protection for directly deposited benefits. If a lawsuit is pending and your account has been frozen, read whether a creditor can freeze your account before a judgment and call a lawyer right away.

Key Terms in the Chase Cardmember Agreement

• Governing law: federal law and Delaware law, no matter where you live or use the account.
• Default: includes not paying at least the minimum payment when due and failing to comply with the agreement or other agreements with Chase or a related bank. On default, Chase may close the account and demand the full balance.
• Collection costs: to the extent permitted by law, if you default by failing to pay, Chase will require you to pay its collection costs, attorneys' fees, court costs and other enforcement expenses. In a Texas lawsuit, the court decides whether fees are allowed and what amount is reasonable.

Chase's arbitration agreement

Unless it was rejected in time, Chase's arbitration agreement lets either side choose individual binding arbitration, administered by JAMS or the American Arbitration Association, for claims about the account, including collection. You may still use a small claims court for a claim within its jurisdiction that proceeds individually. Borrowers covered by the Military Lending Act are not bound by it. The agreement also states that, although some laws might let Chase recover attorneys' fees if it prevails in arbitration, Chase will not seek such an award, and it describes Chase reimbursing up to $500 of a consumer's initial arbitration filing fees.

The agreement allowed rejection within 60 days of account opening, only by a signed written notice with your name, account number and address mailed to P.O. Box 15298, Wilmington, DE 19850-5298. Notices sent by email, by phone or to any other address are not effective. For most people sued years later, that window has closed, and whether to invoke arbitration is a strategic decision.

Past Enforcement Actions Over Chase's Card Collection Lawsuits

Chase's card collection litigation has been the subject of two federal enforcement actions. They concern past conduct and say nothing about your account or how your case will come out.

• OCC, September 18, 2013 (Consent Order No. 2013-138). The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency found unsafe or unsound practices in the sworn-document and collections-litigation practices of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., JPMorgan Bank and Trust Company, N.A. and Chase Bank USA, N.A., and in their Servicemembers Civil Relief Act compliance, and ordered corrective action and remediation. On July 8, 2015, the OCC assessed a related $30 million civil money penalty.
• CFPB, 47 states and D.C., July 8, 2015 (File No. 2015-CFPB-0013). The CFPB found that Chase Bank USA and Chase BankCard Services filed more than 528,000 collection lawsuits and provided more than 150,000 sworn statements to debt buyers, often using documents signed without the required review or personal knowledge, and that calculation errors sometimes produced judgments for incorrect amounts, and that Chase sold accounts that were paid, settled, discharged or otherwise not collectible. Chase was ordered to stop collecting, enforcing or selling accounts that were sent to collections litigation between January 1, 2009 and June 30, 2014, to pay at least $50 million in refunds, and to pay $136 million in penalties and payments to the CFPB and states. The order requires that factual statements in Chase's declarations be accurate, supported by competent and reliable evidence, based on personal knowledge or a review of the bank's records, and reviewed by the person signing; those requirements have no termination date under the order, while many other provisions ended January 1, 2020.

If your Chase card was in collections litigation during 2009 to mid-2014, tell your lawyer, because the 2015 order addressed those accounts.

What Chase Must Prove, and Common Defenses

Chase, as plaintiff, must prove that the account was issued to you, that you defaulted, and the balance after all payments and credits. In a justice court debt claim case, the petition must list the card name, the masked account number, the opening and charge-off dates if known, the amount owed as of a date certain and whether ongoing interest is sought (Rule 508.2), and a judgment requires evidence of each element (Rule 508.3). In county or district court, the bank's records must meet the Texas Rules of Evidence, usually through a business records affidavit.

Limitations is also worth checking. Texas generally allows four years from accrual (Civil Practice and Remedies Code § 16.004), and against Chase as the original creditor it is a defense you must plead in county or district court (Rule 94); the debt-buyer statute, Finance Code § 392.307, does not apply to Chase itself. See when the four-year clock starts.

Outside law firms that regularly file consumer collection suits are generally "debt collectors" under the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (Heintz v. Jenkins, 514 U.S. 291 (1995)), and the Texas Debt Collection Act also covers creditors. A violation may support a claim, which we bring as a separate federal lawsuit, not a counterclaim, and as a separate service; see our FDCPA and TDCA page.

Getting Help

Attorney Shawn Jaffer has handled thousands of debt collection lawsuits in Texas, and our firm has had hundreds of debt lawsuits dismissed. We file the answer, review Chase's documents and the agreement that governs your account, and negotiate a settlement or payment plan when that fits your goals. We charge flat fees from $400, offer payment plans, help clients across Texas and speak Spanish.

Call or text (214) 945-0000, 7 days a week, for a free review of your Chase lawsuit.

Nothing here is legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not make you our client. Chase is named only to describe lawsuits over Chase-issued accounts.

Sources

• JPMorgan Chase & Co., Form 10-K for 2019 (merger of Chase Bank USA, N.A. into JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A.), U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
• Chase Cardmember Agreement, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., CFPB credit card agreement database (Q2 2026)
• CFPB, 47 States and D.C. Take Action Against JPMorgan Chase (July 8, 2015), CFPB
• Consent Order, In re Chase Bank USA, N.A. and Chase BankCard Services, Inc., File No. 2015-CFPB-0013, CFPB
• OCC Consent Order No. 2013-138 (Sept. 18, 2013), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
• OCC Fines JPMorgan Chase $30 Million for Deficiencies in Debt Collection Practices (July 8, 2015), OCC
• 12 C.F.R. § 1026.12 (Regulation Z, offsets by card issuers), eCFR
• Texas Rules of Civil Procedure (Rules 94, 99, 166a, 502.5, 508), Supreme Court of Texas
• Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code, chapter 16 (§ 16.004)

General information, not legal advice for your case.