In the case of Midland Funding LLC v. Johnson, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of debt collectors regarding their ability to file claims on old debts where the statute of limitations had expired. The court held that it was not a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) for a company to file bankruptcy claims on time-barred debts because these were not considered false, deceptive or misleading practices under this act. Aleida Johnson filed suit against Midland Funding alleging they violated FDCPA by filing a proof claim in her bankruptcy proceedings for an old credit card debt which was past its six-year statute of limitations under Alabama law.

In the dissenting opinion for Midland Funding LLC v. Johnson, Justice Sotomayor argued that debt collectors should not be allowed to file claims in bankruptcy proceedings for debts they know are unenforceable under state statutes of limitations. She contended that such actions amount to a form of harassment and can lead to unjust enrichment if debtors or trustees fail to object on time. The majority's interpretation, she suggested, would allow savvy creditors to take advantage of unsophisticated consumers who may not understand their rights in these complex legal situations. Furthermore, she pointed out that this practice could clog up the bankruptcy system with stale claims and divert resources away from legitimate ones.