Cavalry SPV Is Suing Me in New York — What Do I Do?

Cavalry SPV I LLC is a debt buyer headquartered in Valhalla, New York — meaning when Cavalry sues you in New York, they are suing in their own home state. The company was founded in 1998 and operates with its affiliated servicer, Cavalry Portfolio Services LLC, which handles collections, mailings, and the New York collection attorneys who file the actual lawsuits in New York Civil Court and Supreme Court. The "SPV" stands for Special Purpose Vehicle. That entity choice creates real chain-of-title complexity, because portfolios often move through Cavalry Investments LLC, Cavalry SPV I LLC, Cavalry SPV II LLC, and various bankruptcy-remote SPVs before suit is filed.

The single most important fact about Cavalry — the fact that should appear in every New York Answer — is the 2015 Consumer Financial Protection Bureau consent order. The bureau found that Cavalry Portfolio Services and related Cavalry entities had been using false statements in debt-collection lawsuits and collecting on time-barred debts without required disclosures. The order required approximately $92 million in consumer relief plus a $10 million civil money penalty. That is not ancient history — it is a documented federal record of the very behavior the New York Consumer Credit Fairness Act was enacted to address.

Cavalry buys credit card debt and auto loan debt at deep discounts. The most common original creditors in Cavalry portfolios are Citibank, HSBC, Bank of America, Chase, Capital One, GE Money Bank, and Washington Mutual. Cavalry did not lend you money. They bought your charged-off account and are now using New York courts to convert that purchase into a full-balance recovery.

Cavalry sues a high volume of New York consumers because Cavalry is based in New York and has long-standing relationships with New York collection law firms. If you were served with a summons from Cavalry SPV I LLC in New York Civil Court, Supreme Court, or — if you live outside New York City — in the local County Court, here is what almost certainly happened. You fell behind on a credit card or auto loan years ago. The original creditor charged the account off. The bank sold the portfolio at a deep discount. Cavalry purchased it through one or more of its SPV entities. Now you are being sued because a default judgment is the cheapest way for Cavalry to collect.

New York court data and CFPB studies confirm that the majority of consumers sued in debt collection cases never file an Answer. When that happens, the New York court enters a default judgment, and Cavalry walks away with the right to garnish up to ten percent of your gross income, restrain your bank account, and pursue other collection remedies under New York law. The 2015 CFPB consent order specifically addressed this default-by-attrition pattern — Cavalry’s practice of obtaining judgments by simply showing up rather than by proving a clean case.

New York added the Consumer Credit Fairness Act in 2021 (effective May 7, 2022) precisely because the legislature recognized that debt buyers like Cavalry were filing thousands of complaints with thin or defective documentation and obtaining defaults at scale. The CCFA put real teeth in the pleading requirements — and it is your defense.

New York gives you twenty days to respond if you were served personally, or thirty days if you were served by another method such as substituted service, under CPLR § 3012. The exact deadline depends on how service was made — read the affidavit of service in the court file to confirm.

You count the days starting the day after service. Weekends are included. If the deadline falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or court holiday, it rolls forward to the next business day. "Personal service" means a process server handed the papers directly to you. "Other methods" include substituted service (left with a person of suitable age plus mailing), nail-and-mail (affixed to the door plus mailing), or service on an authorized agent.

If you miss the deadline, Cavalry can apply for a default judgment. In New York, the default-judgment process for consumer credit cases now requires the plaintiff to submit additional documentation under CCFA — but you should not rely on that gatekeeping to save you. The procedural friction reduces some defaults but does not eliminate them, and the additional gatekeeping can be sidestepped if Cavalry is well-prepared.

If a default has already been entered against you, you can move to vacate under CPLR § 5015(a)(1) on grounds of excusable default, but you must show a reasonable excuse and a meritorious defense — and you must move promptly, generally within one year. Filing on time is far easier than vacating later.

New York has one of the strongest debt-buyer pleading rules in the country: the Consumer Credit Fairness Act, codified at CPLR § 3016(j), effective May 7, 2022. It is the rule that defeats more Cavalry cases in New York than any other defense, and Cavalry’s SPV structure makes CCFA compliance especially difficult.

Under CPLR § 3016(j), a consumer credit complaint must plead six specific elements on the face of the complaint: the name of the original creditor; the original account identifier; the date of default; a statement that the statute of limitations has not expired; the full chain of title — every assignment from the original creditor to the current plaintiff; and a charge-off itemization. The complaint must also attach the signed contract or, if unavailable, the most recent monthly billing statement before charge-off. Missing any element supports dismissal under CPLR § 3211(a)(3) for lack of standing or capacity.

Cavalry’s SPV structure cuts directly against this requirement. Each Cavalry entity transfer — Cavalry Investments LLC to Cavalry SPV I LLC, Cavalry SPV I to a downstream SPV, and so on — is a separate assignment that must be pleaded under § 3016(j). Cavalry complaints filed in New York routinely fall short. The chain is often presented as a generic block transfer without account-level identification, the SOL non-expiration statement is often missing or boilerplate, and the original cardholder agreement is often replaced with a stripped-down billing statement that does not satisfy the rule.

Palisades Collection v. Kedik, decided by the Fourth Department in 2009, is binding on this point: the chain of title must appear on the face of the complaint, not be promised in a future filing. Combined with the 2015 CFPB consent order — which specifically faulted Cavalry for false statements in court filings — New York judges have a strong reason to scrutinize Cavalry pleadings carefully.

New York has one of the shortest statutes of limitations in the country for consumer credit card debt — three years under CPLR § 214. This is dramatically shorter than the six-year period most states use, and it is one of the most powerful defenses available to a New York Cavalry defendant.

The clock starts running on the date of your last payment or the charge-off date, whichever is later. If you made your last payment in March 2022, the three-year clock began then and expired in March 2025. A Cavalry lawsuit filed in mid-2025 on that account would be filed outside the limitations period and time-barred. Calculate your dates carefully — three years passes faster than you think, and Cavalry routinely files on the edge.

The 2015 CFPB consent order against Cavalry is squarely on point. The CFPB found that Cavalry was collecting on time-barred debts without the disclosures federal law requires. New York judges familiar with the consent order will recognize the pattern when you raise the SOL defense.

The CCFA reinforces this defense. CPLR § 3016(j) requires the complaint to affirmatively state that the SOL has not expired. If Cavalry pleaded that statement and the underlying facts show the debt is time-barred, that is not just an SOL defense — it is also evidence of a false statement in court filings, which echoes the 2015 CFPB findings.

The statute of limitations is an affirmative defense. It does not happen automatically. The court will not throw out the case just because the debt is old. You must raise it in your Answer or you waive it, and Cavalry walks away with a judgment on a debt the federal government already said they should not have been collecting.

Most credit card agreements contain a clause requiring that any dispute be resolved through binding arbitration administered by AAA or JAMS. When Cavalry purchased your account, they bought it subject to whatever terms were in the original cardholder agreement — which means the arbitration clause may now belong to you.

This is one of the most powerful and least-used defenses for New York Cavalry defendants. Even though the arbitration clause is enforceable by either side, debt buyers usually do not want to arbitrate. AAA and JAMS commercial filing fees for a business claimant typically run from $1,500 to $5,000 or more, plus the arbitrator’s hourly fees. If Cavalry is suing you for $3,200, the cost of arbitration may exceed the recoverable amount.

This dynamic creates the "arbitration fee trap." Once a New York defendant moves to compel arbitration under CPLR § 7503(a) and the court grants the motion, Cavalry must choose between paying thousands in arbitration filing fees or abandoning the case. Cavalry very often abandons, which can result in a dismissal.

New York courts will compel arbitration if the agreement is valid and the dispute falls within its scope. To use the defense, you generally need a copy of the original cardholder agreement showing the arbitration clause. Under CCFA pleading requirements, Cavalry should be producing that agreement with the complaint or in early discovery. If they cannot, that is itself a defect.

Your Answer is the most important document you will file in the case. It is your formal response to Cavalry’s complaint, and it locks in your defenses for the rest of the lawsuit. A good New York Cavalry Answer does three things: it admits or denies each numbered allegation, it raises every applicable affirmative defense, and — where appropriate — it raises a counterclaim or sets up a motion to dismiss under CPLR § 3211.

For the admit-or-deny portion, do not admit anything you do not actually know. If Cavalry alleges that you owed Citibank exactly $3,217.42 as of a charge-off date you do not specifically remember, deny for lack of knowledge. Admitting allegations you cannot personally verify hands Cavalry elements of their case for free.

The affirmative defenses to consider include lack of standing under CPLR § 3211(a)(3) (Cavalry cannot prove unbroken chain of title across the SPV-to-SPV transfers); failure to comply with the six elements of CPLR § 3016(j) (Consumer Credit Fairness Act); statute of limitations under CPLR § 214 if your last payment or charge-off was more than three years before suit; failure to state a claim under CPLR § 3211(a)(7); account stated cannot be established; arbitration if the original agreement contains a clause; and Palisades Collection v. Kedik chain-of-title doctrine. Where the facts support it, plead the 2015 CFPB consent order as evidence of Cavalry’s pattern of false statements and time-barred collection.

What you should never do: do not admit you owe the debt. Do not call Cavalry Portfolio Services to "explain" — anything you say can be used against you. Do not promise to pay. Do not ignore the lawsuit. The 20-day or 30-day clock under CPLR § 3012 is unforgiving.

New York has strong consumer protection laws for debt collection defendants. Most consumers being sued by Cavalry have no idea these laws exist.

The Consumer Credit Fairness Act (CPLR § 3016(j) and related provisions) is the centerpiece. It requires the six-element disclosure on the face of the complaint, attaches gatekeeping requirements at the default-judgment stage, and shortens the SOL on consumer credit transactions to three years under CPLR § 214. The CCFA was enacted in 2021 (effective May 7, 2022) precisely because the legislature recognized the pattern of conduct the 2015 CFPB consent order had identified — debt buyers obtaining defaults on time-barred or improperly documented claims.

New York General Business Law § 601 prohibits certain abusive debt collection practices, including communicating false information about a debt and threatening actions the collector cannot legally take. Combined with the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, an FDCPA counterclaim against Cavalry SPV and Cavalry Portfolio Services entitles you to up to $1,000 in statutory damages plus attorney’s fees. The 2015 CFPB consent order — approximately $92 million in consumer relief plus a $10 million civil money penalty — is admissible evidence of pattern conduct and significantly strengthens any FDCPA counterclaim.

The combination of CCFA pleading dismissals, the three-year SOL, FDCPA counterclaims, and the documented 2015 CFPB enforcement record is the reason Cavalry routinely settles or dismisses New York cases when they see a real Answer. The downside risk to Cavalry of losing a contested case can easily exceed the value of the underlying debt.

After you file your Answer with the New York court clerk and serve a copy on Cavalry’s collection counsel, the case enters discovery. New York discovery is governed by Article 31 of the CPLR.

In a Cavalry case, this is where the CCFA chain-of-title defense gets tested. You can serve a notice for discovery and inspection demanding every assignment document, every bill of sale, every SPV-to-SPV transfer, the original cardholder agreement, and the complete account history. Cavalry must respond within twenty days of service. If they cannot produce a clean chain of title and an authenticated business record from someone with personal knowledge of the original creditor’s records, the case is in trouble.

What very often happens next is a settlement offer. The economics for Cavalry change dramatically once they realize they are facing a defendant who is going to make them prove their case. New York practitioners report that debt buyers commonly settle real-Answer cases for forty to sixty cents on the dollar, sometimes less.

If the case does not settle, it proceeds to a court date. For amounts under $10,000 in New York City Civil Court (or under the relevant cap in district or city courts elsewhere), the rules are simplified. For amounts above $25,000, the case is in Supreme Court and follows full CPLR practice.

A meaningful share of Cavalry cases get voluntarily dismissed by Cavalry after CCFA-driven discovery, especially when the chain of title across SPV transfers is weak. Many more settle for a deeply discounted lump sum. Defendants who file real Answers raising CCFA, the three-year SOL, and the 2015 CFPB consent order win or settle far more often than defendants who default.

Answered is a self-help legal platform built specifically for pro se defendants in consumer debt collection lawsuits. The New York playbook was reviewed by a New York-licensed consumer-rights attorney and is built around the specific statutes and rules that govern Cavalry cases — CPLR § 3016(j) (Consumer Credit Fairness Act), CPLR § 214 (three-year SOL), and Palisades Collection v. Kedik chain-of-title doctrine.

When you upload your summons and complaint, Answered does the following: it extracts the key dates including your service date and your 20-day or 30-day Answer deadline under CPLR § 3012; it scans for the procedural defects most commonly found in Cavalry pleadings, including missing chain-of-title documents across SPV transfers, defective CCFA six-element disclosures, generic Cavalry Portfolio Services affidavits, and missing or boilerplate SOL non-expiration statements; it identifies whether your debt may be time-barred under the three-year SOL of CPLR § 214; it checks whether an arbitration clause is likely available; and it generates a court-ready Answer with the affirmative defenses that apply, including reference to the 2015 CFPB consent order where relevant.

The Answer is formatted for New York Civil Court, Supreme Court, or local court, includes the proper caption and case style, and contains the affirmative defenses. It also generates a discovery package designed to push Cavalry to produce — or fail to produce — the chain-of-title and CCFA-required documents.

Pricing is simple: free to start, and a one-time $99 charge to unlock and download your final documents. No subscription. No per-document fee.

This product exists because the founder, John DiSalle, was sued by a debt buyer, researched his own defense end-to-end, and built Answered from that experience so other defendants do not have to assemble it from scratch.