How can I fight debt collection and where do I begin?

We recently found out we are being sued for an unpaid private "education" loan. We haven't received the summons (sent out Feb 3rd), and found out about the suit through another letter from a lawyer, and when we called the court they told us about the pending civil case. The loan was taken out in 2008 through US Bank. It was sold in 2009 to Asset Acceptance LLC. We never were able to make any payments on the loan. The loan had a "drop-off" date of 2016, and we also though there was a statute of limitations of 6 years on collecting debt, so we are wondering if it is possible to let the loan expire. We've looked into bankruptcy, but would like to avoid it if it is possible for this debt to expire, so we have a few questions: -What is the statute of limitations on private "education" loans, and how can we find out when the loan expires? -Is it possible that when the bank sold the loan the expiration date was pushed back? -If we try to negotiate with Assets Acceptance, will that change the expiration date? -If we don't get the summons, how long before the case can move forward and a judgment is issued? -If the case does move forward (and a judgment is issued/wages garnished/etc.) will it be too late to file bankruptcy to eliminate the debt?