Process of filing in small claims court?

Question

OK- So I gave a cell phone to a friend that was moving to Vegas. (My contract was up, she needed a cell phone, she just had to call and put the phone in her name) Long story short, I ended up cancelling the phone when I got 2 $500 phone bills 2 months in a row. She says she'll pay me back, but who knows. Now, I live in Hawaii, she lives in Las Vegas. What is the process to try to file small claims? Can I do it from Hawaii? Do I actually have to go to court? Can I try to fight this without actually going to Nevada for anything? Total she owes me is about $700. Is it even worth it to try and fight it? Also, I had to put her as an authorized user on my account so she could get the phone in her name. She called, upgraded her contract, wasn't on time with the bill once, but since she was on there and my names the primary person on the bill, I basically got screwed. Is this what I get for trying to be a nice guy?

Answer 1

Well, I guess you found out just what kind of friend she was, didn't you?

If she has promised to pay you, either in writing or orally, WHILE you have been living in Hawaii, you may be able to sue her in that state. Check with the small claims court in Hawaii. Here is a website: Just type the words "small claims court hawaii" into the Yahoo search box; it will take you to their website; they have a brochure, which you can view and download, in Adobe Acrobat format. (You can also get a free copy of that software downloaded to you if you don't already have it.) )

It might be easier to sue her in Hawaii, although she has never set foot there, if you have her promise to pay you in writing, sent there while you have lived there, and signed by her. ) Of course, you have to have the summons and complaint served on her in her state, Nevada. Whether or not you will ever be able to collect anything is doubtful.
Of course, if you obtain a judgement, you could turn it over to a collection agency in Nevada, but you would only get a percentage of the amount of the judgement.



The brochure, Your Guide to Small Claims Court, provides answers to common questions (1.6 MB - Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is free).
Small Claims forms are available at District Court or via this website.

Answer 2

There are a bunch of problems. You are dealing with amounts of greater than $500 with nothing in writing. Start by getting every thing down on paper. Write her a letter sumarizing what you want her to do and why you think you have a right to be paid back. As far as small claims court, it ususally costs about $100 where I live. If you want to get a judgment against her you have to show the judge something, probably in writing. You have to give her notice of the hearing and she may argue that the court has no jurisdiction (and she would probably win if none of this took place in Hawaii). You could probably file in a court with jurisdicition if you file where she lives now. Does not sound worth it.

Answer 3

Your first hurdle with any lawsuit is getting valid service on the defendant, and for individuals that almost always requires service to be made while they are within the jurisdiction of the court.

Unless you invite her to Hawaii, that's probably not going to happen. Even if you do invite her and she comes and gets served, she can probably fight the service because of being tricked into coming into the jurisdiction.

You could sue her in Las Vegas, but it's probably not worth the expense.

And, yes, that's what you get for trying to be a nice guy.

Answer 4

Try the sites below for research on this topic. In most cases you can get issues like this resolved with a simple letter from an Attorney/Law Firm. Hope this helps.