Its been over 4 years and she keep avoiding me! They went as far as changing their phone number. What are the proper steps to start legal action? or a letter I can write to them? I live in California, I know there are different laws in different states. Any help would be great!
Thanks..
2007-05-02 11:07:19 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
I'd say first write a very serious and direct letter to the person that owes you money, stating in a polite and stern way exactly what you will do if that person doesn't hand over the money by a certain date. Try hard to convince people that know that person to talk to them about it.
Be careful with the lawsuit thing, since it might cost you a bunch of money. But if that's the route you need to go then try to find the lowest-costing lawyer you can since your case is rather straightforward. But make sure you get all of your evidence together.
2007-05-02 11:12:58 · answer #1 · answered by Adel 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to be more specific. Was this the result of a breach of contract? i.e. You sold her something, but you didn't collect from here; You did some work for her, but she didn't pay. If so, did you have a written contract? Or are you collecting on a judgment of a court in a prior suit? The answer you get will depend on how exactly this person owes you money. A judgment generally has the longest statute of limitations to collect, a written contract next, and the shortest an unwritten contract.
2007-05-02 11:16:22 · answer #2 · answered by SomethinFishy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Run to a lawyer or to file a small claims action ($7,500 limit if you personally loaned the money). Without any other details it is hard to tell you. In CA, written contracts can only be enforced for a period of 4 years from breach; oral ones (2 years). You need to beat the "Statute of Limitations" or you cannot collect. The only other thing you can do is try to get the person to acknowledge the debt in writing. If they do this the Statute of Limitations starts again. Good luck!
2007-05-02 11:27:23 · answer #3 · answered by plutolawyer 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
ok, first, you need to know the type of debt she has with you - contract? what type of contract...written/oral/open ended, etc. then you need to find the statute of limitations for that type of contract. if it's less then 4 years (i'm in arizona, and don't know cali law) then you'll be out of luck.
if you CAN still sue, you'll need to find the right venue - the venue that is proper to hear the case, call the county clerk's office & find out which court will hear cases involving money in the amount of 10k or higher.
next, you'll need to know in which location to sue - typically, you sue the person in the court closest to where the action occured (ie. where the contract was signed) or where the defendant lives - where she lives.
then once you file the paperwork (california has a wonderful amount of forms etc on the web pages for the court), you need to serve her with the paperwork.
from that time, she needs to respond to your complaint.
once that is done or not done, there are many additional steps.
my suggestion to you would be to go to a local law library to see what forms/books they have (again cali has a TON of good stuff) so that you can see the timeframes/rules, etc on filing.
2007-05-02 11:15:07 · answer #4 · answered by jack spicer 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Screw the statute of limitations. It sounds like you already have anyway. You CAN sue, despite the statute having run. The statute of limitations only prevents you from recovering if the person you sue asserts it as a defense.
This person sounds like a loser who will not "answer" the complaint. If you sue and serve the person, and they do not respond, you can get a default judgment without having to prove your case. A lawyer could do this for you on the cheap.
Once you have the default judgment, you can apply serious pressure to get this loser to pay you.
2007-05-02 11:41:36 · answer #5 · answered by Gregory H 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Go to the courthouse/government building in the county where this person took the money from you. File a formal complaint against her in small claims court, requesting repayment of your money. You will then go to court, and if the judge agrees that this money is owed, the court can garnish her wages to pay you back, or order her to pay the money right there.
2007-05-02 11:12:16 · answer #6 · answered by missbliss4u63 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
well you really need an attorney. i believe small claims goes up to $7500 now (double check that). If you do want to settle for what small claims allows you can do it yourself fairly easily and cheaply.
got to this site
http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/courts/trial/courtlist.htm
and go to the appropriate county court website and search for self help
2007-05-02 11:16:57 · answer #7 · answered by bbq 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sue them. Go see a lawyer.
2007-05-02 11:11:47 · answer #8 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
CALL THE CLECK OF THE COURT IN YOUR COUNTY AND ASK WHAT THE REQUIREMENTS ARE TO GO TO SMALL CLAIMS COURT.
2007-05-02 11:18:15 · answer #9 · answered by dnjo303 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I didn't realize!
2007-05-02 11:25:09 · answer #10 · answered by Someone who cares 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋