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Small Claims court/Wage garnishment
Anonymous1 views3 answers
I took a loan out for 5000.00 two years ago for my niece. She verbally and in email promised to pay me back. She stopped paying 4 months ago. Can I take her to small claims court, even if she has moved out of state?
I had occasion to file a small claims action against someone who had moved out of state. I had the option of filing the suit in CA either where the agreement was made or where the other party was residing or working when the agreement was entered into. (The post at the link below provides basic information about small-claims actions.)
The good news was that I could win a default judgment here, because the defendant would not come back to CA to defend the action. The bad news was I had to arrange for (a) the sheriff in the defendant's location to serve papers and (b) a debt-collection attorney in the other state to enforce the CA judgment once I received it.
As it happened, that attorney was able to negotiate a settlement that satisfied both me and the other party. Once I received payment and the check cleared, I dismissed my suit with prejudice.
Disclaimer: This post does not constitute legal advice and does not establish an attorney-client relationship.
No, check out Cal. Code of Civil Procedure Sec. 116.340, Subdivision (e) which says that service must be made within California, except for persons who own real property in California or for a vehicle accident that occurred in this State. You will need to sue her where she lives, unless you convince her to visit California and can serve her here using an adult who is not party to your case. Anyway, if you get a judgment, you will still need to enforce it where she lives, so you may as well start there.
A judgment must be either taken in the state where you want to collect or taken in a state with jurisdiction and domesticated in the state where you want to collect. I agree that starting there is easier. You have to prove the existence of a contract and breach of that contract. If you can prove what you said (the email should do it), then file suit. I have also settled cases after filing suit. Sometimes that is all it takes.
[I am a Virginia attorney. This communication is intended as general information and not specific legal advice, and this communication does not create an attorney-client relationship.]
