Small Claims Court

[Tessian]

Has anyone here ever been involved in a small claims suit or know anything about them? I won't bother going into details unless someone does, but I need to find out if I have a case in regards to my issue.

[Imakeholesinu]

Has anyone here ever been involved in a small claims suit or know anything about them? I won't bother going into details unless someone does, but I need to find out if I have a case in regards to my issue.

Will that girl ever go away?

[Tessian]

Will that girl ever go away?

Deceptive fucker aren't ya? That's the problem though... she went away without working out repayment of the now $2000 she owes me. Tried calling a few times and never getting a reply, so I'm hoping the threat of getting sued will get her attention and if not I'll be prepared to actually do it.

[SineSwiper]

Lawyers are always willing to talk to you for free, believe it or not. They feel that if they have a potential case (worth money), they won't mind passing out free advice.

Also, don't try "calling" or "talking". That's not a written record. If you are thinking of legal matters, type up a letter and send it to her in certified mail. Then get the receipt of the delivery. If she refuses to sign for it (you have the option), then keep that receipt of denial and put the letter in front of her door.

Legal matters are NOTHING without a written record! I cannot state this loudly enough!

[Tessian]

Lawyers are always willing to talk to you for free, believe it or not. They feel that if they have a potential case (worth money), they won't mind passing out free advice.

Also, don't try "calling" or "talking". That's not a written record. If you are thinking of legal matters, type up a letter and send it to her in certified mail. Then get the receipt of the delivery. If she refuses to sign for it (you have the option), then keep that receipt of denial and put the letter in front of her door.

Legal matters are NOTHING without a written record! I cannot state this loudly enough!

I appreciate the help Sine, but it's obvious from what you've said here you don't know how small claims court works. It is a whole different beast than a normal court. Everything's more lenient-- no need for lawyers, verbal contracts are acceptable and there's less of a burden of proof, etc. I know that if this were a normal court I'd be screwed because I have no documentation (also I don't have her current address or even place of business) but I don't need it for small claims

[Eric]

Lawyers are always willing to talk to you for free, believe it or not. They feel that if they have a potential case (worth money), they won't mind passing out free advice.

Also, don't try "calling" or "talking". That's not a written record. If you are thinking of legal matters, type up a letter and send it to her in certified mail. Then get the receipt of the delivery. If she refuses to sign for it (you have the option), then keep that receipt of denial and put the letter in front of her door.

Legal matters are NOTHING without a written record! I cannot state this loudly enough!

I appreciate the help Sine, but it's obvious from what you've said here you don't know how small claims court works. It is a whole different beast than a normal court. Everything's more lenient-- no need for lawyers, verbal contracts are acceptable and there's less of a burden of proof, etc. I know that if this were a normal court I'd be screwed because I have no documentation (also I don't have her current address or even place of business) but I don't need it for small claims

So what you're saying is we should expect to see you on Judge Judy?

[Tessian]

So what you're saying is we should expect to see you on Judge Judy?

Fuck no, thank god this isn't the People's Court

[Zeus]

If you're doing it out of spite or to teach her a lesson, then hey, go ahead. But if you're expecting anything out of it, I'd say don't bother. It's a crapshoot

[Tessian]

If you're doing it out of spite or to teach her a lesson, then hey, go ahead. But if you're expecting anything out of it, I'd say don't bother. It's a crapshoot

I'm doing it to recoup my finances. She originally owed me $1200 in back rent/utilities which I almost let slide even though she had promised to get together and work out a payment schedule once she got settled in her new place, but then because of her dog I lost my deposits on the apartment and almost got charged $800 for them to replace the carpet and treat the concrete underneath. I really don't want to actually sue, I just want to use it to scare her into actually doing what she promised and start paying me back. If we work it out she can pay a little a month, if it goes to court she'll be forced to pay it all back in 30 days and I don't even think she MAKES $2000 in a month.

She put me through enough hell this past year-- I'm not taking a large financial hit because of her too.

[Kupek]

I think it varies state-by-state, but my parent's took a delinquent tenant to small-claims court in Virginia. What they got was a judgment of "Yup, she owes you money." Virginia won't garnish wages on your behalf, so there's really no way to enforce it. They never got the money.

Sounds like you already read up on it for your state. Do they have any way of enforcing the 30 day thing?

[Tessian]

I think it varies state-by-state, but my parent's took a delinquent tenant to small-claims court in Virginia. What they got was a judgment of "Yup, she owes you money." Virginia won't garnish wages on your behalf, so there's really no way to enforce it. They never got the money.

Sounds like you already read up on it for your state. Do they have any way of enforcing the 30 day thing?

From what I read... I believe after 30 days you can have the Sheriff seize items to be sold at auction in which the proceeds would go to paying your judgement. I wish they would garnish wages instead cause she really doesn't have much of value (her car, xbox, and laptop would probably not even cover it all) but I didn't notice that as an option when researching. I'm surprised VA doesn't provide ANY means of forcing repayment; at least auctioning off their assets is better than nothing... even though I doubt at sheriff auction's stuff gets sold for what it's worth.

[SineSwiper]

I appreciate the help Sine, but it's obvious from what you've said here you don't know how small claims court works. It is a whole different beast than a normal court. Everything's more lenient-- no need for lawyers, verbal contracts are acceptable and there's less of a burden of proof, etc. I know that if this were a normal court I'd be screwed because I have no documentation (also I don't have her current address or even place of business) but I don't need it for small claims

True, there's no need for lawyers (I was only asking for you to get some of their advice), but there is a need for written proof. You obviously haven't seen enough Judge Judy episodes. (Of course, the show is fake, anyway.)

If one person says that you owe them money, and the other person says "nuh-uh", the judge is going to ask for proof. At this point, you need paperwork. Just because the small claims court is somewhat informal doesn't mean you can walk in there in a jeans and a t-shirt with no preparation whatsoever.

[Imakeholesinu]

GONNA MISS WOPNARRR GONNA MISS WOPNARRR!!!!

[Julius Seeker]

Two words: Judge Judy =P

[Don]

As far as I know small courts is less formal, and you don't have to argue on technicalities so it's not going to be like a real court where you can't even use certain evidences unless they follow a certain procedure. Of course you still got to be able to convince the judge with evidence.

[SineSwiper]

Well, the person with the most evidence wins.

[Tessian]

I can't seem to find the website I was reading before... but I could have sworn I read somewhere that verbal contracts were submittable in small claims court. I mean nobody puts together a written contract with their roommates that they'll split rent/utilities, so there's got to be some leniency/understanding there. I could produce documentation that proves she was responsible for paying (she was on the lease too) as well as proof of the amount for electric and cable and that I paid them, I guess then it'd be her burden to prove she DID pay for them, or would I have to prove she never did?

So really the only thing I don't have is a written contract of the arrangement which seems unorthodoxed to have to begin with so I don't see why claiming there was a verbal agreement between two roommates to split housing expenses should be subject to much descrepency. The only thing not covered by that would be the expenses I incurred due to her dog damaging the carpet that cost me my deposits, but even that I could get documentation from the landlord to that affect (that I lost the deposits because of damage done by dog). Right?

[SineSwiper]

Well, I wasn't saying to try to retroactively try to get written agreements, but if you're trying to get money from her, ask for it in writing as a letter. The more paperwork, the better, and having proof that you requested the money in a letter just sounds more responsible and legit.

By all means, gather as much paperwork as you have so far.

Also, IANAL, but the burden of proof falls on the person with the least evidence.

[Blotus]

A former roomate owed me 1500 for signing a lease but never moving in.
I took him to small claims court and won.
He didn't pay.
I spoke to somebody at the office and they said to get what is called an "execution order" (fun name) from the Sherrif's Office, and they'd collect it for me.

I paid 75 to file the initial claim, 80 to be ABLE to go file an execution order, and another 75 for the EO itself.

In the end, the Sherrif's Office notified me that he didn't earn enough to even warrant garnishing his pay to pay me back.

System failed me! Hope you have better luck. This was in Nova Scotia, and procedures are almost certainly different in your hood.

[Tessian]

A former roomate owed me 1500 for signing a lease but never moving in.
I took him to small claims court and won.
He didn't pay.
I spoke to somebody at the office and they said to get what is called an "execution order" (fun name) from the Sherrif's Office, and they'd collect it for me.

I paid 75 to file the initial claim, 80 to be ABLE to go file an execution order, and another 75 for the EO itself.

In the end, the Sherrif's Office notified me that he didn't earn enough to even warrant garnishing his pay to pay me back.

System failed me! Hope you have better luck. This was in Nova Scotia, and procedures are almost certainly different in your hood.

I'm pretty sure PA will only seize assets for auction in the event of non-payment, couldn't find anything about wage garnishing... but that too is a problem, because if it came to that I doubt they'd find enough TO seize to pay for everything she owes. I really just hope it wakes her up, but of course I don't have her current address and only maybe her email (not responding to voicemails). I may try sending her an email and seeing what happens.

[Don]

A verbal agreement constitutes as a contract, but it'd be hard to prove that it really happened if the other guy insist it did not.

[Lox]

When I had a roommate, the first thing I did was have him sign a written contract stating the rent and the splitting of the utilities and what would happen if he were to damage any of the property. Most of my friends have done the same thing, but we're just paranoid about getting screwed over.

[SineSwiper]

No current address? Did she move out? That really sucks. But you still have a phone # and email address?

[Tessian]

No current address? Did she move out? That really sucks. But you still have a phone # and email address?

We both moved out when the lease ended in May, fuck it should have been a lot sooner than that. I moved down the street into a single in another section of the complex and she moved about 20 minutes away; all I know is the town she's in/around. So yeah, all I got is an email and phone #.

[SineSwiper]

Hey, an email is still written evidence.

[Zeus]

Hey, an email is still written evidence.

If it says anything related to the amounts owed. If it's just contact info, it's jack shit

[Julius Seeker]

A former roomate owed me 1500 for signing a lease but never moving in.
I took him to small claims court and won.
He didn't pay.
I spoke to somebody at the office and they said to get what is called an "execution order" (fun name) from the Sherrif's Office, and they'd collect it for me.

I paid 75 to file the initial claim, 80 to be ABLE to go file an execution order, and another 75 for the EO itself.

In the end, the Sherrif's Office notified me that he didn't earn enough to even warrant garnishing his pay to pay me back.

System failed me! Hope you have better luck. This was in Nova Scotia, and procedures are almost certainly different in your hood.

That's fucked? Have you tried hired goons?