Deadbeat Business

[Jay_Globo]

I'm from Florida, I loaned a friend/ partner $12000 in order to start a small business, when it tanked, he stopped contacting me and has been hiding to avoid re-payment. I've maintained every email and text message with his agreements and arrangements he has violated. Do I have a case or should I seek alternative means of compensation?

Justin

 

[quincy]

I'm from Florida, I loaned a friend/ partner $12000 in order to start a small business, when it tanked, he stopped contacting me and has been hiding to avoid re-payment. I've maintained every email and text message with his agreements and arrangements he has violated. Do I have a case or should I seek alternative means of compensation?

Justin

Were you in a partnership with this friend so the $12,000 can be viewed as an investment in a joint venture, or do you have good evidence that the $12,000 was a loan?

If you can show the money was a loan to your friend and there were arrangements made for him to pay you back, you can take him to court to enforce your agreement. If you gave him the money as an investment in a business and the business failed, the $12,000 should be considered a loss.

I am not sure of what "alternative means of compensation" you are speaking.

 

[eerelations]

I am not sure of what "alternative means of compensation" you are speaking.

Yes, this phrase is teeny bit scary.

 

[Jay_Globo]

Please define?

Define good evidence. Do text messages and emails qualify? Would this be considered small claims or civil?

 

[quincy]

Define good evidence. Do text messages and emails qualify? Would this be considered small claims or civil?

Well, the BEST evidence would be a written and signed contract between the two of you stating the $12,000 was a loan and detailing the terms and conditions of the loan. Absent that, text messages and emails can be used to show an agreement was made for you to loan your friend the $12,000 and he was to repay you.

Without convincing evidence showing the $12,000 was a loan, your friend can argue that the money was a gift or that you were investing in his business. Of course, the friend should have some proof, too, to support that the money was a gift or investment.

The small claims limit in Florida is $5,000.

What county are you in, Jay_Globo?

 

[Jay_Globo]

I'm in palm beach county

 

[quincy]

Jay_Globo, thank you for providing the name of your county. Here is a link to the Self Service Center for Palm Beach County with information on filing a legal action against your friend: http://www.mypalmbeachclerk.com/selfservicecenter.aspx

Please do not post any of your texts or emails to this forum. They will only get deleted. If your texts and emails taken together, however, show that your friend understood that the $12,000 was a loan to be paid back to you within a certain amount of time (or when certain conditions were met), then you could have a decent shot of winning a judgment. If you paid by check, the cancelled check can be used as evidence, as well. The problem with any judgment you might win is that it will be up to you to collect what is owed, and this can be difficult.

Good luck.



And to adjusterjack: Please stop advising people to post their contracts on this forum. Thanks. The legal analysis of contracts is the practice of law and falls outside the scope of this forum. If Jay_Globo or any poster to this forum needs a contract read over for a legal opinion or to determine its legality, an attorney in their jurisdiction must be consulted. Here is a link to Arizona's State Bar on the unauthorized practice of law for you to read over: http://www.azbar.org/ethics/unauthorizedpracticeoflaw

 

[Jay_Globo]

Thanks Quincy, a great help

 

[quincy]

Thank you for the thanks. They are appreciated.

I am happy you found the information helpful.

Good luck in your collection efforts.