Provided parts & services, customer won't respond to payment requests

[stanger53]

What is the name of your state? I am in Texas, customer is in California.

Customer contacted me through my website (by email) to have some auto parts of his rebuilt. He sent them to me, I rebuilt them, sent them back to him with an invoice for billing. He has not paid the bill, won't return phone calls, won't return emails.

Yes, I was foolish to send his parts back to him without getting payment, but I trusted the guy. The amount is not a lot, under $400, but I would like to get paid.

Items were in two packages sent by UPS, so I have confirmation from UPS that the boxes were left at the address, which is his home.

If he continues to ignore me, is there someone I can call in his city/county to talk to about the situation? I suppose I could take him to Small Claims Court, but I would have to fly to CA to do so, and that wouldn't be worth it.

I have not sent any snail-mail to him. Would a registered letter of some sort be worthwhile?

 

[quincy]

A letter can be sent from an attorney, advising this customer of yours that, should payment not be remitted immediately, court action may result. This may be all that is necessary to get your customer to pay what is owed.

You can sue him in Texas even if he lives in California.

 

[Zigner]

You can sue him in Texas even if he lives in California.

How do you figure?

 

[quincy]

A person can file a claim in the county where a contract was made or where the defendant lives or where the event occurred. If the defendant lives out-of-state, the defendant can be served a complaint by certified, restricted or registered mail, or served through the sheriff's office in the county of the defendant's residence.

In Internet cases, it is true that jurisdiction is often in question and the Defendant can certainly argue that a court in Texas has no jurisdiction over a contract entered into in California, but, again I believe, it has been argued successfully that a claim can be filed in the Plaintiff's home state where the entering into a contract can legitimately be shown to have occurred, as well.

Do you have information that this is not correct, Zigner? I am certainly open to corrections on this.

 

[Zigner]

A person can file a claim in the county where a contract was made or where the defendant lives or where the event occurred. If the defendant lives out-of-state, the defendant can be served a complaint by certified, restricted or registered mail, or served through the sheriff's office in the county of the defendant's residence.

In Internet cases, it is true that jurisdiction is often in question and the Defendant can certainly argue that a court in Texas has no jurisdiction over a contract entered into in California, but, again I believe, it has been argued successfully that a claim can be filed in the Plaintiff's home state where the entering into a contract can legitimately be shown to have occurred, as well.

Do you have information that this is not correct, Zigner? I am certainly open to corrections on this.

I think the problem may be determining where the contract was actually entered in to.
I tend to believe that the contract was entered in to in California. *I* am open to corrections on this one though

Basically, Texas law states that the suit must be brought in the county/precinct where the defendant resides, or in the place where the contract was entered in to (as you said)

 

[quincy]

The court cases that I believe are used most often when determining Internet jurisdiction right now are International Shoe Co. v Washington and CompuServe v. Patterson, 6th Cir., 1996.

There has to be "sufficient minimum contact" with a Plaintiff's home state in order for a court in that state to have jurisdiction. There is a three-prong test for minimum contacts. One, the claim underlying the litigation must arise out of or relate to the defendant's contacts with the Plaintiff's forum, and two, the defendant purposefully availed himself of the privilege of conducting his activities in the Plaintiff's home state, and three, the "maintenance of the suit does not offend 'traditional notions of fair play and substantial justice'."

I think stanger53 would have a good case for showing Texas jurisdiction, since the auto parts were sent to Texas for repair from his customer in California, and the Plaintiff's cause of action arose out of the defendant's actions. I believe this sufficiently demonstrates the minimum contact necessary to give Texas jurisdiction over the matter.

I know this is an evolving area of law, however.

 

[stanger53]

The customer in California saw my website and initially emailed me off a link on my webpage. He asked for me to contact him, and we later talked on the phone. He told me what he was sending me and what he wanted done to the parts.

I told him at that time that he would pay when the parts were finished and packaged up and I knew all the repairs and shipping charges. We talked on the phone a couple of times because one of his parts was not rebuildable, so he asked me to provide a rebuildable part, and I did, so part of the bill was for labor, part for actual items. I shipped the packages out and included an invoice with the shipment with itemized charges and a total.

After waiting a couple of weeks, I tried to contact him by phone (his cell) to follow through on the items and get with him on payment. I always get his voice-mail, and he never returns my calls. I have also emailed him, with the same results. I Googled him and found another phone number that he left on another forum. I called that number, which was his work landline, and left a message on that voice-mail with no return call. I suspect he has Caller ID and may be avoiding me.

Based on this, what do you think of the point of contract?

If I take him to Small Claims Court, I know I have to be there the day of the trial (if it comes to that), but can the paperwork be done from Texas? If I have to go to California for a court date, can I also claim extra charges on him to compensate me for my transportation expenses to get there?

On an unrelated note, just for the hell of it, I Googled the address, which is his home. You can get a Street View on Google maps of his house. When the photo was taken, his garage door was open. I think you can see the Mustang sitting in his garage that the parts were for. Kinda spooky.

 

[quincy]

It sounds to me like you can handle everything from Texas. If he wants to fight the jurisdiction, he can do that, but I am not at all sure he will be successful given the circumstances.

The problems I see you facing, more than the actual filing location, is that, should you win a suit it would still be up to you to collect any judgment awarded. He seems to be rather difficult to contact. If he does not respond to a suit, and a default judgment is entered, you can obtain a lien on his property (including the Mustang).

It is spooky what can be seen from those street view images. My house is surrounded by trees, which disguise it somewhat, but I recognize some lawn chairs (that need painting).