Personal Property question

Michigan -

This is a rather complicated case, although I thought it would be pretty simple. I'd like to get some (legal) advice please.

My stepdaughter (21 years old) was dating a guy (jerk) who was 38 years old. I was totally against this from the beginning. He claimed to own a business and to be very wealthy. He told my stepdaughter that his accountant had posession of all of his credit cards, and that he wanted to buy a big screen TV. He talked her into opening an account at Best Buy, and purchased the TV on her account. He promised to pay her back.
Needless to say, he has not paid for the TV, and the account is now in collection.
To make this more complicated, my stepdaughter joined the Navy and is currently in boot camp in Chicago. Before she left, we had my wife get a Power of Attorney for her financial matters.
I went to the small claims court to file, and was told that because my stepdaughter was not a minor, that my wife could not file this for her, even though she had Power of Attorney.
Now we can't do anything until my stepdaughter comes home on leave, and we don't know for sure when that will be, or if small claims will be holding session when she is home.
This loser is getting away with a free $1,000 TV !!! He knew exactly what he was doing when he had her purchase this for her.
I know that we would win in small claims as I have several emails from this jerk to my stepdaughter promising to pay for the TV.
Any ideas???
Thanks !!!!

Really, this isn't all that complicated... when taken in small 'steps'.

1) "He talked her into opening an account at Best Buy, and purchased the TV on her account. He promised to pay her back. Needless to say, he has not paid for the TV, and the account is now in collection."
- Since this purchase was on her name and her account, SHE is responsible for payment. She should make every payment on time in order to protect her credit history. During this time, she needs to be getting her 'evidence' together.... anything that can show that he promised to repay her and didn't. She might even consider sending him a 'demand' letter for payment (send Certified RRR), keep copy. At this point, he will likely claim that the purchase was a gift with no repayment agreement and she needs to be prepared to challenge that claim.

2) "I went to the small claims court to file, and was told that because my stepdaughter was not a minor, that my wife could not file this for her, even though she had Power of Attorney."
- That is correct. Since your daughter is the damaged party, she must do the court filing and be prepared to present HER case to the court. Any proceedings by your wife on the daughters behalf would be UPL (Unauthorized Practice of Law).... being that she would be representing someone elses interest in court.

3) "Now we can't do anything until my stepdaughter comes home on leave, and we don't know for sure when that will be, or if small claims will be holding session when she is home."
- As commendable as it is, your daughters being in the service is not the 'fault' of the court nor the defendant. She will absolutely need to be in court for her case, since she is the only one that can testify first-hand as to what agreement was made, by whom and under what circumstance. Further, the defendant has a right to challenge her statements.... and simply cannot do that long-distance.

4) "This loser is getting away with a free $1,000 TV !!! He knew exactly what he was doing when he had her purchase this for her."
- So far, but she can file this action up to two years from the time it happened....

5) "I know that we would win in small claims as I have several emails from this jerk to my stepdaughter promising to pay for the TV."
- Emails can be faked pretty easily.... especially if you do not get proper evidence of their validity and who sent them. You really need something in WRITING confirming the repayment agreement.

Thank you very much for your reply. I guess when broken down it does seem much simpler.
Thanks again for your thoughts....it really does help.

If any lawsuit is filed against your daughter while she is still in the Navy, I believe she can have representation through the Navy. Plus, if the matter proceeds to trial, she can have the trial date continued as long as she is in active duty and unable to attend the trial. She would need to have a letter from her CO confirming that she is unable to attend the trial for whatever reason the Navy wants.