Loan or Gift? (Legal Advice needed)

What is the name of your state? New York

There's a dispute over an item...one person claims it's a loan and the other claims it was a gift...the person stating it was a loan has a lawyer contact the other dude by mail stating the item be returned...if the dude chooses to ignore the letter and anything legally involving the matter thereafter can a judgment be rendered against him because of his failure to partcipate in the legal proceedings...

...oh and if a judgment can be rendered against him in his absence if the situation ever goes to court how can that affect dude...will warrants be put out, will it affect his credit...?

...here's a better picture of what's happening...basically dude (a friend of the family) gave me something that's been in my possession for 2-3 years (it wasn't money) at the time I was in a good position so a lot of people were doing me favors with the unexpressed intention that I'd hook them up if the situation got better...fast forward now dude found out I was moving and he wants the item back saying it was a loan and why would he give me something for free...keep in mind over the 3 years there was never mention of him ever expecting the item back or that it was a loan...so pretty much forget him...I do want to squash the situation though (in court) so my thing is to make that happen asap...is there anything I can do to basically bring it to trial faster instead of waiting for him and his lawyer to call shots...at some point it's obvious I'd have to seek legal counsel but since this is a small claims scenario I don't want to jump the gun as yet...

I also have messages left on my cellphone from dude and his friends specifically asking to borrow the item for use (it was a weak attempt to get the item out my house so he could regain possession) so again dude has no case (imo) and there is one possible witness but he would be lying and I can prove that he has "malice" against me...

The Lawyer is sending you a demand letter. If you do not respond , they could take you to small claims . If you fail to respond to the summons and show up , a default Judgment for an amount of money the Item can be proved of worth, will be entered against you.

You do not make it clear .One minute you're stating many people gave you gifts,then in the same sentences state the gifts were intended for you to do something for givers ?

I copied and pasted this from another forum I posted in but I can afford to be more specific since this is the appropriate forum...

...2-3 years ago a friend gave me a pool table because his mother requested that she no longer wanted it in the house (he had received it as a gift from his ex-girlfriend who was moving). I was moving into a new house so he said that I would have more use for it than him and he gave me the table. Now I was surprised by his gesture so I tried to think and reason out what was his angle (was he looking for a place to 'crash'...also at the time my record label had just released a CD and a lot of people were doing me favors w/o expressing the desire for anything in return but more than likely they were hoping that I would keep the favors in mind)...but he made it clear he was giving me the table and again he never requested anything in return...he has been to my house on several occasions (I even let him host a party at my house) and there was never any mention of me returning the pool table to him (and I never expected as much)...a few weeks ago he, his sister and his brother left messages asking to borrow the pool table for a party they were having but I was out of town so I couldn't respond until I came back when I came back and spoke to him he mentioned he wanted the table back (this is 3 years later from when I received the table) and said that it was a loan...I told him that was not the case 3 years ago and what he was doing is not right...today I received a letter from his lawyer and it mentioned that if the property was not returned legal action would take place specifically a sheriff coming to my house and seizing the property...can this be done? Also I will be moving in a few weeks so I will not be here to defend myself...how will the courts be able to reach me...can criminal actions be taken against me...basically I would like to know the worst case scenario if I do not return the table which is rightfully mine and the courts are not able to contact me successfully or is there something that I can do to make this process move faster...thank you in advance for your time...

...today I received a letter from his lawyer and it mentioned that if the property was not returned legal action would take place specifically a sheriff coming to my house and seizing the property. [ quote ]

The other Party ( or their Lawyer ) would have to Petition small claims action , or civil depending on the value .

Secondly, someone over 18 yrs of age would have to serve you ( drop the summons in the mail addressed to you , or personally ) and sign an affidavit,and the affidavit it was served be entered in court .

If you're not around, have someone ck. the mail for you , or keep calling the Court house every few days to see if there's a docket on the calender with you as the Defendant , and what day and time the Court hearing is , if they have one .

Finally , If you have a real good reason you can't make it, request in writing to reschedule the date . Depending on the reason the Court may or may not grant your request .

Thank you for you response...so is it safe to say that the lawyer "threatening" to have a sheriff come to my house and seize the property was a bluff? Also whick court house should I check with (the "plaintiff" lives in Nassau County and I live in Kings County...the table was delivered to my home so would the case have to take place in my county or his or does this even matter)? Finally the "plaintiff" is claiming the pool table had a monetary value of $1000 would that classify as small claims or civil? Again thank you for your response.

Small claims can be heard for up to $3000.00. So yes,small claims.

My guess, he'll File in his County . But it wouldn't hurt to check both , as It's possible he could say the transaction occurred where you live .

The letter the Lawyer wrote you is a tactic , to try and get his client the table back. The Lawyer might have charged him little or no money to prepare it and sent it to you.
If he were to use Lawyers services for court , it would cost him much more unless the Lawyer does it for free .

I'd write the Lawyer a response. Let him know you have had this table for 3 yrs., and it was a gift . That you have no intentions of returning a Gift .

Note: this can't be viewed as theft , and the the sheriff just comes and gets it .

Small claims are for monetary damages only . If for some reason you were to lose and an award order for the Plaintiff, a Collection process might seize the table, but they would have to auction it for money.

If they decide to take you to court,the Judge will most likely ask them , Why they waited 3 yrs. to request the table back ? If the Judge doesn't you will have an opportunity to ask the Plaintiff questions.

I apologize for taking so long to thank you as I was out of state...but your advice has made me a lot more confident about the situation...my greatest worry was the possibility of missing the case and having a judgment rendered against me in my absence but now I know how to handle that...one more question...how would I get in contact with small claims court...is there generally a single courthouse in each county that specifically handles small claim cases? If that's the case then it would not be a problem for me to get the numbers for the respective counties (both his and mine)...

Yes usually at the County's Courthouse .

Call them or search on line for the address . Maybe a room # to go with it Look for City Court or small claims division .