Stop Payment on Small Claims Judgment

What is the name of your state? California
I took my former landlord to small claims court for the return of my security deposit. I won, he sent me a check, I deposited it, and today he did a "stop payment" and the funds were removed from my account. What can I do now?

You didn't already spend the money did you? So you should only be out the cost of the bounced check fee, right?????

Did you file a satisfaction of judgment? Call the District Attorney's bad check division and turn the check over to them.

how do i contact the da?

no i didn't spend the money, and yes i'm only out the additional $10 the bank charged. Would you know how to contact the DA?

What county are you in?

county

Los Angeles

CrystalV said:

What is the name of your state? California
I took my former landlord to small claims court for the return of my security deposit. I won, he sent me a check, I deposited it, and today he did a "stop payment" and the funds were removed from my account. What can I do now?

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It could be the LL has decided to file for a trial de novo .

Blonde Lebinese said:

It could be the LL has decided to file for a trial de novo .

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That may be true, however, it is illegal to tender a check, then purposely stop payment on it. If he wanted to appeal or file a motion to vacate, he should have done that prior to sending the check.

CourtClerk said:

That may be true, however, it is illegal to tender a check, then purposely stop payment on it. If he wanted to appeal or file a motion to vacate, he should have done that prior to sending the check.

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Agreed , plus it would not help him in any subsequent court proceedings .

Bad Check Restitution Program
Los Angeles County District Attorney
PMB 880, 7095 Hollywood, Blvd., Suite 104
Hollywood, CA. 90028-8903
Victim Hotline (800) 842-0733
http://da.co.la.ca.us/badcheck.htm
Check Writers (800) 269-0206

thank you

thanks so much

You're welcome

Good luck.

Also, you didn't mention if you filed a satisfaction of judgment or not. If you did, you'll need to file your own motion to have the judge vacate the satisfaction. It's a rather easy process as it doesn't require you to go back to court.

The DA’s office is a resource, but it is very busy (L.A. has more bad checks per capita than anywhere else in the country). It will send out a demand letter, request payment of the check, payment of your costs and offer a “bad check writer’s school – like traffic school for a traffic ticket – to clear their records, but it is highly unlikely that there would be a prosecution for a “stop pay” check that would fall within the Small Claims limits and the LL doesn’t have to go to the class.

You, on the other hand, potentially have a new SC claim against the LL for the amount of the check plus statutory damages of 3 times the face amount, up to $1,500. It will require the cost of a certified letter, if you want to try. A bounced check is a “per se” violation, but a “stop pay” falls into a special category.
See Civil Code sect. 1719, with particular attention to 1719(c) and (d) for the form and mailing and decide:
http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/cgi-bin/displaycode?section=civ&group=01001-02000&file=1708-1725

If you send the check to the DA (they’ll want the original), make a copy. That gives you the LL’s bank data. Also note that you could do the certified mailing, wait 30 days and see if you get paid. The court will want the original check to “cancel it by judgment”, if you go the civil route and then file a new case, and you won’t have it, if you’ve sent it to the DA.

Follow CourtClerk’s instructions, if you filed a Satisfaction, and don’t accept partial payments. They will defeat your rights in court or with the DA