Former Boyfriend threathening to counter

We're in Ohio and our daughter has filed a claim against her former live in boyfriend in the amount of $2500.00. It was a loan which they had a note which was notarized in 2007. They broke up a year or so ago and he's not paid for the loan. He's not threathening to counter sue her to the tune of 15k. He said it's for his labor when they refinished the basement. They did that so there would be enough bedrooms for her 3 kids and his 1 kid. She purchased all the material. The guy lived there for over 3 years and paid nothing. It's her home on which she not only paid the mortgage but all utiliites, etc. Can get away with this??

wlmrfair said:

We're in Ohio and our daughter has filed a claim against her former live in boyfriend in the amount of $2500.00. It was a loan which they had a note which was notarized in 2007. They broke up a year or so ago and he's not paid for the loan. He's not threathening to counter sue her to the tune of 15k. He said it's for his labor when they refinished the basement. They did that so there would be enough bedrooms for her 3 kids and his 1 kid. She purchased all the material. The guy lived there for over 3 years and paid nothing. It's her home on which she not only paid the mortgage but all utiliites, etc. Can get away with this??

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Yes, it is his right to sue (or, in this case, counter-sue).

ETA: That is not speaking to the chances of the ex-bf being successful in his suit...but he has every right to do it.

Does Ohio limits go to 15K ?

I think former boyfriend is blowing smoke .

Welcome to America, "The Land of Litigation"

Anyone can sue anyone for anything. That doesn't mean they will WIN. Who wins or loses is based on the weight of the evidence presented and how if supports their case.

Nice ex-boyfriend. How kind of him to make those improvements to his residence while he lived there. Problem is that your daughter never told him to had to do it, and she most likely never agreed to pay him for his labor to do the work. In a live-in relationship like that, it's almost always considered a gift unless there is some kind of contract or agreement to reimburse for the work performed.

Most likely the ex is angry that your daughter is now calling him on the loan (good job getting a signed document to cover her!) and just retaliating for it.

Tell you daughter not to worry. His threats to counterclaim against her are nothing more than that. It’s spurious. He’s grasping at straws.

In the first place he would have the burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that there was an express agreement between the two in which she agreed to pay for his labor.

Secondly, even though such an agreement would not need to be in writing (provided that the work could be completed within one year) he is going to have a tough time explaining away why his so-called labor claim suddenly first surfaces years down the road after the romance cooled and is now being sued on his promissory note.

If he can’t come up with convincing evidence that (1) she agreed to pay the $15K before the work was started, nor (2) produce documentary evidence showing his account receivable and (3) proof that he consistently billed her for the labor long before she started her lawsuit, the judge will toss his counterclaim back in his face.

Besides, the dollar limit to recover a debt in Ohio small claims is $3K. So if he expects to have his claim for $15K litigated, the entire proceeding will need to be removed to a higher state court and it is doubtful that he is going to come up with the money to hire an attorney to proceed in that court. He sure as heck won’t know how.

Just make sure that she has the necessary documents to prove her case in small claims. He ain’t going to show up anyway!