small claims court

can i get my money back

i was engaged to be married, but my fiance met someone else and made me move out. i spent over $6,000 on the house he and i lived in and also paid some debts off for him. can i go to small claims court and get my money back. i live in mississippi. the house is in his name. my daughter and i had to get a place to live. the money was used for a new roof, remodeling the kitchen and bathroom. also a new deck was built on the house.

[Edited by 8288DG on 05-25-2001 at 01:54 PM]

You can certainly take him to court, but based on your message, the chance of success at this point is pretty slim.

Part of your problem is dependent on what you have to prove that the funds you claim were in fact yours, and not 'co-mingled assets'. If you have sufficient evidence to support that the funds spent were solely yours, then you have a further problem in that you have no proof that the money was a loan or to be repaid. He can simply claim:
1) That the repairs you claim were never done.
2) And if they were, it wasn't paid from your money.
3) And if it was, then it was a 'gift' that you gave him as a sign of your relationship or committment or whatever.
4) And if it wasn't a gift, you paid those expenses in return for him buying you a ??? or paying your bills, or whatever.
5) And on and on for any number of other defenses he could offer.

The burden of proof would be on you to prove that these funds were yours and that you should recover them from him. Can you prove any of the claims or defend yourself against him possible defenses (some listed above)????

Now for the bad news.... your state limit on small claims is $2500, far less than the $6000 you claim. This means that you are either going to have to find some way to separate the costs into smaller amounts (under the limit - note: Not all jurisdictions will allow this), or to settle for a claim of $2500 only (note: some states do not allow you to 'downsize' your claim to get under the limit), or take your action in a higher court (means get an attorney).

In any case, I would spend a little money and talk with an attorney about your situation. He can review the details of your situation and advise you best. If you use your local 'Lawyer Referral Service', the cost for 30 minutes or so should be very reasonable.