Can a lawyer represent you without you being present?

[upforthecount]

What is the name of your state? Ga/OH

I had over $1,000 stolen from me from a fraudalent ebay seller in the state of Ohio. I am from Georgia. Reports have been filed but the local Ohio law enforcers will do nothing. My concern is the cost of traveling there for Small Claims court and then not even receiving any satisfaction on a judgement without extra legal costs to collect. I wrote to one law firm there but they did not reply but maybe I will try to find another. Any advice?

 

[mking]

I'm in California and not an attorney, but I have had the pleasure of going through small claims (and actually won). Lawyers aren't going to take a case where the max winnings are $1000 when they usually get $250/hr. Small claims is the way to go. And in California, the way I understand it is that you are not ALLOWED to have a lawyer in small claims. That way if one person doesn't have resources, it's a level playing field.

That all being said, just because law enforcement doesn't do anything doesn't mean that you can't file a small claims suit. You should check with your city's small claims court to see if/how you can sue someone in another state. I'm pretty sure that it can be done, but not positive. Good luck.

PS. You should file in Georgia,not Ohio. And some places even let you file the case online now.

 

[BelizeBreeze]

many jurisdictions do not allow attorneys in small claims court. You would need to find out the local rules. In any case, it is quite doubtful if you'd be allowed not to appear.