"Friend" owes me money, but moved out of state. Can I get it from him?

[jsplice]

I was living with someone for a year. We had an arrangement where I paid the electric and cable bills, he paid gas. The bills came out to be even. I also lent him $100 when he was having problems. Back in February 2007, he was unable to pay the gas bill which was $310, so I paid for him. He agreed to pay me back. A month later he wrote me a check for $410 which would have covered both debts, but the check bounced, saying the account was closed. I attempted to get the remainder of the money for months, and was only able to get $100 from him. He now owes me $320 ($10 to cover the bounced check fee), and I've contacted him several times. Every time he says he is going to send the money, but never does.

My problem is that I live in PA and he lives across the country in Arizona. Will it be possible to pursue this legally?

Thanks

 

[seniorjudge]

Q: Will it be possible to pursue this legally?

A: Yes, sue him in the county where he lives in Arizona.

 

[topnurse]

just curious...

How would one go about suing someone that owed them money, who lives out of state? Is this a small claims issue? If not, what would it be?

Also, do you have to spend the time and money to travel to the state where they live yourself or is there another way of handling it - if you have to travel to another state, who pays expenses? Can these be part of the lawsuit?

If I wanted to seek counsel about a situation such as this, what type of attorney would I speak with?

Thanks for advice.

 

[dcatz]

To topnurse – your questions relate closely enough to the OP’s recent issues that we’ll not consider your post as hijacking a thread but, if you have any further questions, please start your own thread.

How would one go about suing someone that owed them money, who lives out of state?

You sue them in the state in which they are domiciled. Even if an injury confers a right to sue in your own state, you would have to be able to serve them out-of-state (and Small Claims is greatly restricted in that regard), and you would have to “domesticate” the judgment in their state to enforce it. It doesn’t make sense to not sue them where they reside.

Is this a small claims issue? If not, what would it be?

The OP’s case is. Whether another case for money due would be would depend on the amount of the claim and the monetary limit of the Small Claims Court to be used.

Also, do you have to spend the time and money to travel to the state where they live yourself

You do unless the SC Court that you intend to use permits attorneys to appear (not all do) and your claim is worth enough to hire one.

If you have to travel to another state, who pays expenses?

You bite that bullet, and those are not recoverable expenses.

If I wanted to seek counsel about a situation such as this, what type of attorney would I speak with?

Assuming a state in which attorneys are allowed in Small Claims, your best bet would be a creditors’ rights (collection) attorney. The reason for that is such an individual may be most familiar with the required proof and may be best prepared to also enforce the resulting judgment (that’s the hard part).

(Incidentally, the OP could add/could have added PA civil bad check damages of $500 to the check suit, but that right was lost when partial payment of $100 was accepted.)