What is the name of your state? WI
Hello. I have a sticky situation that I never should have gotten myself into. Me and two other friends were going to rent a house for $900 per month - $300 each. One of the renters was in high school, but was 18 years old, and living part-time at his moms house and part-time at his dad's house(I am not sure their custody arrangement). I will refer to him as "Jim" from now on.
We rounded up $1800 between the three of us, $900 for the 1st month's rent, and $900 for the security deposit and paid our landlord. However, our plans to rent the house changed, so the landlord renturned the money to Jim. Me and my other friends were somewhat lazy about getting the money back from Jim, because we planned on using it on another property, so we thought it would be convenient for him to hold on to it($1200 for me and my friend), seeing as we trusted him. Me and my other friend ended up getting another place to live, without Jim, and we asked Jim for our funds back. Jim informed us that the money was in an account under his mom "Betsy's" name, and she had to sign to get it out. As we pressed Jim to get the money from his mom, he told us she was very busy, and she could not do it for a few weeks.
Now, Jim was still a good friend of ours, and we still hung out with him a lot. On one day, we were planning to hang out with him as a friend, he had plans to come to our house. He ended up not answering his phone, so we just assumed he wasn't coming. The next day, we discovered, thru Jim's mom Betsy, that Jim was going to boarding school in Arizona by his own choice, because he was failing out of school. She said that he had spent the money, and was going to be coming back at the end of May, and we could figure it out with him at that point in time. She said she would NOT cooperate with us at all until then, she refused to give us any bank records or even the name of the boarding school he was going to until that time. She said once he returned, she would cooperate fully.
I am very concerned because Jim has family in Texas, and might go there for college, so even though he is supposed to returned on May 30th, he may go to Texas.
Could I pursue this matter in small claims court? I do have evidence to show that he indeed did have the $1200, and I have a reciept showing he received the money, bank statements, and witnesses. Betsy and Jim's father are divorced, but they both had seperate custody over him, even though Jim was 18, I am wondering if they would be liable for the money if he couldnt pay.
So my questions are:
1. Can I take this to small claims court?
2. Would I need a lawyer present or do I not need one for small claims?
3. Is Betsy, or her ex-husband, liable for Jim's wrongdoings if he is unable to pay. Jim is 18, but was under Betsy and her husbands supervision at the time?
Hello. I have a sticky situation that I never should have gotten myself into. Me and two other friends were going to rent a house for $900 per month - $300 each. One of the renters was in high school, but was 18 years old, and living part-time at his moms house and part-time at his dad's house(I am not sure their custody arrangement). I will refer to him as "Jim" from now on.
We rounded up $1800 between the three of us, $900 for the 1st month's rent, and $900 for the security deposit and paid our landlord. However, our plans to rent the house changed, so the landlord renturned the money to Jim. Me and my other friends were somewhat lazy about getting the money back from Jim, because we planned on using it on another property, so we thought it would be convenient for him to hold on to it($1200 for me and my friend), seeing as we trusted him. Me and my other friend ended up getting another place to live, without Jim, and we asked Jim for our funds back. Jim informed us that the money was in an account under his mom "Betsy's" name, and she had to sign to get it out. As we pressed Jim to get the money from his mom, he told us she was very busy, and she could not do it for a few weeks.
Now, Jim was still a good friend of ours, and we still hung out with him a lot. On one day, we were planning to hang out with him as a friend, he had plans to come to our house. He ended up not answering his phone, so we just assumed he wasn't coming. The next day, we discovered, thru Jim's mom Betsy, that Jim was going to boarding school in Arizona by his own choice, because he was failing out of school. She said that he had spent the money, and was going to be coming back at the end of May, and we could figure it out with him at that point in time. She said she would NOT cooperate with us at all until then, she refused to give us any bank records or even the name of the boarding school he was going to until that time. She said once he returned, she would cooperate fully.
I am very concerned because Jim has family in Texas, and might go there for college, so even though he is supposed to returned on May 30th, he may go to Texas.
Could I pursue this matter in small claims court? I do have evidence to show that he indeed did have the $1200, and I have a reciept showing he received the money, bank statements, and witnesses. Betsy and Jim's father are divorced, but they both had seperate custody over him, even though Jim was 18, I am wondering if they would be liable for the money if he couldnt pay.
So my questions are:
1. Can I take this to small claims court?
2. Would I need a lawyer present or do I not need one for small claims?
3. Is Betsy, or her ex-husband, liable for Jim's wrongdoings if he is unable to pay. Jim is 18, but was under Betsy and her husbands supervision at the time?