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Act of good faith

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What is the name of your state?
Virginia
But my case happened in Florida
Hi,

I've helped a family member to get a place to leave and a motorcycle on my name since he was having difficulties getting approved because of bad credit life. This individual never paid the apartment lease or utilities, neither the motorcycle payment and now i am in debt for $22K and he said i wont see a penny from him because i reported the motorcycle as stolen since he never paid for it. He got evicted from the apartment and never notified me. Is there any Civil law suit that i can file to avoid getting reported with the credit bureau and try to get him to pay?
 


quincy

Senior Member
What is the name of your state?
Virginia
But my case happened in Florida
Hi,

I've helped a family member to get a place to leave and a motorcycle on my name since he was having difficulties getting approved because of bad credit life. This individual never paid the apartment lease or utilities, neither the motorcycle payment and now i am in debt for $22K and he said i wont see a penny from him because i reported the motorcycle as stolen since he never paid for it. He got evicted from the apartment and never notified me. Is there any Civil law suit that i can file to avoid getting reported with the credit bureau and try to get him to pay?
You can sue the family member to try to recover any losses you suffered but, quite frankly, it does not sound like you will have much success collecting on any judgment awarded against him - unless he has a job, an income, assets.

I see no way you can avoid having the debts that are in your name reported to the credit reporting agencies.
 

justalayman

Senior Member
your debts rightfully belong in your credit report


As to getting him to pay: you start with suing him and obtaining a judgment. Then the hard part starts: collecting on the judgment. Unless he has money to seize, well, you can’t get blood from a turnip.
 
You can sue the family member to try to recover any losses you suffered but, quite frankly, it does not sound like you will have much success collecting on any judgment awarded against him - unless he has a job, an income, assets.

I see no way you can avoid having the debts that are in your name reported to the credit reporting agencies.
I am working with the collection agency and dealership to pay that debt but i wanted to know under what legal terms can i sue him and if a lawyer will work with me in this case in Florida state since i am located in Virginia. I truly want him to know that being dishonest is not worth it
 

quincy

Senior Member
I am working with the collection agency and dealership to pay that debt but i wanted to know under what legal terms can i sue him and if a lawyer will work with me in this case in Florida state since i am located in Virginia. I truly want him to know that being dishonest is not worth it
Do you have any written agreement with your family member indicating that the expenditures made on his behalf were loans rather than gifts? If not, was there a witnessed oral agreement made with this family member that the help you were providing him was to be considered a loan and not a gift?
 
You can sue the family member to try to recover any losses you suffered but, quite frankly, it does not sound like you will have much success collecting on any judgment awarded against him - unless he has a job, an income, assets.

I see no way you can avoid having the debts that are in your name reported to the credit reporting agencies.
I don't know where he is located at this point but i have copy of his driver license and last two addresses where he has been, phone number and email, would that be enough to start a case?
 
Do you have any written agreement with your family member indicating that the expenditures made on his behalf were loans rather than gifts? If not, was there a witnessed oral agreement made with this family member that the help you were providing him was to be considered a loan and not a gift?
All i have is text messages where indicates that i am helping him to get situated and where he says he will pay on time for all of it, i also have text messages from his mom thanking me for the help and i have one of his friends from Florida who is aware of it.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
and if a lawyer will work with me in this case in Florida state
Sure.

All you have to do is pay the lawyer his hourly rate.

would that be enough to start a case?
No.

You would have to have him served with a summons and complaint. You would have to locate him to accomplish that. If you can't locate him after diligent effort ($$$) you will have to get the permission of the court to serve by publication (if that option is available). That's probably going to get you a default judgment which is a piece of paper often suitable for wrapping fish or lining the birdcage.
 
Sure.

All you have to do is pay the lawyer his hourly rate.



No.

You would have to have him served with a summons and complaint. You would have to locate him to accomplish that. If you can't locate him after diligent effort ($$$) you will have to get the permission of the court to serve by publication (if that option is available). That's probably going to get you a default judgment which is a piece of paper often suitable for wrapping fish or lining the birdcage.
I Guess i'll try to have him served, this is something that the sheriffs department does right? Excuse my ignorance but is my first time getting involve in a dilemma like this.
 

adjusterjack

Senior Member
I Guess i'll try to have him served, this is something that the sheriffs department does right?
You can use the sheriff for process service or you can use a private process server but you still have to provide the defendant's location. They don't do the locate. You can hire a private investigator who is also a process server. One stop shopping.

Excuse my ignorance but is my first time getting involve in a dilemma like this.
A good argument for getting an attorney. $22,000 is not something for small claims court.
 

phoebelambert

New member
You can use the sheriff for process service or you can use a private process server but you still have to provide the defendant's location. They don't do the locate. You can hire a private investigator who is also a process server. One stop shopping.



A good argument for getting an attorney. $22,000 is not something for small claims court.
that's what i was going to say, $22K is not a case for small claims court
 

quincy

Senior Member
that's what i was going to say, $22K is not a case for small claims court
It's too bad you are a month too late, then.

As a note, FreeAdvice is a U.S. law forum. It attracts few U.K. readers.

Please don't revive older threads.

Thanks.
 
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