What is the name of your state? MI
A previous tenant signed an agreement to pay a certain amount to break her lease 2 months into a 12 month agreement and she has failed to make any payments. Based on where she works (her main job), she is "collectible" and we've decided its worth it to pursue her if we can avoid one particular courtroom.
A little background: The property in question is in flint and there is 1 specific judge who is extremely pro-tenant. I've been before him in the past and as a landlord you should always count on 3-4 hearings before he actually issues an eviction no matter how straightforward the case is. Lately, we've been able to avoid getting him as our judge because the attorney we use for evictions is banned from his courtroom (thank goodness). But in this case, our attorney suggested we file in small claims instead of using him. He charges quite a bit for civil cases but evictions are usually a flat fee. Due to the number of complaints, this judge now gets ALL small claims cases and only a few eviction cases. There was a 2011-2012 eviction case that lingered on for months and this judge was ultimately held in contempt of court by a circuit court judge for his refusal to follow the circuit courts decision which ordered him to evict a tenant.
My Question: I do not have a new home address for this tenant. I do have an address for a 2nd job she has, which is outside of the city of flint. Can I file my small claims case in the city where her 2nd job is located since its the only address I have or do I have to file it in the city where the property is located? Can I file it in the city that my LLC is located? I am pretty sure the answer is what I do not what to hear but I thought I'd throw it out there for any out of the box options that I haven't though of.
I am desperately trying to avoid this judge's courtroom. But no point in filing elsewhere if I am going to run into jurisdiction issues. Any other judge and I wouldn't hesitate.
Just looking for suggestions on other options... - Thanks!
A previous tenant signed an agreement to pay a certain amount to break her lease 2 months into a 12 month agreement and she has failed to make any payments. Based on where she works (her main job), she is "collectible" and we've decided its worth it to pursue her if we can avoid one particular courtroom.
A little background: The property in question is in flint and there is 1 specific judge who is extremely pro-tenant. I've been before him in the past and as a landlord you should always count on 3-4 hearings before he actually issues an eviction no matter how straightforward the case is. Lately, we've been able to avoid getting him as our judge because the attorney we use for evictions is banned from his courtroom (thank goodness). But in this case, our attorney suggested we file in small claims instead of using him. He charges quite a bit for civil cases but evictions are usually a flat fee. Due to the number of complaints, this judge now gets ALL small claims cases and only a few eviction cases. There was a 2011-2012 eviction case that lingered on for months and this judge was ultimately held in contempt of court by a circuit court judge for his refusal to follow the circuit courts decision which ordered him to evict a tenant.
My Question: I do not have a new home address for this tenant. I do have an address for a 2nd job she has, which is outside of the city of flint. Can I file my small claims case in the city where her 2nd job is located since its the only address I have or do I have to file it in the city where the property is located? Can I file it in the city that my LLC is located? I am pretty sure the answer is what I do not what to hear but I thought I'd throw it out there for any out of the box options that I haven't though of.
I am desperately trying to avoid this judge's courtroom. But no point in filing elsewhere if I am going to run into jurisdiction issues. Any other judge and I wouldn't hesitate.
Just looking for suggestions on other options... - Thanks!
