• FreeAdvice has a new Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, effective May 25, 2018.
    By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our Terms of Service and use of cookies.

How to sue large corporation (Wells Fargo) in New York City small claims?

Accident - Bankruptcy - Criminal Law / DUI - Business - Consumer - Employment - Family - Immigration - Real Estate - Tax - Traffic - Wills   Please click a topic or scroll down for more.

MisterLacerda

Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York, city and state

I have a dispute with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage over improperly assessed fees during a mortgage settlement. I reside in New York City and the legal address on the mortgage documents is my address here in the city.

That said, the house purchased was in upstate New York, and the office I dealt with was in PA. I've already sent certified letters and the like and been bounced around but am getting nowhere, so I'd like to have them served and continue from there.

Based on everything I've read, the requirement is that the company have a place of business in New York City. Wells Fargo of course has dozens, and specifically Wells Fargo Home Mortgage has an office within a few blocks from me. Though I have never had any interaction with that office.

But that would certainly seem to qualify NYC as a venue. They do business here, and they wrote a mortgage to me, a resident here.

But the question -- who do I sue, or what address do I specify? Wells Fargo (per my mortgage documents) is based in North Dakota, I send my payments to New Jersey, the office in question was in Pennsylvania, and they're registered with the NY Corporations department with a service address of a registered agent in Albany.

My instinct is that I'd specify their address as their Agent Of Service or Registered Agent with the Albany address. But I'm concerned that as soon as the small claims court sees a non NYC address they'll toss it out. You can't sue anyone outside of the city limits.

On the other hand if I specify the address as my local branch office they'll be served, will have never heard of me, and it might go off into a black hole. Then again perhaps getting an official service will make them forward it to the right location. I also wouldn't have an easy way of knowing if that office is owned by Wells Fargo the corporation, or is a franchisee or similar.

So in summary -- does anyone know the best procedure for suing a large company like a bank, national brand, etc, in NYC small claims court? If they have dozens of branches in the city but none of them relate to the case, how do you choose one? Or alternately, will the court accept an address of the corporations registered agent if its outside the city limits, if I demonstrate somehow (it's not on the form) that they do maintain offices here and do business here.

This must have come up a million times, from people suing airlines to mortgage lenders to national retail chains and so on. Does anyone know the best way to proceed? Any advice would be so greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.
 


Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
Your loan agreement with Wells Fargo surely has language regarding the appropriate avenue to use to settle disputes. I am confident that Small Claims Court is NOT one of those avenues.
 

MisterLacerda

Junior Member
Check with your state's secretary of state to find out who the registered agent is in your state.
I've got that. The catch is the registered agent is in Albany, NY.

The NYC small claims system only allows you to sue companies in the actual city of New York. But having physical offices in New York City is sufficient.

So I don't know if I should sue the registered agent (which means I'll specify an address outside NYC, against the court's rules) or sue a randomly selected office of Wells Fargo that is within the city limits, fulfilling the court rule but possibly bringing up the problem of an improper service on my part.
 

MisterLacerda

Junior Member
Your loan agreement with Wells Fargo surely has language regarding the appropriate avenue to use to settle disputes. I am confident that Small Claims Court is NOT one of those avenues.
My understanding is that NYS law prevents corporations from changing the venue for Small Claims actions, regardless of what's written in the contract.

Scarella vs. America Online
Mehmet vs Paypal and eBay

I'm no lawyer, but that seems like enough to at least get me past an initial objection.

Needless to say I'm more interested in them settling or a no-show rather then having a Daniel Webster moment. It's about a thousand bucks. The small claims court is about 100 yards from my office so it's not some major burden.

Obviously in the case of a no-show they wouldn't be able to advance that argument. If they send a lawyer I've probably lost already, but then again so have they over $1000 in that case. I have a clear and in writing document disclosing the fees which they didn't follow. My real estate attorney at the closing advised me the case was pretty clear cut and I should be able to win (and he told their office that, though it's now long out of that local office's hands), though hiring him to actually sue for me can't be justified given the amount of money involved.

But he gave me some tips and I should be able to meet the bar of showing that I have a case if they don't show. Or ideally they'll cough up the money when they get service of course.

Still can't figure out this issue of how to sue/service the right office or address when it's a massive company with offices everywhere and there's this NYC venue rule.
 

MisterLacerda

Junior Member
Apologies, just a quick bump. Curious if anyone knows anything about venue issues in NYC small claims that might be of help... thanks so much
 

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
My understanding is that NYS law prevents corporations from changing the venue for Small Claims actions, regardless of what's written in the contract.

Scarella vs. America Online
Mehmet vs Paypal and eBay

I'm no lawyer, but that seems like enough to at least get me past an initial objection.

Needless to say I'm more interested in them settling or a no-show rather then having a Daniel Webster moment. It's about a thousand bucks. The small claims court is about 100 yards from my office so it's not some major burden.

Obviously in the case of a no-show they wouldn't be able to advance that argument. If they send a lawyer I've probably lost already, but then again so have they over $1000 in that case. I have a clear and in writing document disclosing the fees which they didn't follow. My real estate attorney at the closing advised me the case was pretty clear cut and I should be able to win (and he told their office that, though it's now long out of that local office's hands), though hiring him to actually sue for me can't be justified given the amount of money involved.

But he gave me some tips and I should be able to meet the bar of showing that I have a case if they don't show. Or ideally they'll cough up the money when they get service of course.

Still can't figure out this issue of how to sue/service the right office or address when it's a massive company with offices everywhere and there's this NYC venue rule.
Good job on the research...but I would be looking at the arbitration clauses...
 

MisterLacerda

Junior Member
Good job on the research...but I would be looking at the arbitration clauses...
That case I found does pertain to an arbitration clause actually. But I'm not delusional enough to think I could win against a decent lawyer. I'm sure they could find something to hang me with. The goal would be to have enough tools to prevent it from being tossed immediately, or to have a counter if I'm challenged that's at least plausible.

But the real question is how to file against them at all. At the dollar amount involved, and the fact that I'm far from a classic nuisance suit type -- I have a written document from them specifying a fee of $0.00, proof that I paid a fee, and written emails stating that I objected prior to closing but that delaying closing (they added the fee the morning of) would incur larger attorney costs to me, and an emailed response from the loan officer saying they acknowledged my issue and promised to submit for a refund post-closing -- I think my goal is more to get them to take my request seriously instead of assuming that like most I'll eventually just go away.

Of course now I can't even get calls returned or written responses to certified letters. If they really do have the energy to send someone I'd think they'd just read the damm outline of my request first and call it a day. It's more of a large-organization black hole than some decision by someone, I'm guessing at least.
 

Find the Right Lawyer for Your Legal Issue!

Fast, Free, and Confidential
data-ad-format="auto">
Top