roommate not on lease and moved out

[biogrrrl]

arkansas-
a)my friend and i went out of our way to help a friend move here from south dakota, she lived with us and we had a verbal agreement that we would split every bill and rent three ways. we did not put her on the lease because she said we could trust her. she decided she didn't like one of us and so she just up and left without telling, so we were stuck with her phone bills her share of utilities and her share of rent until our lease was terminated. we have proof she lived their (mail, email, etc) we have about a million witnesses that knew she lived there.

b) i loaned her 264 dollars to help her out a couple months ago and i have proof that she admits to owing it to me. she still hasn't paid me one cent.

so my questions are:

a)can we sue her for the expenses she left us with even though all we had was a verbal agreement?

b) is there anyway i can get her to pay me right now, the 264 she admits to owing me?

 

[vrzirn]

a. Some people are rotten guests.
b. There never is a "right now".

 

[JETX]

Q1) "can we sue her for the expenses she left us with even though all we had was a verbal agreement?"
A1) Yes. You can sue anyone for almost anything. The real question here is will you win?? That can only be answered by a review of your 'evidence'. If you can convince a court that there was an agreement to repay you (even a verbal one), then you should win.

Q2) "is there anyway i can get her to pay me right now, the 264 she admits to owing me?"
A2) Yes. You can ask her for the money RIGHT NOW!
However, if she refuses, then you have to either take her to court or go hire 'Vito' to make a visit.

 

[vrzirn]

I guess my bottom line was too brief. The key words are "opportunity costs". You have to weigh the costs of time in court to get filing papers, collecting documents, perhaps paying witness fees, paying filing fees, having papers served, time in court, more aggravation. Are all these costs worth it if you win? Are they worth it if you lose? And, even if you do win, you may find it difficult or even impossible to collect. Another cost for the effort.
Those are the costs you incur for the opportunity to sue.
If you hire Vito he may get caught or just run off with your deposit.