Small Claims/Unpaid Bill Dispute

[babycakes_2u2]

hi, i live in arkansas. about a year ago, my husband and i opened an auction, supposingly sharing the costs and workload with a friend and his wife. they did not share 50/50 work or costs. nothing legal was in their name, that is how they preferred it. when they quit us about 7 or 8 months later, they left us owing sales taxes (about $600), rent ($250), back rent ($250), and utilities $132. in the previous months, when funds from our sales were not there to pay these expenses, we paid them out of our own pocket, with very little help from our so called partners. the electric bill was in their name. we had it changed to our name, when they left. now, they are filing in small claims count on the unpaid bill of $132. could someone tell me if i am responsible for this bill? if so, are they responsible for their half of the unpaid taxes and half of the rent that we paid on our own? and, do i have to reply to a summons in small claims court? thanks, ginger

 

[JETX]

Well, Ginger... looks like you have some good... and bad news.

Good news: Based on your post, it appears that they (the former 'partners') may have a tough time PROVING that the expenses were yours, or at least exclusively yours. This will because there are no documents to support their claim.

Bad news: Their problem (no documents to support claim) is also going to be your problem in trying to support YOUR claim to a percentage of the expenses.

Suggestion: Why not file a cross-complaint on them for the part of expenses you claim are theirs. That way a single court can hear both sides of the story, while both have an interest to present THEIR versions and hopefully the court will consider the TOTAL amounts due to split the costs accordingly.