What state do I file in?

[caineal]

I have purchased a vehicle from another state, and had it transported to my home in Illinois. The transaction took place over the Internet. The vehicle is not what the seller described, and I plan on taking him/her to small claims court. My question is, can I file here in Illinois, or do I have to file in their state?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

You must file in their State because that's where the contract was consummated, and where delivery took place. Besides, and if you think about it, if you were to file in your State, and you won your case, your State (and the court in your State) has no "jurisdiction" over the other party, and therefore, cannot make them attend the court hearing, or make them pay anything to you, etc.

IAAL

 

[caineal]

Can I send in the appropriate paperwork, or will I have to file in person? Also, does anyone know where I can find out (on-line preferably) if I can claim costs in Vermont? Thanks

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Can I send in the appropriate paperwork, or will I have to file in person? Also, does anyone know where I can find out (on-line preferably) if I can claim costs in Vermont? Thanks

My response:

If you're talking about Small Claims court, then you can call the court in the County where the other party lives and request (and pay for) all the appropriate forms be mailed to you. While you can file by mail, your appearance in court will obviously be required.

What type of "costs" are you talking about?

IAAL

 

[caineal]

The costs of having to go to Vermont for the trial, costs of filing, etc

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

The costs of having to go to Vermont for the trial, costs of filing, etc

My response:

In a contract situation like yours, and in the absence of a written contract allowing for the type of costs you envision, the only costs that you'll be able to recover are your court costs; i.e., filing fee. The rest of your costs, e.g., travel, lodging, food, loss of income from your job, etc., will be on your shoulders.

IAAL

 

[caineal]

I'm just so thrilled that a person can make false claims about a vehicle, rip me off, then not have to pay the price when _I_ have to go out of my way to re-coup my money. Thanks for your help.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I'm just so thrilled that a person can make false claims about a vehicle, rip me off, then not have to pay the price when _I_ have to go out of my way to re-coup my money. Thanks for your help.

My response:

Besides your Breach of Contract allegations, if you can prove fraud allegations, and win, you may be able to win not only your contract price you paid for the car, but also "punitive damages" - - very rare in "contract" actions, but if you have the type of proof that would make your case "rise to the level" of some sort of "purposeful" deceit, e.g., "contractual bad faith", you may be able to pull it off.

So, you may as well allege everything that you can, and ask for an amount (above the contract price) that a judge might feel is warranted to "punish" the other party.

Good luck to you.

IAAL

 

[caineal]

Actually, we are already planning on asking for the transportation cost, since we would never had paid those is she hadn't mis-represented the vehicle. I have tons of emails, plus the original post for the ad, that have all these claims she made about new parts in the last year, yet, the vehicle wasn't even running when it arrived here (despite her saying it was in good running condition). I agree that we should ask for anything legitimate. Better to be told no by the judge, than to have failed to ask. Thanks for all your help.