Small Claims Court

[hometowncandles]

Anyone ever had to take someone? I don't want to go into detail right now, I'm sure it wouldn't be to my advantage to do so if I do have to go to court.

Basically I'm wondering if you actually collected and if the process was worth it? I imagine it would be worth it, if you actually collected, I'm going to go for reimbursement of all my expenses too, I'm just wondering if the system works.

TIA

Jennifer

[theresa t]

We have taken people a few times with having rental property and have won on all of the cases. There has only been this last time that we haven't been able to collect and of course it was the worst damage and highest amount we have been awarded.

It has been worth it to us to do it but, it is a little time consuming and frustrating to say the least. Not to go into the boring details of our experiences, we have had to go thru the garnishment process in all of them. Here we can file the expenses of doing this. On this last case, the woman was claiming head of household even tho her husband owns a business and has income....quite a bit of it at that. They are on public assistance which we didn't know about until after it was all said and done so they are also frauding the system. Since we could only try to garnish her wages she didn't make enough with some formula they use on income so we couldn't get anything from her. We took the next step and tried to garnish the bank account and again she was able to block that. Now we can't find an attorney here that is willing to take the case to try to get the money for us. I know we could use the extra $3000 it is now up to but, basically for now we are screwed with getting it.

Like I said, the other times we were able to collect on the debt but this last time we got the door slammed on us with every way we tried to collect.

[Lorrie]

My mom and dad took some one to small claims court years ago..They won their case. It was worth it to them.

[Luci]

I sued a former friend a couple of years ago over ignoring a $1000 loan. I won the case, but I have never collected.

For me, it was worth it. I had made a couple of loans--much larger than $1000--and had not been repaid. This girl simply thought that since I didn't do anything about those unpaid loans that I would ignore hers, too. When I mentioned repaying me during a conversation in which she was telling me about their vacation plans, etc, she cussed me like you wouldn't believe.

Those other "loans"--I waited too long after being strung along. I've made it clear that I'm no longer in the "lending" business.

[LynnS]

How long is the waiting period as far as length of time to file. I have people tell me I should take my neighbors to court. I know I could win. Most would never go that far if they didn't think so.

LynnS

[Judy, USMC]

If you search "statute of limitation (STATE)" it should bring up a list. Look for the ones that link to the state - not a lawyer's site.

I'm in the process of doing a claim against a Wisconsin resident. Repeated attempts to get my $200. back for goods not delivered have been ignored. Since I'll be in Wisconsin anyway, I'm going to her county courthouse to file. If found guilty she has to pay filing fees, court costs and my lawyer if I decide to bring one. Would have been so simple to just make scheduled re-payments!

Good luck with your suit.

ETA: Since this person is in the candle business I can be awarded some of her business assets as a judgement. It's the principal of the thing for me.

[SherriLynn]

I have had friend or family take others to small claims court. The system from that end works, however, you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. You might win, but collecting what you won, is another story. Garnishment don't work, if they're not making a wage or can't support their family...

[OverSoyed]

We took our former roommate to court over bills and whatnot. After waiting 6 months for a court date, we had the case. He had an attorney, and I represented myself and the hubby. We waited another 3 months for a determination. We won!

By law they are required to make payment within 14 days, but that was 5 months ago, and haven't seen one cent. We could put liens on his property, but he already owes his college and whatnot. Plus the added expense to serve him, and collect the money.

If you want money... good luck!

[Flicker]

In some cases you can win and collect but in others even with a win, as stated you will never see a dime...so in theory you are out more than what you started with.

In Minnesota and Wisconsin (I only know about those two states since I used to own rentals in each) if a person is sued in court for damages and the petitioner wins, they will grant a judgement. Judgements are worth only the paper they are written on unless the person makes enough to be considered above the federal/state/local poverty guidelines. If they have received any form of public assistance, food stamps, daycare, housing, medical etc. the courts will NOT garnish wages for a period of 18 months AFTER that support stops. So in a nut shell depending on the amount, I'd say maybe, maybe not to do it. I personally wouldn't bother in either of those two states for less than $1000. Just not worth it to me.

Getting the judgement is the easy part, collecting on it is the hard and sometimes impossible part to the system. Good Luck!

[theresa t]

Good luck with whatever you decide. I hope it turns out for you if you go for it.

[deb426]

I am a paralegal in PA. IMO, it must be worth it to you emotionally. If you are happy to get the judgment even knowing you probably will never get any money and that you will spend time and more money getting the judgment, then go ahead. If you are simply trying to get the money, unless it is a lot of money and the defendant owns property, etc., you will probably not come out ahead. It is a lot of trouble and usually not worth it just for the $. If it is for the principle, only you can decide on that one.

[debscent]

Getting a victory in court is just the first step. If you want your money after a court's decision has been made you can petition to court for a wage attachement or a lien. Check the statutes in the state where the offense happened.

[Judy, USMC]

According to my research in some states if a judgement is awarded and is not paid you can report it to the credit bureau and it will affect their credit rating...just like any other bad debt. In that case, I can't understand why someone would not pay before going to court.

[LynnS]

All this is good information for all of us who might need this.I like what Judy and debscent said!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Where there's a will there is a way. I guess the way it should be looked at.

When You do wrong you pay just like anything else. I am sure none of us would want to bring this before a court if we didn't think we could win. Get the liars, crooks or takers up front and center.Then see if they back down/lie. The truth prevails.None of us would be asking this but we know we were wronged. We know we can win.

LynnS

[LynnS]

Here is what I got for the state of Ohio where I live(Statuate of Limitations)Small claims court

Written Contract 15 years

Oral Contract 6 years

Personal Injury 2 years

Property Damage 4 years.

I typed in small claim statuate of limitations for OHIO and then it showed a chart for ALL states.Interesting!!!!! It was more alloted time than I thought.

LynnS

[Godiva]

According to my research in some states if a judgement is awarded and is not paid you can report it to the credit bureau and it will affect their credit rating...just like any other bad debt. In that case, I can't understand why someone would not pay before going to court.

If their credit is already bad, they probably wouldn't care.

[Godiva]

File your case with people's court, or Judge Judy. One of the two, or maybe both.

Two good reasons - 1, it is binding arbitration. Both parties sign an agreement to abide by the judge's decision.

And 2 - you would get your money if you win. Here's something I found online about People's Court:

The losing party does not actually need to pay the judgment, as such. Instead (as is stated in the disclaimer at the end of each show), both parties are paid from a fund (set up by Ralph Edwards-Stu Billett Productions). This fund was based on the amount of the lawsuit claim, but an exact formula was not stated. The fund was to be first divided equally, then any monetary judgment ordered was subtracted from the loser's half (and presumably both halves in the case of cross judgments). Each litigant received at least what remained of their half in shows concluding with that disclaimer.

I'm not sure where the shows are taped though.

[Carrie]

I have a friend that got a judgement against a roommate that didn't pay rent. She put a lein against his car. If he sells it or trades it in, she gets paid.

[Just Piddlin]

I took someone years ago and never collected a dime. The Judge ask them if they owed the money and they said yes. He said you need to pay them. They filed bankrupt soon after and that was it.

[LynnS]

A lady that lives near me took her neighbor to court.He shot her cat.The cat lived.

He had to pay court costs of over $1,000,was fined for using a fire arm in this small town and paid the vet bill.The cat was on his property and the lady didn't see him do it.But nowadays not a matter of seeing them do it.Just knowing and proving.

When the guy walked out of the courtroom a deputy looked at him and said"I never want to see you again in here for animal abuse or it will be a felony".I am feeling real confident on my

case.Very Confident

Seems in some of these cases money is awarded but people never see it. This lady never complained about not getting paid.Wonder why some cases are different than others? She acted like he walked out paying all costs.That is the way it should be. He paid up. Maybe if he didn't it would be some jail time. Laws are changing.

LynnS