Loaned money, never got it back.

[Mauke]

I am in CA and loaned someone money ($22.000) and have the contract he wrote me by hand that he would pay it back in a certain time. Of course :-( he did not make it. Now I ran out of money myself and need it back. He is not returning my calls and I wonder what I can do to make this a case. Is this still small claims or do I have to hire a lawyer (whick will be hard for me to afford)?

Thanks

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

I am in CA and loaned someone money ($22.000) and have the contract he wrote me by hand that he would pay it back in a certain time. Of course :-( he did not make it. Now I ran out of money myself and need it back. He is not returning my calls and I wonder what I can do to make this a case. Is this still small claims or do I have to hire a lawyer (whick will be hard for me to afford)?

Thanks

My response:

Please spell out the dollar amount; e.g., Twenty-two Thousand dollars, or Two Thousand Two Hundred dollars. In your numbers, above, you have too many digits; and, instead of a comma, you have a period. So, I can't tell if you're within or above the jurisdictional limit of Small Claims court.

IAAL

 

[Mauke]

Hi, thanks. The amount is $22,000 (sorry about the comma). I have a written and signed I.O.U. for $20,000 and one for $2,000, which was loaned by me at a later date. Is that what you need to know?

Thanks.

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

Okay, since you have two promissory notes, you can take them both into Superior Court, Limited Jurisdiction, and file your complaint. Or, you can take the smaller amount first, and file your complaint in Small Claims court (quicker), in order to get some funds to finance the larger case. I hope you wrote a clause in the Notes concerning reimbursement of litigation costs and / or attorney's fees.

You didn't say when the Notes were signed, but I'll presume you're still within the 4 year Statute of Limitations, measured from the date they were signed.

Good luck to you.

IAAL

 

[Mauke]

Further questions.....

Hi IAAL,

thanks very much for your complete reply, I guess I need to always hire a lawyer to pursue the $20,000 amount (no, there is nothing in the contract that says anything about legal costs). I'd like to know two things more. Can I bring up the $20,000 deal in the $2,000 Small Claims suit already? (As a way to have more evidence).
Then, how do I handle it now to initiate the suit; do I go to the cops and ask for his arrest? Does he need to be served? (I think he moved out of his appartment and it might be he is not registered anywhere).

Thanks,

Mauke

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Re: Further questions.....

Hi IAAL,

thanks very much for your complete reply, I guess I need to always hire a lawyer to pursue the $20,000 amount (no, there is nothing in the contract that says anything about legal costs). I'd like to know two things more. Can I bring up the $20,000 deal in the $2,000 Small Claims suit already? (As a way to have more evidence).
Then, how do I handle it now to initiate the suit; do I go to the cops and ask for his arrest? Does he need to be served? (I think he moved out of his appartment and it might be he is not registered anywhere).

Thanks,

Mauke

My response:

First, and foremost, for you and our other readers, I want to make this perfectly clear - - the police have nothing to do with this type of matter. This is a "contract" matter - a Civil matter. It has nothing to do with a "Crime" (although it might feel that way, it isn't), so don't even bother the police with this because they will tell you the very same thing I just told you.

One contract has nothing to do with the other; i.e., bringing up the $20,000.00 Note at a Small Claims hearing on the $2,000.00 Note, is of no value and will not be considered by the judge - - that's because the issue of the $20,000.00 will not be an issue for the judge, and that amount is way over the jurisdictional limit anyway.

Before you do anything, you need to locate him. This is going to cost you. Use a private investigator and give the P.I. all information you have; name, all known addresses, where he worked, etc.

Then, once you locate the potential defendant, come back to this Board, and we'll discuss it further. But, without the location of the potential defendant, there's really nothing to discuss at this point.

Good luck.

IAAL

 

[Mauke]

Very clear, I'll start with that right away.

Thanks.