Suing a company from another state

[Rod Wright]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

What is the name of your state? What is the name of the company's state?

Is there a contract involved?

 

[Rod Wright]

I'm not sure why everything else I put in the message spot did not post. Here is what I had posted earlier.

I bought an item for $300 from a company in Pennsylvania. I never received the product that I paid for. He does most of his business online all over the United States and I had to actually call the Better Business Bureau to get an address for him and even that was not correct. The only way I was able to actually finally get in touch with him was after I reported him to the attorney general and the Attorney General had the same problem getting in touch with him. They gave me an address that I can actually send a certified letter to and he should be there at this point. A letter that I received from the Attorney General's office included an email from him bad-mouthing me and pretty much calling me a cyber-stalker after stealing my money. I've got plenty of documentation including recorded phone calls stating that this was being handled over a period of several years. I finally got fed up and did report this company to the BBB and the Attorney General's office.

I live in Michigan and I need to figure out where to file the lawsuit.

It was a good possible there was not going to pursue it until I got the email. Now I will be pursuing this regardless.

 

[Zigner]

I'm not sure why everything else I put in the message spot did not post. Here is what I had posted earlier.

I bought an item for $300 from a company in Pennsylvania. I never received the product that I paid for. He does most of his business online all over the United States and I had to actually call the Better Business Bureau to get an address for him and even that was not correct. The only way I was able to actually finally get in touch with him was after I reported him to the attorney general and the Attorney General had the same problem getting in touch with him. They gave me an address that I can actually send a certified letter to and he should be there at this point. A letter that I received from the Attorney General's office included an email from him bad-mouthing me and pretty much calling me a cyber-stalker after stealing my money. I've got plenty of documentation including recorded phone calls stating that this was being handled over a period of several years. I finally got fed up and did report this company to the BBB and the Attorney General's office.

I live in Michigan and I need to figure out where to file the lawsuit.

It was a good possible there was not going to pursue it until I got the email. Now I will be pursuing this regardless.

You'll likely need to file in PA. You won't be able to recover your expenses (ie: travel, lodging, etc.)

The BBB has no legal bearing on this matter. They have no legal authority. They are a private company.

 

[quincy]

I'm not sure why everything else I put in the message spot did not post. Here is what I had posted earlier.

I bought an item for $300 from a company in Pennsylvania. I never received the product that I paid for. He does most of his business online all over the United States and I had to actually call the Better Business Bureau to get an address for him and even that was not correct. The only way I was able to actually finally get in touch with him was after I reported him to the attorney general and the Attorney General had the same problem getting in touch with him. They gave me an address that I can actually send a certified letter to and he should be there at this point. A letter that I received from the Attorney General's office included an email from him bad-mouthing me and pretty much calling me a cyber-stalker after stealing my money. I've got plenty of documentation including recorded phone calls stating that this was being handled over a period of several years. I finally got fed up and did report this company to the BBB and the Attorney General's office.

I live in Michigan and I need to figure out where to file the lawsuit.

It was a good possible there was not going to pursue it until I got the email. Now I will be pursuing this regardless.

What do you mean by the statement bolded above?

 

[Rod Wright]

In his email he stated a bunch of things including a statement that I waited 3 years to pursue this. I have documentation of the contrary though to include copies of emails and recorded phone calls.

 

[FlyingRon]

The first question is not how long you waited before you started complaining about the issue, but when it was that you purchased the item. If it was more than four years ago, you have indeed waited too long to file in Pennsylvania courts. You have six years in Michigan (though you might be limited to the PA four years because of the borrowing statute, see below).

Generally, you can file in the state either party resides or where the course of action arises. While you haven't indicated enough detail to identify which state the "cause of action" may have arisen in, I might tend to agree that it could be considered in your state. On the other hand, even if you sue and win (perhaps by default) in Michigan, getting the judgment satisfied against a foreign defendant can prove dificult.

As pointed out the BBB means absolutely nothing. It only works if the business cares what ends up in their file there. They have no authority to do anything. It's largely akin to writing them a bad review on Yelp.

At $300, it's not likely to be worth pursuing at a distance. You might avail yourself of some non-judicial solutions, for instance https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/Consumers/Bureau_of_Consumer_Protection/