Unpaid Invoice

[unpaid773]

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

I'm a web developer who previously worked for a Canadian tech startup and am still owed $8k of a $10k invoice. I'm wondering what is my best recourse for collecting on that debt?

A little back story ... this is a "friend" I've known for a number of years. I went to work for him 4 years prior to being laid off. In early Sept 2015 he hinted that payments might begin trickling for a while due to money issues on his end. Two months later (Oct 31) I was officially laid off, but was told those 2 months of invoices would be paid. Naturally as a friend I took him at his word and was patient. I've asked him about it every few months since and of course I just get fed excuses.

I recently learned that he has taken up residence in the US again (San Francisco) so it should be easier then tracking him down in Canada. Still all I can speculate on his location is the work address he has listed on his LinkedIn profile. I have no idea where his residence is. Furthermore I live in Louisiana so its far from convenient.

I guess I just have a few questions if anyone can help. Can I sue him remotely (via a lawyer) without traveling to SF? Is the cost of hiring a lawyer, potentially hiring a P.I. to find and serve him, and/or traveling costs make this cost prohibitive? Is there any jurisdiction/statute of limitations issue I'm not considering?

Thanks

 

[LdiJ]

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

I'm a web developer who previously worked for a Canadian tech startup and am still owed $8k of a $10k invoice. I'm wondering what is my best recourse for collecting on that debt?

A little back story ... this is a "friend" I've known for a number of years. I went to work for him 4 years prior to being laid off. In early Sept 2015 he hinted that payments might begin trickling for a while due to money issues on his end. Two months later (Oct 31) I was officially laid off, but was told those 2 months of invoices would be paid. Naturally as a friend I took him at his word and was patient. I've asked him about it every few months since and of course I just get fed excuses.

I recently learned that he has taken up residence in the US again (San Francisco) so it should be easier then tracking him down in Canada. Still all I can speculate on his location is the work address he has listed on his LinkedIn profile. I have no idea where his residence is. Furthermore I live in Louisiana so its far from convenient.

I guess I just have a few questions if anyone can help. Can I sue him remotely (via a lawyer) without traveling to SF? Is the cost of hiring a lawyer, potentially hiring a P.I. to find and serve him, and/or traveling costs make this cost prohibitive? Is there any jurisdiction/statute of limitations issue I'm not considering?

Thanks

Unfortunately, your odds of collecting from him, even with a court judgement, could be slim. It really all depends on whether he has assets that can be levied or wages that can be garnished.

 

[eerelations]

It is very likely that you'll have to sue the business entity and not the individual running it. And if the business entity is registered in Canada, then you'll have to sue in Canada.

 

[unpaid773]

Unfortunately, your odds of collecting from him, even with a court judgement, could be slim. It really all depends on whether he has assets that can be levied or wages that can be garnished.

Im afraid you're right. This is starting to look like one of those "possession is 9/10ths of the law" kind of scenarios. The website is still operational so maybe I can force him to sell it for whatever its worth if I can track him down.

It is very likely that you'll have to sue the business entity and not the individual running it. And if the business entity is registered in Canada, then you'll have to sue in Canada.

I'm not even sure if he registered it in Canada or anywhere for that matter. I guess that should be my next step.

Thank you guys for the responses.