How to take someone to small claims court...?
I lent a friend of mine over 200 dollars to get away from her abusive husband. We had a verbal agreement that she would pay me back.however this was back in May and now her husband is living with her again.and I still dont have the money. Could I take her to small claim court? Would I have a chance of winning? If so how do I go about it?
Answers:
It isn't scary at all. You go to the court house and file the papers. Your date will be told of your court date. It isn't held in a court room. It just a guy sitting at a desk. You tell your side. They tell theirs. Then he rules. It cheap. Be brave, go for it.
Do a web search on "Small claims" "{state}".
You'll come up with some phone numbers. Call one.
You need to identify the location of the correct court, there will be some simple forms to fill out.
One question before you do that. Have you sent her a letter saying "when do you plan to repay me?"
A verbal agreement is difficult to enforce. However, in order to make your case winnable, you need to have something on paper. A cancelled check written to your friend, a withdrawl statement from an ATM or some sort of receipt will help.
Also it is best to ask for repayment in writing and get a written respond from her. Creating a paper trail will help you win the case, but DO NOT forge or invent paper just to create a paper trail because you will lose.
If no one else was a witness to the agreement, you don't stand a chance. You can go to small claims court, but I wouldn't advise it. Just file a Complaint with your district court. It would be a bad idea.
Most likely you will win. Just go to your local small claims and ask there what forms you need to fill out, set up the court day, and pay the court fees (I think it's anywhere around $15-$50). Ask the judge to include these fees in the judgment against her.
Yes. You can file in a small claims court. But it's only $200. The court costs & filing fees will run you around $100. Then, you have to factor in the time off of work for the trial. Even if you win, there is no guarentee that you'll get one penny. You may get a judgment, but that is no guarantee that you'll be paid.
Better to talk to your friend and work out some sort of payment agreement. Maybe she can afford to pay you $20 per week for 10 weeks.
Good Luck!
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