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Ever sued someone?
 

have any of you folks ever sued anyone that can give me some insight on the process? I sold a car to someone they owe me like 500 bucks and won't pay up so i wanna sue their a$$ for my money...

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

Well, I did take someone to small claims but even then I could not get the cash. So in the end you may not get the cash from them.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

I have sued and been sued several times. Winning in court is the easy part, the hard part is actually collecting.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

$500 is a waste of time in court. About the only way to get paid is to have a warrant issued after judgment and then failure to pay. Out of pocket expense is a few hundred dollars and a few days in court.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

keep in mind each state is different.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

I have been a plaintiff in maybe 6 lawsuits over my lifetime, 2 of them were as the lead plaintiff in a class action case.

The others are correct, suing someone is easy. You just have to be able to get them served. COLLECTING the judgment is the hard part.

What most people don't understand is, just because you have a judgment does NOT mean that the person has to pay you. If they do not voluntarily pay, you will have to enforce the judgment, and that can be difficult.

Do you know where the person works? The most common way of enforcing a judgment is to garnish the defendant's wages. However, that is not always possible. First, they have to be making MORE than the minimum wage. And then, you can only get up to a certain percentage of their check. The percentage varies by state, but is usually 15%. In California it is 25%. There are 5 states where wages CANNOT be garnished at all. I know that Pennsylvania is one of them. I forget the others.

Then, if that person has any other judgments with garnishments pending, you may be out of luck, because you will have to wait in line behind them. And some debts take precedence. First comes child support. Then any debt owed to the Federal Government. Then any debts owed to state or local governments. And some sources of income can NEVER be garnished, such as Social Security Retirement, Disability, Unemployment, etc. You wouldn't believe how many people are judgment-proof! 80% of all money judgments go uncollected.

So, while you CAN sue, the question is, do you want to? Because it is probably going to cost nearly $100 for the filing fees and to get the person served. Then you get the judgment. If it is not paid in 30 days, you can go back to court to ask for a garnishment. And that is another filing fee. And you need to know where the person works, the courts are not going to find them for you. And if the employer does not respond, then you have to file ANOTHER motion to hold the employer responsible for the balance due. And then, to collect on THAT, you will have to know where the employer has their bank accounts - again, the court will not do this for you and skip-tracing companies typically charge $100 or more for each job and bank account they find.

So, is it worth the extra investment of your money and time to pursue this, especially for $500 when it may not lead to anything?

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

A think you may be going the wrong route on this one. A lawsuit may not even be your best approach. If they owe you money on a car, depending on your state laws and/or your contractual agreement with the debtee, you may be able to repossess the vehicle. That is sure to get you the $500 real quick or after a period of the time depending on state laws allow you to resell it for even more money.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

thats the route i wanted to take but the stupid dealership i work for didn't lien holder me so I'm f-ed

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

He wouldnt repossess? Wow - that is the proper approach if you have the agreement

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

Have you taken professional legal advice rather than bods on a forum?

Suing, repossing, breaking contracts.... all there with the correct instructions from an attorney.

Look outside the box.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

Its really not worth the trouble or money to seek advice gb unless they would do it free. its only a small balance left on "loan" ( $500 bucks or so )

if the advice isn't free then i wouldn't consider it a route I would take

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

Yes they have sued people and they do it all the time.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

Post an ad on craigslist. Maybe some student would pick it up cheap for the experience.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

This is Small Claims stuff.....

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

Judge Judy time - might as well

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

Actually, in most jurisdictions a law student cannot represent anyone in court. They can ASSIST a licensed attorney and sometimes the licensed attorney just sits there and monitors the situation, ready to jump in if necessary, but that would still be a cost. And in small claims court, there usually are no attorneys.

If you want to find out what suing would cost in small claims court, just go to your county court website and look up the fees. There is usually a summary of costs and an explanation of the entire process.

That way, you can get your information straight from the "horse's mouth" so to speak.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

I know that in Nevada you are not allowed to get an attorney. They can be there with you to advise you but they cant represent you.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

Yes, and the other thing about going to your county court website is that they will have their procedural rules posted. Reading the court rules may help you to decide if this is worth pursuing or not. Personally, I would just drop it. I don't see where you are going with this. Yes, losing $500 sucks. But what sucks even more is spending another $200 or $300 in court costs, processes server and skip-tracer fees and ending up unable to collect anyway.

The only thing that could be in your favor is, if a judgment is entered, it will most likely appear on his credit report. If that happens, he MAY pay it if he wants to get credit on a big ticket item such as a mortgage. It will also stop him from getting most credit cards and small banks loans.

Re: Ever sued someone?
 

Small claims is a joke. It's basically an ego booster if you win. The loser still doesn't have to pay you regardless the outcome. The court doesn't collect the money for you. That's up to you to hire a collection company to collect, which would cost you more money. Where i am in small claims, the judge doesn't even decide the winner in court. They will send a letter to both participants in who they favor. That's it.

I would go to small claims court just for laughs. It's funny. Their will be like 35 cases and some go fast like 5 minutes, others a little longer. The judge is trying to hurry up and finish all the cases for the day. By about 4pm, if the judge still has some cases he knows he won't get too, they will direct those cases to another court room for another judge to decide, if they have the room

The bigger joke is if Judge Judy ( mediator / arbitration ) contacts you by sending you an envelope via UPS. In this situation both participants go, and both get paid if they win or lose. The defendant gets $500 win or lose basically just to go and you get paid. The plaintiff is sold the fact that if they do win, Judge Judy will pay the plaintiff that day the amount they are suing for if they win, and she does cut you a check that day. If the plaintiff loses they still get $500 ( i think )

She is filthy rich right on sunset blvd in LA