can I sue in small claims if the person no longer lives in the same state?

[cheryl812]

I had a verbal agreement with a friend to move them from NY to NC for I was paid for my services the day before she left the state of NY. About a week later I was informed by my bank this person placed a stop payment on her check. They currently do not live in the state of ny anymore. I filed a small claims against the defendant they received the summons to appear and have responded to the court asking the case be dismissed because they no longer live here. Being that she was a resident of NY at the time the transaction took place can she get this dismissed? If so what can I do to pursue the monies that I am owed? I don't know what else I can do and I truly believe she never was going to pay me because I did the job and she waited a week to pay me and then paid me the day before she left ny and asked me not to depoist the check right away because she wasn't sure if the funds would be in her account. I tried on several occasions to call her and ask for money and she said "sue me your not getting any money".
Any help in this matter is greatly appreciated.
Thank you,

 

[army judge]

Go to the police and file a criminal complaint.

The authorities will prosecute her.

If the amount in question is big enough (as in felony), they could extradite her back to NY to stand trial. If it isn't, you can forget that option.

As far as suing her, go ahead. Your problem is serving her. She can't be forced to return to NY to answer to a small claims case.

But, what good would this do? She's a deadbeat. Even if you get a default judgment against her, you'd probably never collect.

The lesson here is, don't take checks if you ever do this again. Get the cash before you do the deed. You may have to eat this one.

 

[cheryl812]

Thank you for your reply but I have one other question. Can I go to the state of NC where she lives now and sue her in small claims court there?

 

[mightymoose]

You could go to NC, but unless you are seeking a significant amount of money... at least in the thousands, it is likely not worth the effort. I'm guessing your best option is to suck this one up and move on.

That said- if the friend did receive a summons to appear in court in NY, go to court and ask for a default judgment when the friend fails to appear... you will have the judgment, but will still have to figure out how to collect.