Anyone had to take someone to Small Claims Court?

[loganwayne]

I'm an ass hole. And what I'd do would probably get you in trouble. But I'd cut all his tires and bust out all the glass in his truck. If your not getting your money he sure as hell isn't getting to blow it on fun stuff

 

[TSU_Archer]

I'm an ass hole. And what I'd do would probably get you in trouble. But I'd cut all his tires and bust out all the glass in his truck. If your not getting your money he sure as hell isn't getting to blow it on fun stuff

Haha oh believe me! I’ve considered quite a few different scenarios but pretty sure they will all get me in trouble.

Heck his own sister said just go over there and give him a good old ass whopping. Unfortunately his wife has stated she won’t have it and will immediately contact the cops if that is attempted. Don’t think it’s worth getting arrested over $2k.

I’m sure at this point I’ve lost my $2k in stuff. But he has already lost more, his whole family. His decision though. You reap what you sow.

 

[Schism]

Chalk it up to a lesson learned. Education is never free whether u pay a university or pay the school of hard knocks. To me, causing family turmoil, resorting to vandalism, physical violence with family or anything along those lines isn't worth it in the long run. Cut your losses and trust that karma will even the score.

 

[Justin Crossley]

I would contact an attorney instead of relying on advice from Rokslide on this one. Find out what options you have in your state.

As has already been mentioned, it will probably cost you more to try do something about this but at least you would know for sure after talking with an attorney.

 

[Tick]

Court is probably best legal option to give yourself some peace of mind. For me it was worth the court cost to know I did something since I couldn't burn his house down. My experience was a joke trying to actually recover money after the case. I finally got reimbursed 10yrs later only when the guy ran for political office and was trying to clean skeletons out of his closet.

 

[Gwchem]

Sounds like you just paid $2k to never have to see this a-hole again.

 

[Oldffemt]

Chalk it up as a learning experience. It sounds like your cousin has already damaged his rep with the rest of the family. He won’t be trusted again. You should post his username here though so the rest of us don’t get burned by him.

 

[dieselchessy]

I think it’s probably a losing proposition to go after family for $2k.
I’d just cut my loses.

 

[LookinforDirt]

That sucks man. I did it when I was in college. Guy rear ended me at a slow speed on my motorcycle. Happened right in front of a cop working an accident on the side of the rode. He had no insurance. Won in small claims but he never paid. Went through the process to garnish his wages and he showed up days later with a check. I got lucky. If someone really wants to be a loser you are going to have a much harder time with it. Personally, I would pursue small claims. Persistence might cause him to break and just return the equipment. He sounds determined to be a loser but eventually you might get something out of it. It’s a long haul but just pursue it knowing that and you’ll get through it.

 

[wyosteve]

The other positive thing if you do get a judgment, it will impact his credit rating-borrowing capability for a long time if he doesn't pay it!

 

[roadrunner]

I would contact an attorney instead of relying on advice from Rokslide on this one. Find out what options you have in your state.

As has already been mentioned, it will probably cost you more to try do something about this but at least you would know for sure after talking with an attorney.

The retainer alone would likely be more than the value of the equipment.

You can sue for legal expenses as well, but the trick is getting it all back. Garnishing wages only works if the person is working.

A lot of consultations are free or don't cost nearly as much - usually only their hourly rate.

Justin - the point to asking people on a forum is to find out what their experience was before moving on. I'm quite certain everyone already knows you'd need to bring an attorney into the picture - kind of a common knowledge thing...

 

[turbobrick]

I won in small claims against my old neighbor. Our mutual fence went down, she agreed to pay for 1/2, then refused to after I finished the work. The process was easy, court was quick, I had a check the same day, but she tried to short me, so I had to return it and get another of the correct amount. The best part was the process server I hired, she wouldn't ever answer the door, but he played UPS driver and served her stupid ass. I was fortunate, its not usually that easy. I had another instance that really needed small claims, but the thief was out of state, and that made the process difficult.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

I think I would just chalk this one up to an expensive learning experience and cut off all contact with that cousin and his wife and whoever is supporting him. Karma is a bitch and will catch up to him…

 

[Mule3006Elk]

Hopefully he reads this and chimes in.

 

[S.Clancy]

You could just look at it like it cost you 2K to remove him from your life, not a bad deal considering.

 

[Pharmseller]

I’d for damn sure make everyone in the family aware of what transpired. Write a letter outlining the facts with a copy of the promise to pay and send it to every blood relative, including him.

And yes, I’ve won in SCC. I had to threaten garnishment to get paid, he didn’t want his employer to know he was a scumbag.

 

[WCB]

I don't get people saying "I can't believe a family member would........" Your family are human just like the rest of the World's population. Family are some of the worst people to deal with.. Don't get me wrong for the most part most of my family on each side plus my in laws are great...but people are people and I have a handful I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire.

Just wait till someone with money dies in the family...lots of worms come out of the woodwork and now Uncle Dave was their favorite uncle and the have attachments to all of his expensive belongings.

I would at least threaten court and have a letter drafted by an attorney to send to him. Also, just thinking but depending on the state... isn't this theft? And depending on the state wouldn't $2000 maybe hit Felon standards?

 

[sndmn11]

I'd appreciate you posting something on his Rokslide user name feedback.

 

[JMasson]

I learned not to mix money and family, unless I know for certain they can be trusted and we see eye-to-eye on everything. Even then, I find it best to keep money and family at arms length from each other. When I retire from the military, I plan to go into business with my father but I will be the sole owner of the business and he will be an employee on the books (but truly the brains behind the operation).

I had a cousin that I loaned some money to when I was younger and had significantly less in my pockets than I do now. I haven’t seen a cent of it in nearly 20 years and I know I never will. I also haven’t seen my cousin in nearly the same amount of time until a few days ago. I was drinking and my wife knows the situation so she (and my mother, father, uncles including my cousin’s own father and aunts) took steps to separate me from the situation. I’ve been saying for 19 years I was going to whip his ass if I ever saw him again. He’s a real coward and lawyer so I know I’d find myself in court if I did. I intended to lay a whipping on him when I saw him…thankful for all my loving family that kept me out of the situation. Also, glad his son didn’t have to see him get his ass whipped.

 

[JMasson]

I don't get people saying "I can't believe a family member would........" Your family are human just like the rest of the World's population. Family are some of the worst people to deal with.. Don't get me wrong for the most part most of my family on each side plus my in laws are great...but people are people and I have a handful I wouldn't piss on if they were on fire.

Just wait till someone with money dies in the family...lots of worms come out of the woodwork and now Uncle Dave was their favorite uncle and the have attachments to all of his expensive belongings.

I would at least threaten court and have a letter drafted by an attorney to send to him. Also, just thinking but depending on the state... isn't this theft? And depending on the state wouldn't $2000 maybe hit Felon standards?

This is very true. My grandfather recently passed away and left his entire will to his grandchildren. He was Canadian (along with my mother’s whole family) and all his investments are in Canada. My uncle is the executor of his will and thankfully the lawyers are ensuring it is executed according to his wishes. He had sizable investments and I stand to inherit a significant sum. I don’t care about the money, I just wish I could hunt with the old guy a few more times. Some of my cousins are already trying to get their fingers into mine and my sisters’ share because we “don’t live in Canada”. It’s messy and I’m glad my uncle is dealing with it.