magwriter Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 I filed a complaint in small claims court today. This didn't involve debt collectors - I did some freelance work for a company in CA, they never paid me, so I'm trying to get my money out of them. But I'm preparing to sue a debt collector, so I'm wondering how similar my experience will be for that. I'm in PA, and when I filed my complaint today, the court staff was not very encouraging about my odds of actually collecting damages from a company in CA. They told me they'll only be able to send the notice via certified mail (as opposed to having someone serve it personally, as they would do for someplace local). If the company doesn't accept the certified letter, the court clerk said there's nothing further they can do. Even if the notice is served and I do win in court, the clerk said they really can't enforce the judgement out of state. Basically, all I can do is hope that the company is too dumb to realize that and just pays up. The debt collector I'm planning to sue is also located out of state. Will I run into the same problems when I try to go after them? Thanks-Bobbi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calawyer Posted July 17, 2003 Report Share Posted July 17, 2003 The question you will need to resolve is whether the Court in PA has "jurisdiction" over the Cal company. Unfortunately this is often a complicated legal question that depends on the facts of the case. One ultimate legal question that will have to be resolved is whether the out of state defendant has sufficient "contacts" with the state of PA such that bringing them to Court there comports with due process.I think we should all cross our fingers that they just pay up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TexasLawyer Posted July 18, 2003 Report Share Posted July 18, 2003 If there is jurisdiction, you can ask the court to issue the citation. You can then locate the sheriff of the county in which the defendant resides/has its main office, send the citation and a copy of the complaint to him or her, and he or she will serve it for you. I am assuming that your rules of procedure are similar to Texas' (which is a big assumption). You might ask the clerk about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insider Posted July 22, 2003 Report Share Posted July 22, 2003 I was living in Az, and found a bails bondman in Md., to serve papers on the party I was suing. It cost me $50.00 and the Fed X charge. He sent me proof of delivery and it held up in court. I found him over the net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts