Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

My roommate failed to pay her bills for two months. To work with her (and not have her & her kid in the streets) I offered to let her stay for one month and pay her rent and her bills if she agreed to sign a promissory note and get it notarized. We did this and I have received 2 payments from her, but she has not paid the rest. I have reached out to her via phone, text and email several times and she has not made an attempt to get back to me. I dont know how long the statute of limitations is on these types of things, but I dont know how long I should wait until I take her to court. Its been 4 weeks since her last payment. Can I take her to court? What should be my next steps? SHould I try to do an arbitrator before going to small claims court?


Asked on 9/09/10, 12:17 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

You have four years to sue on a written agreement. Small claims is so much like arbitration there is no point in arbitrating before Small Claims. And if it was binding arbitration it would be final and you could not go to small claims after.

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Answered on 9/14/10, 1:25 pm


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