Legal Question in Administrative Law in California

Re: How does a corporation recover monies owed to them by an individual?

A corporation sues and can be sued in substantially the same ways as an individual can sue and be sued. Perhaps the greatest difference is that a corporation cannot represent itself, i.e. cannot appear in court "in pro. per."

The statutes of limitations usually do not distinguish between whether either the defendant or the plaintiff is a corporation. Generally, any plaintiff must initiate legal action within two years of the breach of an oral contract and within four years of the breach of a contract in writing.

There are shelves full of books dealing with how facts are proven and how evidence is (and is not) presented to a judge or jury. In the broadest terms, however, the plaintiff corporation would present evidence and testimony at trial showing that an obligation to pay was created (probably by an express agreement, but perhaps there was only an implied promise to pay) and that the defendant breached the agreement. The defendant would, of course, be given an opportunity to dispute the plaintiff corporation's allegations. The judge would decide questions of law, and either the judge or the jury (the latter it it's a jury trial) would decide questions of fact, the credibility of witnesses, etc.

Beyond these basics, there are thousands of variations, ploys, techniques and procedural rules that come into play between the filing of a complaint for money damages and the final judgment.