Legal Question in Business Law in California

What is the Statue of Limitations for filing a small claims lawsuit against a company that owes me money for services rendered?

The company is located in Utah. I am located in California.

This is a different question than my previous one where I asked about California Statue of Limitations. This one pertains to Utah's Statue of Limitations.

FYI, the company in Utah has owed me money for just over 5 years.


Asked on 9/13/12, 6:51 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys

Anthony Roach Law Office of Anthony A. Roach

It isn't a different question, it's the same question where you omitted the factual statement that the agreement was to be governed by California law.

You've now added the factual information that the company has been in breach for 5 years, which means that any lawsuit you file here would be barred by California's 4 year statute of limitations.

So now you want to switch around and omit the facts that cause your claim to be fatally defective, and seek to sue in Utah. But you keep asking the question in California.

If you want to know Utah's law, repost in the category for Utah lawyers to answer. Don't be surprised if they give you a response that will not help you, since you like to omit facts when you find they hurt your case.

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Answered on 9/13/12, 7:51 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Without disputing the general accuracy of Mr. Roach's answer, there is one remote possibility under which the case could still be brought in California. I think it might be possible to bring a suit in California without a statute of limitations defense for the defendant under a theory that you had a book account or an account stated with the debtor, which called for the addition of lawful service charges every month. See Code of Civil Procedure section 337, subsection 2. Whether this subsection applies will depend upon the language of your contract, the nature of your billing, and possibly other factors.

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Answered on 9/13/12, 8:15 pm


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