Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

Breach of Oral Contract

Last year my family and I took in a class mate of mine who was kick out of his apartment. During the four months he was with us we paid for a lot for him. We got his car out of repossession, babysat, gave him cash, ect. He kept on saying he would pay us back. I kept an itemized list of everything we gave him both goods and services. When I gave him the list and asked him to start paying $100 per month minimum he stopped all contact with my family. It�s been several months since he has contacted us and we have not received a payment from him. He owes over $9300. I opened a case with a professional mediation service to resolve this matter but the case was closed due to the fact he refused to contact them. How can I get my money back? Would he be libel for attorney fees since I tried to resolve the matter outside of court first and he refused to do so? The only income I know he has is welfare. Can I garnish that? Would could I force a sale of one or both of his cars?


Asked on 5/02/07, 12:41 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jonathan Stein Law Offices of Jonathan G. Stein

Re: Breach of Oral Contract

You could sue him for breach of contract, but you would have to prove that he agreed to pay you back. It doesn't sound like he ever agreed to this before moving in.

If you sue him and you win, I am not sure you could collect. If he is on welfare, and I am a bit unclear as to what type of welfare he is receiving, he can file a claim of exemption with the court and may be able to avoid repayment of any garnishment, assuming you could garnish in the first place, which is a bit unclear.

You may have to chalk this up to a $9,300 lesson if you do not have anything in writing.

One final idea: you could file in small claims court for $7,500 and then see if you can get him to agree to go to Judge Judy. They pay the settlement and he might do it to get his 15 minutes of fame.

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Answered on 5/02/07, 10:49 am


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