Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California
Hi,
Scenario: I found out I was pregnant with my boyfriend. He didn't want it. He found a clinic, set up the appointment, confirmed it, and we both went there, I had the procedure, and he paid for it at the clinic with a bank credit card. A few weeks later, the clinic called me and said my boyfriend reversed the charges with his bank, saying the charges were fraudulent. I cooperated with the clinic, gave the clinic all of his information, address, phone number, and even wrote an affidavit for the clinic. Two months later, the clinic is not repeatedly calling me, threatening to sue me and saying that the bill will "go into collections" if I don't take care of it. What are my rights? It doesn't seem like the clinic is taking appropriate legal action against my boyfriend to obtain the funds due from him.
Thank you,
S
2 Answers from Attorneys
Well, you certainly learned something about your boyfriend's character. I just hope you are smart enough to see that he's not the type of person that you would want to be dating or raise a family with.
Ultimately, you are the patient and the procedure was performed on you and that makes you responsible for the bill. Even though you boyfriend agreed to pay, his disputing the charges either means he lied to you about his intent to pay or he lied to the clinic when he signed the charge slip authorized the deduction from his account.
If you can't convince your boyfriend to do the right thing, pay the bill and sue him. Oh yeah, you should dump him too.
You are clearly obligated on the bill to the clinic. The fact that your boyfriend agreed to pay for it does not eliminate your liability.
A closer question is whether you have a claim against your boyfriend for all or some part of the charges. I would argue quite strongly that you do, as to at least half of the amount owed. Whether your boyfriend has the money to re-pay you is a completely different question, however.
Related Questions & Answers
-
Can you suit an entity that has not existed for over 5 years Asked 12/29/12, 8:24 pm in United States California Credit, Debt and Collections Law
Looking for something else?
10,200 active attorneys ready to answer your legal questions today.
Featured Attorneys
Earn additional revenue and grow your business.
