Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in California

You could spend a lot of time in researching the terms of the friend's indebtdness. After plenty of hours, you may have your answer, or you could sue them in small claims court. All in all, not worth the effort.

If the "friend" had a "court account," his credit was already pretty much messed up beyond what any NSF item could possibly matter. If you really feel that bad, send the "friend" $70 and forget about it.

Claudia has responded privately to Mr. Marman's and my answers, complaining that we have not answered her question, which she has clarified to be, what is california law on the legality of a Not Sufficient Funds charge on the account for the returned check, when it was a stop payment, not an NSF. She states she "knows" this is illegal in Kansas, and is upset we have not researched the law in California for her on the issue. I am posting this follow-up publically so that others who research previous answers on this site may understand why Claudia is not getting the answer she wants. This is why: Lawyers, LawGuru, and especially the lawyers who answer questions here for free as public service are not encyclopedias of the law. Furthermore, legal advice does not always consist of citing the law. It is a waste of time and resources for a lawyer, who is giving away +/-$300/hr time to answer a $70 question by looking up the law and providing a citation to a case or a code section. That is sound legal advice. Furthermore, like so many of the questions posted here, Claudia leaves out key facts that she may not know are important, but that make giving her a legal citation answer impossible. The answer may be governed by the original credit agreement, under the state law of the credit issuer, unless it has been turned into a judgment. She says she paid a "court account." There is no such thing. Does she mean it was a judgment? If so, then banking law doesn't apply. Collections of judgment law applies, and the law of the state of the judgment applies. In California, judgment creditors can add the costs of collection to a judgment. If they get a payment and then it is rejected, they can charge any fees they are charged, plus any other costs. It's no longer a NSF versus stop payment issue at all. All in all I've probably now spent at least $150 of my time on Claudia's $70 question that she has asked so poorly it cannot even be answered. So to all others who come across this Q&A, please respect the value of the time and expertise of the attorneys who answer questions on this site for free and don't waste our time with $70 issues, and "my neighbor is gossiping about me, can I sue them for defamation and emotional distress?" questions. It's petty, and takes our time from questioners who deserve our time and we really could help.