Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: Ex-girlfriend owes me mmoney for airline ticket

Theoretically, you can take her to court. The better question, though, is whether you will win. Unless it was somehow clear that she would reimburse you for the ticket to begin with, it will be hard. It could be argued that her offer after she told you she was moving would bind her if you accepted it right then, but at best, this will be a "what he says vs. what she says" situation. It is not clear cut that you would be victorious under these circumstances. I would think differently if there was some clear agreement at the beginning that she would reimburse you, or that she later promised to do so and you put it in writing. My serious and practical suggestion, given you are talking about no more than a few hundred dollars(considerable, but not thousands of dollars at any rate) is that you communicate with her and find some way to settle the matter so there is a resolution you can both live with.

Re: Ex-girlfriend owes me mmoney for airline ticket

You might be able to prevail on a theory "action in reliance? Is it, however, wo rth your trime and attention. If you should get a judgment, your would have to go to Illinois. In fact, you probably will have to bring the small claims action in Illinois. The person sued has the right to be sued in the jurisdiction in which he or she lives. You also probably cannot enforce a California small claims judgment in Illinois. It seems to me that you should trade in your ticket for a different location, in spite of the restrictions, its possible.

Re: Ex-girlfriend owes me mmoney for airline ticket

You can take her to small claims court based on two theories: (1) she broke a promise to accompany you on the trip and that cost you the price of the ticket and (2) she verbally agreed to pay you for the ticket. However you have a duty to mitigate your damages. You must diligently attempt to sell the ticket. Then, if you are successful in selling the ticket she only owes you the balance of what you lost.

Re: Ex-girlfriend owes me mmoney for airline ticket

Generally speaking, your ex-girlfriend has no obligation to pay for the ticket. This is relates to past or moral consideration. A promise given in exchange for past acts generally does not satisfy the bargain requirement to create an enforceable contract.

You essentially offered her a gift and despite the changed circumstance, there was no real contract made for payment. The only way that it might be legally enforceable is if you had the new promise to reimburse you in writing or if she partially paid some of the amount.

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