Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I loaned a friend some money, she wrote a promissory note, to pay back the money in a few months. I didn't get any payment for 2 years and then it was only 20.00, she has made payments of 50.00 a month for about a year. The statue of limitations on a written contract is 4 years, without going to court in order to protect myself, can I have her write up a new promissory note? By doing this would this start the time clock for another 4 years? Or would the courts go by the date on the check I wrote on the loaned money from almost 4 years ago? She is making payments, but the loan won't be paid off by the 4 year statue of limitations. Should I just take her to small claims court, get a judgement and then decide to either put a lien on her property or at the very least it would give her another 6 years to pay it off, thus protecting my statue of limitation. And I could just renew the judgement if it's still not all they way paid off at the 6 year extension...


Asked on 1/19/15, 9:29 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Charles Perry Law Offices of Charles R. Perry

The statute of limitations is four years from the breach. In some cases the four years begins from the time of the last payment.

I cannot tell from the information you provide when the statute of limitations begins. You may need to consult with an attorney for this.

The parties can, by written agreement, extend the statute of limitations. An amendment to the promissory note, to reflect the new payment schedule, might have the same result. Without seeing the existing note, the schedule of payments to date, and the proposed amendment, it is not possible to comment further. You would need to consult with a lawyer privately to do this, so that you can speak confidentially.

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Answered on 1/20/15, 2:25 am


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