Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

I'm not sure what you are asking here. You have a loan agreement entered into here, so you can sue here. A $15,000 case would be filed in Superior Court - Limited Jurisdiction. I don't know Indian law, but you can probably sue him there if you choose. The bigger issue for you is how would you collect on a judgment. Someone who borrows $15,000 for an "emergency," then doesn't pay it back and then flees the country doesn't sound like someone who has money or other assets you could go after to enforce a judgment. So suing may well be a waste of time and money.

You may be able to add punitive damages to the amount you seek, if you can show they had no intention of paying you back at the time they took the money, or if some other fraud was involved. If you don't know their physical location in India, serving them with the court papers could be difficult. You could also sue in small claims court, if you limit the amount you seek to $10,000.

Such a good friend! I echo what the other lawyers say. If he still has a bank account in the U.S. or is owed wages by the company, you might get a default judgment once you go through the legal steps, and then try to levy against whatever assets are in the U.S.