Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in District of Columbia
I met a man from the website SeekingArrangment.com (described as "the premier Sugar Daddy Dating site. This is a matchmaking website for wealthy benefactors, and attractive guys and girls.)
This man had an interest in dating me, and I obliged. Our relationship had lasted for a little over one month. During the course of the month, he has given me several expensive gifts (mostly handbags, jewelry, and clothes) totaling roughly $5,000.
In addition, as a result of being a student, I told him of my frequent financial troubles, and he offered to provide me assistance. During the onset of our relationship, I made these financial troubles clear, and told him that I was not ready to have a relationship due to my financial complications. He insisted that he did not want to "lose" me and asked me how much I needed to clear up the problems. I told him $3,500 and he subsequently gave me a check for this amount, which I cashed and spent.
A few weeks later, I found myself in another difficult financial situation in which he again offered his help. I wanted to leave my current apartment and rent a new one. I needed $5,400 for this, and he deposited the money into my bank account. I felt guilty that he was providing me such large amounts of money, and offered to pay him back based on the proceeds from a bar study loan that I had thought I would be receiving. I sent him my offer to repay him via text message. He never accepted my offer. There was no written or oral agreement to repay him. It was a mutual understanding that it was a gift.
Unfortunately, I decided against obtaining a bar study loan, and also against dating this man. I tried break up with him, but he told me he would sue me for "false pretense" to recover the money and the gifts he gave me. Can he sue me successfully in small claims court?
1 Answer from Attorneys
This one sounds like a fake question that is either an ad for the website mentioned or a question from class. Regardless...
He definitely can't sue you to obtain the full value of the money in small claims court, as D.C. has a $5,000 limit on small claims actions.
As for his "false pretenses" suit, it is unlikely to be successful in any court. The website described essentially exists to allow rich men to pay for companionship. You both knew what you were getting into and absent him having a contract or otherwise compelling proof that the money he gave you was a loan, legally he doesn't have grounds for a suit.
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