Legal Question in Business Law in Georgia

90+day non-payment on invoice

I won a $4500 contract to 1. Spend a few days in NYC documenting existing computer system and 2. Spend a few days in Georgia installing the system transplanted from NYC. I was paid for the first half of the work soon after completion of the NYC trip. I completed and invoiced for the second trip by Jan. 28th (also telephoned once regarding a business matter mentioning the invoice), sent a statement including 30-day late fee in February , sent another in March, and once again in April with followup telephone calls.

The client did not respond to any communications except once, when they received a blank fax from me (to which I responded that I put it in upside down; this they did not respond to). Now, their invoice is over 90 days past due, they finally respond to a voicemail by sending a letter claiming dissatisfaction of services I provided. This is the first I've heard of dissatisfaction.

The invoice totals around $2300 including late fees. I am willing to spend a certain amount to recover this amount owed. Given that the unpaid work was performed in NY and GA, and that I live in Oregon, I am unsure what to do or even what state's laws to look up.


Asked on 5/19/04, 6:42 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Tanya Osensky Georgia Corporate Counsel

Re: 90+day non-payment on invoice

The first thing to do in your situation is to review the contract. I am assuming that you have a written agreement regarding the services to be performed, pricing terms, etc. The agreement may have a governing law provision which will tell you which state's laws govern the transaction. The provision may go so far as to require which state a lawsuit may be brought in - possible headed as "Venue and Jurisdiction" or something like that. If there is such a provision and it indicates Oregon, then that would be helpful to you.

If not, or if there is no provision on governing law, then look to the state where the other party resides or has its principal place of business. If you are forced to file a lawsuit to recover the amounts owed, then you will most likely have to do so in the state where the other party resides in order to have them served and gain jurisdiction over them. If it is New York, then that is probably where you will have to go, because at least some of the services also were perfomed there. Same for Georgia. Unfortunately neither one of those states are very convenient to you in Oregon.

The second issue is the notice of dissatisfaction. Again, look in the agreement to see if there is any provision regarding default, termination or dispute resolution. Often an agreement provides that a party may terminate for default upon 30 days notice and an opportunity to cure. Your agreement may contain something similar. It may require written notice, in which case a voicemail would not qualify. Chances are that it is probably too late for the other party to claim dissatisfaction, but it's hard to say without seeing the agreement.

I would recommend that you send the agreement to an attorney to review and advise you on your options.

If you are forced to continue fighting for this amount owed, you may consider suing in small claims court in the other party's state or hiring a collections agency (who will take a percentage off the top of any amounts they can recover for you). Hope this advice was helpful.

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Answered on 5/21/04, 3:05 pm


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