Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia

To sue your roommate you will need to show the court proof that your agreementw as for your roommate to pay you.

If you did what you should have, before signing the lease, you went to a lawyer and had a contract written. You could sue, probably in small claims, to recover. Without proof of your agreement you cannot prevail. While an oral agrement can be the basis of a suit, how do you plan to prove it?

The second question is how do you find his assets and collect?

You indicate that he has moved out of state. I am not sure that you still can sue in small claims. Even if he can be sued in Georgia, while Georgia allows wage garnishment, your ex-roommate is no longer in Georgia. Does he have assets in Georgia? If not, a Georgia judgment will do you no good. You either have to spend money to transfer the judgment to the state where he lives and pray that the state does allow wage garnishment or that he has assets or you should just go to the other state from the get go and sue there.

The court cannot "make" anyone pay. A judgment is just a piece of paper. It is up to you to collect on the judgment by getting the judgment and then either executing on assets, bringing a wage garnishment action or levying on a bank account.

You indicate that you had a 1 year lease which your roommate co-signed. That means he is liable on the lease as you were. What happened when he moved out? In most places, whoever is left is still liable for the full rent. If that happened in your case, did you pay the entire rent that was due? If so, you may have a claim for contribution, but you will have to show that you paid the whole rent. I would assume that you have some evidence to show your course of dealings before your roommate moved out - for example, how was the rent paid? Would each of you write a check to the landlord? Or would your roommate write a check out to you?

What I would do is consult a general civil litigation attorney in the county/state where your roomate now resides. Pay the lawyer for 30 minutes of his time. Learn what remedies the state has if you win a judgment. Find out the procedure for small claims and what evidence you will need to prove your case. You might even have the lawyer send your roommate a demand letter for the rent owed. If he ignores the lawyer, then proceed with a lawsuit.