Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Georgia
My girlfriend recently put a deposit down on a beach house ($900). I broke up with her after that resulting in us not being able to take the trip. I paid her half the deposit ($450) but she insists that I owe her the rest. Do I leglally owe her the full $900 since I was the one who broke up?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Absent a contract, probably not. She can try and sue you if she wants and let a judge decide.
No. Why would you owe her the money? Unless you agreed to give your girlfriend a vacation or caused her to rent the place and then broke up with her, causing her to incur the rental charges somehow, I can't see that you are liable for any money.
And even in a worse case scenario, you should only be liable for 1/2 of whatever losses your girlfriend suffered. She should be responsible for one-half.
However, small claims court judges live in their own little world and do whatever the heck they want at times regardless of what the law is or is not.
If you don't think its likely that your girlfriend would sue, then tell her to forget it - she got $450 and that is it. If she does sue you, tell your side of the story to the judge and take your best shot at it. She has to sue in Georgia if that is where you live if she wants to sue in small claims.