Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Georgia
I have a signed promissory note, but the person who owes me money keeps moving around and I can't get a solid address to process him through civil or small claims court channels, how can I get my money back?
I have tried filing in the local magistrate court using the last known address that I had for him...the police officer who delivered the civil court documents said that it is no longer his address, and that I have to re file, but I do not know how to find out what his current address is or what to do after that.
2 Answers from Attorneys
You have a few options. (1) You can hire a private investigator, who can track down the signatory of the promissory note to be served, or (2) you can file a motion with the court to serve notice on the defendant "by publication", which means you simply have to post the notice in a newspaper for a certain amount of time. I would strongly recommend that you hire a Georgia litigator to assist you in recovering on your promissory note. Best of luck.*******The above is for informational purposes only and does not create an attorney-client privilege.********
You've learned a tough lesson. NEVER loan people money. That is what banks are for. A large percentage of such loans go bad and are uncollectable.
Phillip's suggestion to file by publication could waste more funds, because a judgment is worthless unless you can find him later. To find him you will need to pay money to search for him with an investigator. Even if you find him, if he has no assets or income, or bankrupts, you are out of luck.
If the debt is large (over about $10,000), hire counsel.
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