Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Indiana

Hello, I have an ex-friend who owes me money. I loaned her money 1 1/2 years ago when we were still friends. Now we have had a falling-out, and she seems to have decided that she no longer has to pay me back because we are no longer friends. I have been more than patient over the last 1 1/2 years, trying to give her plenty of time to get the money together. But now she has become quite disrespectful and I just want it resolved. I emailed her to ask her what her plan was to pay me back. She did not respond. She works at our local grocery store, so I ran into her while I was shopping, and I asked if she received my email. She said she did not receive it. So I sent her a second email last week. I ran into her today again while doing my grocery shopping and I once again asked her if she got my email. She became angry and didn't want to discuss it. I became frustrated and walked away. One of her coworkers overheard us, and she told me that it is illegal for me to approach my ex-friend at work. My concern now is that she may file a restraining order against me out of spite. I had no idea there was any legal issue in speaking to her at work. We used to talk at work all the time when we were friends. I wanted to ask what is the likelihood of her obtaining a successful restraining order in these circumstances. It seems a bit excessive to me, but she is angry that I want my money back, so who knows. At this point I am not planning to ever speak to her again. I am ready to give up on getting my money back because it is too much trouble. But I don't want to get into legal trouble either. What do you think? Is there any way I can protect myself?


Asked on 9/27/21, 1:14 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Jay Rigdon Rockhill Pinnick LLP

This is a good example about why to take grocery advice from grocers and legal advice from lawyers. There is no legal impediment keeping you from contacting the debtor at work, like there is for collection agencies (undoubtedly the source of your grocer friend's opinion).There will be no restraining order or lawsuit against you. I do not advise you to handle things like this again, however. If you want tp pursue her for the money,, sue her in small claims (assuming the amount is less than $7000). If you have given up on seeing the money, then give up and leave it alone.

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Answered on 9/29/21, 12:37 pm


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