Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Maryland
Small Claims Court
I hired an acquitance of my brothers (who is not a licenses contractor) to pain my condo. There was no contract; nothing in writing. She lives in Maryland and did the work in DC. Because she did a terrible job the last day, I stopped the check I paid her for the day. She made me pay her before she begun the work. She is suing me for the $370 check/ Can she file in Maryland District Court since the work was done in DC?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Small Claims Court
Sure, the contractor can file in Maryland against you who apparently reside in the District. However, whether she can succeed in obtaining an eforceable judgment against you is another matter entirely.
She will first have to ensure that you are properly served with notice of the lawsuit(copy of complaint + summons). Therefore, if you receive notice that your local postoffice has a
certified letter awaiting your pickup, you should decline to do so. However, if at some point, the contractor does manage to effect legal service upon you, then (since you're an out of state defendant) you will have 60 days to inform the court of your Notice of Intent to Defend against the suit. You should file this notice within the required time period and then be prepared to show up at the District Court at the day and time set for the trial of the case and be prepared to explain to the judge why the plaintiff should not be awarded judgment for her $370 and related costs. (You should also continue to question the validity of the suit if notice has not been properly served upon you as an out of state defendnant and ask for a dismissal of the case on that basis alone if service of the papers giving notice of the suit has been defective or inadequate.)
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