Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Maryland

Re: CA business suing a MD business in small claims court

If the other side doesn't show up, then they can't present a defense. This doesn't mean you will automatically win, however, as you will still have to prove your case. This isn't usually hard to do if no one is there to dispute your explanation of what happened, but you can't just claim victory due to the other side's non-appearance. Bring whatever evidence you have and explain your position to the court.

Once you have a judgment, you will have to have it enforced in Maryland. You would probably just want to contact a collection service to do this for you. I'm not aware of Maryland's rules, but in California there are ways to have the costs of collection added to the amount of the judgment so that the collection service gets its fee from the defendant while you get your entire judgment. Alternatively, you might have to pay the collection agency on a percentage basis.

Before you resort to such measures, however, try sending the buyer a copy of the judgment and telling him that you will have it enforced if they don't pay voluntarily. Such letters often get results.

You should not bother going to Maryland in this case, since the other side is contractually bound to litigate in California. Again, I can't say what the rules are in Maryland, but here you would not have much luck recovering your travel costs for such a journey, nor could you collect for lost income due to the court appearance.

Re: CA business suing a MD business in small claims court

The MD company is contractually obligated to litigate in CA, so sue them there (if that contract is found not to be binding, you can still file in MD). Once you get a judgment in CA, you just need to get a "triple seal" of it (a copy certified in a certain formal manner) and file it in the MD county where the defendant is located. At that point, you have a valid, enforceable judgment in MD, and you can have the sheriff levy on their property or garnish their accounts. I do collections work in MD, so feel free to contact me once you get your judgment.

Re: CA business suing a MD business in small claims court

Mr. Hoffman is wrong. You do automatically win if the defendant fails to file an answer to your lawsuit withing 30 days. If he fails to answer you file for a default. You then go in front of a judge not to prove your case, but to prove your damages. After you have a judgment you file for an abstract of judgement in Maryland. After you recieve this you can then go about putting a lien on his property, bank accounts and other assets he may have. However, Mr. Hoffman is right on one account once you have a judgment you can send him a copy along with a letter from your attorney stating you intentions which may prompt him to offer you some sort of settlement. If you would like to pursue this course of action please feel free to contact me at 888-563-8529. The consultation is free. I look forward to speaking with you.