Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Massachusetts

Re: sue for unpaid loan

Unfortunately, this claim is beyond the jurisdiction of Small Claims court, so if a lawsuit is appropriate, it would need to be in the District Court in the town or county where you or the debtor lives. However, you need to check the note to see if it has a provision spelling out the procedure for collection upon default. Its possible the loan agreement requires a demand letter or notice of default prior to collection, and could designate that mediation or arbitration is where default claims need to be brought, not court.

Assuming you have satisfied any contractual provisions and are able to sue in District Court, then all of the complex rules of civil procedure would apply. There's not just a stock answer to your question of how to litigate civil disputes. This is what lawyers do. It would be very difficult for you to pursue a District Court action properly and successfully, and even more difficult to execute any judgment if the debtor did not voluntarily pay.

I highly recommend you involve a lawyer before you make a mistake that could affect your ability to collect on the loan at all. In other words, trying to save money by not hiring a lawyer could well result in you collecting nothing.

The good news is that actions on notes move very quickly in court, so a properly-handled case would resolve this quickly, assuming its done cdorrectly. Contact me if you need help with any of this.