Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New Jersey

It may not "be fair" but if you owe her the money, you must pay her. A verbal contract is a good as a written one in this situation, and you have already acknowledged the debt by paying $900 of it. Based on what you have written, I suspect that your co-worker (and former friend) filed a claim in "smaill claims court" (Superior Court, Special Civil Part). The complaint form she filled out asked for the initial amount of the debt ($1,400). On the day of trial, the judge will ask her if you have paid back any money and if you have, he will deduct that from the $1,400 to determine what you must pay your co-worker. In other words, the judge will tell you to pay her $500, although you will not have to pay court costs.

You can represent yourself in small claims court or you can have an attorney represent you. Given the relatively small amount of money involved, you might want to see if you can work out a settlement with your co-worker so that you do not have to take a morning off to sit and wait in a courtroom. However, you can certainly retain an attorney to represent you if that is your wish. Please feel free to call my office for an appointment if you would like to discuss this matter further.