Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in New York

Re: Honesty

The fact that you can show a pattern of regular payments by the deadbeat is convincing evidence of the agreement that this was and is a loan.

There is a legal principle at work here known as "Money had and received." Even in the absence of a promissory note or loan agreement, if I hand you $5,000 and there is no evidence that it's a gift, you are liable for the repayment of the money. In a formal complaint, we would allege that "Defendant owes plaintiff $5,000.00 for money had and received by the defendant on such-and-such date.

I cannot predict whether a judge will laugh at you for being naive, but you seem to have the essential elements of a case to get a judgment to recoup the money. Whether that does you any good or not is anyone's guess at this point....extracting blood from a turnip is never a profitable pastime.

On the assumption that you're going to be in a City Court (e.g., Troy City Justice Court) the max is $5,000.00. Different courts have different limits.

This post is not legal advice and does not create an attorney-client relationship. It is a comment on the legal question posed by the poster and should not be relied upon unless and until an attorney-client relationship is entered into. Doing so would require signing an engagement letter and depositing a retainer to secure payment of legal fees.