Legal Question in Civil Litigation in New York

If they were not gifts, sue for return and/or cost thereof.

The tricky part, which my Florida colleague neglected to mention, is that you will have to file suit in Civil Court (if you live in New York City) or District Court (all other Counties). The problem with doing so is that you should really have an attorney because Civil/District Court strictly follows New York's rules of civil procedure. Of course, attorneys are expensive so your whole case could end up being a "wash". Alternatively, you could file in Small Claims and the whole case will be resolved in one or two simple nighttime court appearances but the maximum jurisdiction of the Small Claims Court is $5,000.00 so you will have to forego $4,000.00 of your potential claim. Your case falls into what I call the "litigation dead zone." I'm not suggesting you shouldn't sue but you should come to terms with the fact that you probably won't come away wit anything near what you are owed. It's a tough decision but I wish you the best of luck.