Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
Contract for money owed - court date 1/19/00!!
My x-girlfriend is sueing me. When we were dating I borrowed 775.00 from her for a dentist bill. She put it on her credit card and told me to pay her back when I was able. During our dating, she bought me groceries(I never asked for)once for approx 100.00 and on one of our vacations she paid for the room approx 135.00.We broke up a few months after and she demanded payment for the all 3.I said that I would pay her for the dentist and groceries but not all at once since I didn't have that kind of money .But that I would pay her in installments when I had the money. In sept. i gave her a check for 250.00 and in October another for 200.00.In November she e-mailed me demanding a payment, I told her I didn't know when I would be able to give her one. Then she demanded all of it.I told her not to contact me on company e-mail due to corporate policy. About a week later i got a letter from her lawyer. Now I received a summons to court stating that I borrowed $1055.00 from her under the agreement to pay her in full by August 99.They are suing for the dentist, groceries, room, attorney's fees and court costs. I never had any problem paying her back the money I actually borrowed and I even made $450.00 towards it. What can I do?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Contract for money owed - court date 1/19/00!!
I agree with what Bruce McCullough said. Contact the court IMMEDIATELY and IN WRITING. Then contact her atty by phone and tell him your side. Unless he thinks you are full of it, if he's a good attorney (by my definition that is an atty who helps solve problems, not create or perpetuate them), he'll try to get his client to settle for the other $300 for the dental bill.
As Bruce said, try to recall what things you paid for during your relationship, and try to find reciepts for these things.
Last, next time TRY not to date someone neurotic and vindictive.
Good luck and have a god New Year.
Kevin J. Begley
Re: Contract for money owed - court date 1/19/00!!
She got an attorney to take this case?! If you are in small claims court (Municipal Court in Philadelpia, District Justice Court elsewhere in Pa.), you can defend yourself or hire an attorney. If you are going to defend yourself, make sure you notify the court that you intend to defend. Show up with your original cancelled checks and 2 copies of both sides of each. If you have any documentation of things you bought for her, you may be able to use it to show she wasn't a sugar mamma. With one grocery purchase and one vacation purchase (who paid for transportation and food on that vacation?--bring proof if you did), it doesn't sound like you took financial advantage of her.
There generally is an opportunity for both sides to try to work out something informally before the judge actually conducts the trial--perhaps you could convince her attorney to accept a compromise for the remainder of the dental bill once he hears your side of the story. Otherwise, from what you describe, her post-breakup demand for grocery money and shared vacation expenses sounds weak.
This is information for general discussion and not legal advice. We would need to have an attorney-client relationship for me to give legal advice.
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