Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
I'm going to sound like an idiot, but here are the facts...
I loaned $6500 to someone I thought was a good friend without a contract. They contacted me and said they needed it in cash for unexpected closing costs on a new home settlement. The verbal agreement was they would repay me in 10 days from their 401K. They later claimed the house deal fell through and were waiting to get the money back from the mortgage company. I have been trying to collect on my loan since May and have not been able to get anything back from this person. The person lives in another state and I have only been able to exchange emails and phone calls. The person has been very deceptive regarding repayment and currently are claiming financial hardship to further stall on repayment.
Do I have any chance of being able to recover the money in small claims court? I have emails & text messages from this person stating that loan will be repaid. Can the emails be used in court?
I am really emotionally and mentally exhausted with the stress related to getting repaid for this loan and need to know if should just give up or fight in court.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Wherever the transfer of money took place is likely where the lawsuit should be filed. You certainly have a claim here, it looks like you have an oral contract that is backed up by some written emails. Emails definitely are admissable as long as you can prove that they came from your ex-friend. The biggest thing is that you have to prove that there was a loan, and that there was a repayment plan of some sort. I think that you establish that in your notation here, so you can file a claim.
To be fair, winning a lawsuit is not the same as getting your money. If you win a lawsuit, you win a judgment. If the defendant does not voluntarily pay on the judgment, you either execute on his/her personal property, garnish a bank account, or sit back and let the judgment ride.
Because the person is not in this state, I dont think that I would file a lawsuit at your local magistrate. If the transfer or agreement took place here, I would file in the Arbitration division of the court of common pleas of whatever county is appropriate. Then, you can transfer the judgment to the defendant's' home state for execution purposes if he/she does not voluntarily pay.
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