Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Tennessee
Small Claims
I Live in CA and made a deal with a
seller (Mr. Walker) by email to buy
his computer (Macpro with upgrades
and software) that did not sell on
ebay. I sent $3360 through PayPal
to Mrs. Walker (mom?) who lives in
Mount Juliet, TN. After two months
of me pestering through email and
threatening to sue, Mr. Walker finally
shipped what was believed to be the
Macpro. Well, it was not. I recieved
an older generation Powermac G5
worth about $1100. I have all the
email and paypal receipt proof that
shows the deal agreement and I
have fair market comparisons
showing the value of what he sent
me verses what he advertised and
promised me. He has blocked me
from his phone and email and Mrs.
Walker will not return my calls. I
have offered to ship back the the G5
on my dime for a full refund. Neither
has responded to the request. Mrs.
Walker has the payapl account in TN
(I have her address). So she took my
money. However, Mr. Walker is the
one I dealt with and he shipped the
bogus computer from Hiram, GA and
must live near there (unconfirmed).
Who do I sue and where, and how?
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Small Claims
You could sue in local CA small claims court, since they were doing business in CA. You may be able to prove your case and get a judgment, but you'll probably have trouble 'serving' them, maybe requiring publication in their local area. Enforcing your judgment will also be difficult, requiring you to get a sister state judgment issued back there, so you can actually levy on assets there. Bottom line is that once you get a judgment, you'll realistically need an attorney or collection agency back there, who will take a sizable portion of the recovery. Good luck.