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?


Asked on 12/12/07, 1:25 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

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.

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Answered on 12/12/07, 5:26 pm


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