Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Virginia

Re: bad check

If the check is considered the equivalent of a written contract, it should be subject to a statute of limitations of no more than five years from the date it was written and tendered to the fast food establishment in payment for that 32oz. slurpee and

triple patty cheeseburger with large fries.

Re: bad check

I agree with Mr. Hendrickson (as anyone would).

Your situation is interesting and a little bit tricky. If I were arguing for the business, I could probably come up with several very interesting reasons why the money is not barred by the statute of limitations. But I would probably lose anyway, because it just sounds wrong to the average person.

It is probably an oral contract, and the written check is a form of PAYMENT that was not "good." In that case, the statute of limitations is 3 years from the breach (failure to make the payment good).

If the check counts as a written contract, a promise to pay, then it is subject to a 5 year statute of limitations from the date of BREACH (fail to pay) (not from the date of creating the contract).

So I think that they have about zero chance of collecting in court.

However, I have a hard time imagining how a check to a fast food establishment could be very big. Why are they bothering??? Did you buy food for the entire office or something?

If you are the one who owed the money, and the amount is small, I would advise you to pay it. But I should not tell you why openly here. Write me privately if you are interested.