QUESTION
can a co-signer sue the primary signer
Asked on Aug 28th, 2013 on Breach of Contract - Nevada
2 ANSWERS
R. Christopher Reade
The answer is yes to can the co-signer sue; the answer to whether the co-signer will prevail is a maybe. The inquiry will focus on the nature of the debt, the amounts paid by each of the signers, the agreement and terms for cosigning or guaranteeing the debt and other such questions.
Answered on Aug 28th, 2013 at 9:42 PM
Yes. You don't say why the co-signer wants to sue the primary signer, or what they both signed, but I will assume that they signed some form of promissory note, and the co-signer has paid on it while the primary signer has not. The cosigner can sue the primary signer for the amount the co-signer has paid the creditor above what he was supposed to. Thus, if the co-signer was supposed to have paid half the debt and had to pay all of it, he can sue the primary signer for the extra half; if the primary signer was supposed to be primarily responsible, and the cosigner was just a guarantor, he can sue the primary signer for any amount of the debt he, the cosigner, has paid.
Answered on Aug 28th, 2013 at 12:30 PM