Can I be sued if there is no written contract nor did the check state in the memo that I would work for her for a specific amount of time?

She may have. Consult with an attorney and provide more details.

If she has a case against you, it is extremely weak. I would suggest you might text her back at state that you have no intention of returning the money. Hopefully she will go away.

Yes, you can be sued. Any one can sue any one for anything. Will they win? That is another question. If you were paid for services you did not complete, they likely will win something. I suggest you have a discussion with them and make a payment arrangement.

I think she has a lousy case, unless you agreed to volunteer all your time. If you did not, then I could not see her win at all, unless there are facts you have not presented me.

Probably. They were foolish to pay you the way they did. You should return the money because you did not earn it and it is the right thing to do. If they presented the $1,000 as a gift, you would not be under any obligation to return it, but if it was presented as an advance and you did not work 40 hours to earn it, you should return any unearned amount.

Her payments to you were not necessarily illegal, contrary to her text. The term "payment under the table" usually referrs to a payment that was designed to avoid tax liability. If at the end of the year she sends a 1099 to you to pay taxes on it..or alternatively she pays taxes on it, nothign illegal has been done, unless you were a full fledged W-2 employee who filled out tax forms with her. As for the payment, it is possible they could sue you. Oral contracts are allowed in North Carolina, only limited types of contracts are required to be in writing, a contract for personal services is not one of them. The could sue you and it would come down to who's testimony is more compelling. You told us that you agreed to work for her, there was a hiatus, you then went to speak to her, and she gave you a check. You need to be able to testify as to what was said during this meeting and why she would just give you $1,000.00 that you seem to understand you didn't fully earn. If she called it a gift, you are ok. If not, you just have to explain why it was not for more work.

You are entitled to payment for work you have performed on behalf of your "employer". If your employer overpaid you, then you should return any money that was in excess of the amount of time that you worked.

This can potentially be a complicated issue, and for a mere $900 it doesn't make sense to get into the nuance, as there are any number of potential ways to characterize the situation as you allege it. If she decides to sue you in small claims court for $900, you can certainly attempt to explain the situation and what happened, but it's unclear how the case might turn out. If she agreed to pay you $25 per hour, and she then paid you $1000 but is now claiming you owe her back $900, it seems to me to be a rather simple fact missing: did you work closer to 4 hours, or 40? Seems to me you all should be able to work this out.