QUESTION
Can you sue someone who owes money without knowing their current address
Asked on Feb 13th, 2018 on Civil Litigation - New Jersey
More details to this question:
Rented an apartment together with another person deposit split between the two. Since she was the lease holder the rental company sent her the final desposit check at the end of the lease. She is currently not answering calls or emails. Blocked me from all social media. The evidence I have is an email confirmation before she left the city that she will pay me back once she receives the check. How do I proceed legally without knowing where she currently lives?
1 ANSWER
I don't know the exact procedure in New Jersey, but in most jurisdictions, if you make diligent but unsuccessful attempts to serve someone in the normal way, you can get a court order allowing you to serve them in some other way, usually by publicaiotn (i.e. placing a notice in a newspaper). However, if you can't find her, how would you collect on any judgment? It may not be worth it to lay out the money for filing and service fees if you have no way to collect. Perhaps a better way would be to start a lawsuit, and seek a court order allowing you to subpoena her isp or telepone service provider to get her address.
Answered on Feb 15th, 2018 at 12:57 PM