QUESTION
Suing Out-of-State Defendants in Small Claims Court
Asked on Nov 25th, 2013 on Civil Litigation - North Carolina
More details to this question:
Nearly $38k dollars was given to a family member's husband; The money was given to my cousin and her husband at my brother's home in Charlotte North Carolina a few years ago. There were other people who witnessed the transaction. My cousin and her husband live in D.C. and now dodges my phone calls and I have yet to have been repaid. I want to know what options I have about filing a claim.
1 ANSWER
There are always questions about the jurisdictional reach of small claims courts when it comes to out of state defendants, but I don't think you need to worry about them because $38,000 is well beyond the monetary limit of any small claims court I have ever dealt with. The limit for small claims courts in New York is $6,000.
Since you live in North Carolina and the transaction took place in North Carolina, you should have jurisdiction to sue your cousin and her husband in a regular North Carolina court.
Answered on Nov 25th, 2013 at 1:01 PM