Legal Question in Business Law in California

stale dated check

A client payed with a stale dated check for work done on property he rented because he was moving. Now he has moved, check is no good due to date, and I have no means of contacting him. Can I charge the property owner?


Asked on 4/29/09, 3:18 pm

2 Answers from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Re: stale dated check

Why should a property owner be responsible for paying a former tenant's debt? Unless there is more to the story (which there might be, since you haven't said what kind of work you performed), you can't collect from the owner.

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Answered on 4/29/09, 3:24 pm
Bryan Whipple Bryan R. R. Whipple, Attorney at Law

Re: stale dated check

Chacks become "stale" after six months, at which age honoring them is optional for the bank on which they are drawn. If there are sufficient funds, banks will often honor old checks (perhaps because they don't look carefully at the date).

Collecting on a contract from someone other than the person who signed the contract is sometimes possible, but you need a good legal theory such as agency or unjust enrichment, not just the fact that you worked on the property and the defendant owns it.

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Answered on 4/29/09, 8:03 pm


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