Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: gift

They will be requuired to prove it was a loan. Ask for any documentation they claim proves it was a loan. If it was an oral contract, it appears statute of limitation has run.

Re: gift

Assuming for argument's sake that there was an oral loan agreement, the California statute of limitation for bringing suit is 2 years after the agreement is breached. It sounds like the private party may be out of luck. But people can get very creative if in small claims court. Put together any documents or photographs showing your receipt of the monetary gift, such as bank statements showing a deposit. You might want to order those now from the bank since it takes a while to get them. Good luck.