Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Almost four years ago, I paid $13,500 for my son to attend a special school for children with autism. The money was paid to a 501C3 non-profit which was run by the sister of the owner of the special school. She then paid the school the tuition from the non-profit. After two months, I pulled my son out of the school as it was too inclusive. The only refunded $6800. The refund check bounced. The school has closed but the woman who ran the school still has a lucrative business servicing children with autism. The 501c3 has closed as well. They did not file taxes for the year the school was in business and apparently lost judgments from other families who filed against them. Is there any way I can recover my money? If I were to take it to small claims and win a judgment for the $6800 from the bounced check, could I collect the money from the sister who ran the non-profit or from the woman who is still running the business? Is there any way to recover the amount that was not refunded in the bounced check?

Thank you.


Asked on 1/01/13, 4:16 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys
Kelvin Green The Law Office of Kelvin Green

There are a couple of issues here

-It is not clear here what the arangement between the 501c3 and the school was. Was the plan to "donate" the money to the 501c3 and be able to have a tax benefit and the 501c3 then pays the tutition? Was the school holding the money and only paying tution as they go or was it only passed through to the school for some other reason? The actual arrangement may limit your recovery. For example if it was a total donation or gift to the 501c3 it would be harder to recover than if it was a direct tution payment to the school...

You would need to have the exact details in order to determine the proper defendants (school or 501c3)

- I also suspect there was sort of refund policy on tuition paid to the school and the terms of the contract would delineate... If no refund or contractt the school may be able to claim an amount for the two months the child was in school... So you are probably not going to recover the entire amount...

- The California Small claims limit is $10,000 so you most likely will be close if you keep it in small claims

-It is also unclear here what the legal status of the 501c3 is... most likely it was a not for profit corporation and the directors maybe not have much liability. You would have to find a way to get past the corporate protections and get at the individual and hold the individuals liable...

-Even if you get a judgment is there any assets or cash to get out, it seems like you would be in line with a lot of other creditors but having the judgment would at least allow you to have a claim if there are any assets or cash available..

I wish you well in this endeavor...

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Answered on 1/01/13, 5:48 pm
Kelvin Green The Law Office of Kelvin Green

I also forgot to include here that at four years you Statute of Limitations has run or soon will run.

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Answered on 1/01/13, 5:55 pm
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

Having waited so long, you have almost run out of time to bring suit on some of the causes of action, and probably have already lost others.. Either file now and name everyone involved so you can sort it out later, or forever hold your peace. If serious about taking action, feel free to contact me to discuss your remaining remedies and the costs of suit.

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Answered on 1/02/13, 10:19 am


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