Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Hi There,

I work in Mountain View,CA. One of my colleague (US Citizen) asked me for help in him emergency and I have lent him 15K $ in March 2017.

He promised me to return the money in May 2017 but he didn't gave a single penny.

Suddenly in May 2017 , he fled to India and resigned from there. Please advise on my option to sue him.

Proof : Online transaction details,text messages,e-mails that he owes me money


Asked on 6/19/17, 12:08 pm

3 Answers from Attorneys

I'm not sure what you are asking here. You have a loan agreement entered into here, so you can sue here. A $15,000 case would be filed in Superior Court - Limited Jurisdiction. I don't know Indian law, but you can probably sue him there if you choose. The bigger issue for you is how would you collect on a judgment. Someone who borrows $15,000 for an "emergency," then doesn't pay it back and then flees the country doesn't sound like someone who has money or other assets you could go after to enforce a judgment. So suing may well be a waste of time and money.

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Answered on 6/19/17, 12:18 pm
Gerald Dorfman Dorfman Law Office

You may be able to add punitive damages to the amount you seek, if you can show they had no intention of paying you back at the time they took the money, or if some other fraud was involved. If you don't know their physical location in India, serving them with the court papers could be difficult. You could also sue in small claims court, if you limit the amount you seek to $10,000.

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Answered on 6/19/17, 12:24 pm
Robert F. Cohen Law Office of Robert F. Cohen

Such a good friend! I echo what the other lawyers say. If he still has a bank account in the U.S. or is owed wages by the company, you might get a default judgment once you go through the legal steps, and then try to levy against whatever assets are in the U.S.

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Answered on 6/19/17, 5:04 pm


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