Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Illinois

collect personal debt

When I lived in Illinois, I loaned a former friend money on three different occasions for a total of $800. This was a little more than a year ago. He still lives in Illinois but I now live in Tennessee. I have been asking him to repay the loan since January of this year. However he hangs the phone on me and doesn't return my calls. All I have is his cell number..I've tried without luck to find his address. How do I even file in smalls claims if I don't know his address or place of work? And is it possible to do this from Tennessee? What is a good option for me? Also, I can only find documents for $500 of the $800 he owes me. Can I still sue for the total $800 even though I can't find the document for the other $300? Thank you!!


Asked on 3/28/05, 7:56 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Kevin Plachta The Law Office of Kevin F. Plachta

Re: collect personal debt

To begin with you would have to file suit in Illinois and in the county that the defendant resides in. In order to file suit you need to have the persons address so you can have him served with the complaint. While you can ask for the entire 800 dollars in your complaint you will only be able to get a judgment based on the documents you have showing how much has been loaned.

Take into considertion that if you are able to get a good address and if you are able to serve the defendant and if you are able to come back to court in Illionis on at least two times and if the judge rules on your favor then all you have is a judgment that you still have to collect on. What I am saying is that you have to decide if the 800 dollars is worth all of this effort and additional costs.

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Answered on 3/28/05, 7:13 pm


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