Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Missouri

Promissory Note for Personal Loan & Back Pay

I left a job 9 years ago with the owners of the company owing me $3,853: $900 for a personal loan and $2,953 for back pay. After 4 years of non-payment, I got them to jointly sign a promissory note for the total amount. Because of extremely poor health and because they've not paid me a single penny, I just got around to filing a claim in small claims court.

I know the limit I can sue for in small claims court is $3,000. And that the statute of limitations for the promissory note is 10 years (here in Missouri) and the statute of limitations for payroll is 5 years.

Question #1: Because the promissory note encompasses both monies, I would imagine the statute of limitations for the payroll does not apply. In other words, the issue at hand is the promissory note, not payroll. Is this true?

Question #2: The county clerk wrote me back about my claim, acknowledging the 5 year limit, and said I might ''be able to split the wages and the contract up because (or if) they are two separate things.'' Why is it ''because or if''? Is this up to the judge's discretion?

Thank you very much!


Asked on 2/05/09, 7:43 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Michael R. Nack Michael R. Nack, Attorney at Law

Re: Promissory Note for Personal Loan & Back Pay

Sue on the promissory note alone. Also, does the promissory note provide for interest, attorney's fees and costs? If so, you might be better off hiring an attorney and suing them in the circuit court for everything they owe you. If not, it should have. By the way, the count clerk as you put it has absolutely no business sending your pleadngs back and giving you any legal advice. It is up to the defendant to present a defense based upon a statute of limitations, not a clerk. The idea of a clerk suggesting how to state your claim is shocking! Someone should write to the court administrator or presiding judge for that circuit and have the clerk instructed to quit practicing law without a license. Good luck.

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Answered on 2/05/09, 11:15 pm


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