Need legal advise

[Mr.Havasu]

Looks like I'm going to have to take somebody to small claims court for not keeping up there end of a boat deal.
My question is.. where do I file the law suit at?
I live in Havasu, He lives in Orange county, and we bought the boat from DCB in San diego?

[kevnmcd]

I believe you would have to file in County of San Diego. I believe it has to be in the juristriction of the company/person you are sueing.

[al cole'holic]

You can always send a few heads down there to bust some caps....shit, that wasn't too funny. :rolleyes:

[bear down]

warlock25:
Looks like I'm going to have to take somebody to small claims court for not keeping up there end of a boat deal.
My question is.. where do I file the law suit at?
I live in Havasu, He lives in Orange county, and we bought the boat from DCB in San diego? Sorry to hear about that! Too bad that a friendship would go to waste. Hope all works out for you!

[Mr.Havasu]

There was never any friendship.
I bought a POS boat from this guy that was represented as "brand New " everything and it failed within minutes of delivery.(Thats's the short version). I'm just uncertain as to which jurisdiction I need to file the suit in.

[Essex502]

I would guess the location where the "transaction" occurred.

[Mr.Havasu]

Well that might be a question too.
We saw the boat for the first time at DCB in San Diego, But didn't sign anything.
When they delivered the boat to Havasu is when and where we actually signed the bill of sale or contract.
So does that mean we can make him come to Havasu to answere a complaint?

[Back To Havasu]

If the transaction actually "occurred" in LHC, I would file the action there, (or in Kingman), serve the defendant whereever he (it) is, and make them fight to have the case moved. :D

[Mr.Havasu]

sounds like good advice. It certainly will be easier on us to fight this thing on our territory.

[Slick]

I'm not an attorney, but I don't think it matters where you file a civil suit. File it in AZ, that way you can get a local attorney. This way they can't use there brother's cousin's uncle who knows an attorney who'll do it for cheap. They'll have to use an attorney who is also licensed in the State of AZ. Everything you can do to make it just a little more misereable for them to contest your case will help.
[ June 26, 2003, 04:30 PM: Message edited by: Slick ]

[mike37]

Go to your local courthouse and ask them they will know and have all the paper work you need

[CAHotRodBoy]

John, your first couple sentences of this post scared the crap out of me! eek!
Then I read the last line and realized it was on your Warlock.
Man, that’s a bummer to hear. :(
I thought DCB was going to take care of it for you. Did you buy it from DCB or from the private party that was getting the new boat? I’m afraid you told me it was the latter because I think DCB would be more willing to make it right than the private party.
Are the motors ready now? How much did it come out to be? You can take them to small claims if it’s under $5K.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to help. I’m in Orange County at least once a week. I have a business partner in O/C as well and he may know someone. I’m meeting with him tomorrow afternoon.
Sounds like Lanae may have to wait a little for her new toy!
-Al

[Mr.Havasu]

CAHotRodBoy:
John, your first couple sentences of this post scared the crap out of me! eek!
-Al LOL!
you have nothing to worry about. You never represented your boat as anything other than a cheap boat!
The warlock on the other hand was represented as the best of the best.
Things got ugly today and we are the ones stuck with a broken boat we paid top dollar for.

[Mohavekid]

Generally speaking, the law is that the proper venue for a lawsuit is the county where the defendant resides or the county where the incident occurred.
Just an FYI, even if you get a small claims court judgement in your favor, you still have to make the defendant pay up. That can be much more difficult than winning the lawsuit. An attorney is not allowed to represent you in small claims court.
Good Luck

[playdeep]

Damn,John...
Sorry to hear about this.You have my # if there is anything that I can do let me know.
You know that until this problem is fixed,you and the girls are more than welcome on my boat...
Michael
btw,what did DCB say?
[ June 26, 2003, 07:39 PM: Message edited by: playdeep ]

[FastTimmy]

Hey john,
sorry to here things are going bad. Things seemed to be geting to the end at OP6 for the engines.
I know it has allready been said but you can't get more that 5G's in small claims. I say you will more than likely have a bad faith or breach of contract suit, But YOU NEED A LAWER!!
PM me your new home number I have the old lahabra#
Timmy

[Jrocket]

I dont have any legal advice,but I would keep any info or ideas that you plan on using to yourself.You'd be amazed on who checks out these forums.Get a good lawyer and gather up all your contracts and agreements that you have...Go from there,and dont discuss your plans in here.
Just my opinion.

[mbrown2]

Maybe the guy lost interest in getting the motors redone after he found out his new boat could not even keep up with the wake of his last one boat.. :) :D :) devil
All joking aside, that sucks Warlock. I really hope everything works out and you get your rig back on the water soon without having to break your own bank.

[C-2]

It's where the defendant resides. OC actually has a free small claims advisory program, give them a call, they are very helpful.
http://www.occourts.org/civil/smclaims.asp#

[Mr.Havasu]

Thanks for all the good info and advice.
As jrocket said, I'm going to keep this out of the public forum you never know what can be said or used against you if taken wrong or twisted around. I'm not really into smearing anyones reputation.
I have never been involved in any kind of a law suit, it's just not my style.( Not even when I had a head on with an 18 wheeler from a national truck line)
I realize small claims is just 5K, and I'll leave it at that.
Thanks for all the well wishes.
Warlock (sucks living in Havasu without a boat and all my money in someone elses new boat) 25

[Fufu Queen]

Where Can You File Your Claim?
You must sue in the right court and judicial district. This rule is called venue. If you file your claim in the wrong court, the court will dismiss the claim unless all defendants personally appear at the hearing and agree that the claim may be heard.
The right district may be:
Where the defendant lives or where the business involved is located;
Where the damage or accident occurred;
Where the contract was signed or carried out;
If the defendant is a corporation, where the contract was signed;
For a retail installment account or sales contract or a motor vehicle finance sale:
Where the buyer (defendant) lives;
Where the buyer (defendant) lived when the contract was entered into;
Where the buyer (defendant) signed the contract;
Where the goods or vehicle are permanently kept.
Please refer to Court Locations for the correct Court in which to file
I hope this helped.

[Dave C]

Been to small claims many times. Under California Law you must sue in the county where the defendant resides, unless they are a corporation then you must sue in the county where the corp resides.
Good advice herein. Don't discuss your matter here, hire a lawyer to discuss "strategy" first, gather as much "evidence" as you can to bring with you.
The more much evidence that you can bring the better. Remember its not what the truth is, it is "what you can prove in court." Bring expert witnesses if you can.
The loser could be ordered to pay the winners court costs, including costs of discovery.
If this was a used boat then a warranty probably does not apply so you try to prove that the condition was misrepresented to you with evidence.
Collecting can be next to impossible, so go try to negotiate a "deal" if that agrees with you.
A trick to collecting, try to get his SS# then put him on collections if you get an order. If he owns a business research his fictious business license to see if there is an SS#.
Good luck.

[C-2]

I once had an attorney friend who filed a small claims lawsuit and was contacted by Judge Judy’s staff. He was confident about his case, so much so that he agreed to air it on her show.
WHY?
Because he knew that if he prevailed, the television show would pay the judgment. No further collection efforts needed. And yes, he won the suit and was promptly paid.
Just some food for thought if you don’t mind getting yelled at on TV.
:D :D :D

[nmdcb]

hey john, sorry to hear the bad news. for the size claim you are most likely going to have, you are going to need to file in district court, filing cost are higher but there is no cap on damages like in small claims court. secondly, check with an attorney to see where to file. try to file where they have property, preferably where they have vacation property, ie. where they store there boat. the point with this is, if and when you win a judgement, it will be much easier to collect. once a writ of garnishment is served and they claim their exemptions, everything else is fair game. furniture, tools, art, whatever, it doesn't matter. the real point to this part is if they have a performance boat, which they probably do, chances are there is a great deal of equity in it. i say this considering what they sold, and what i suspect they bought. therefore, you can threaten to take the boat by paying the loan off and selling the boat for the proceeds. to make this a little clearer, say i owe 15grand on my boat but market value is 60grand. the court will let you seize the boat if you pay the leinholder. you can then sell the boat to collect the damages, but then have to give any positive difference back to the defendant, if any. i have had to do this sort of thing a couple of times in the past, not hard, and does get results. need any info, or advice get my number from michael or dave.
good luck

[C-2]

Collections 101, lesson number 1, class is in session;
You should keep it simple, stay in small claims. The next level of court is “Limited Jurisdiction” (what used to be known as Municipal court, disputes between $5,000-$25,000), and if you file there, then you will be bound by all the legal formalities and procedures. In short, you would have to hire an attorney. At the small claims level those procedures are less stringent, so that people can represent themselves.
Again jurisdiction is wherever the contract was entered into or where the defendant resides. You can't arbitrarily sue wherever you want based upon your own preference. Keep in mind if you sue in Arizona and obtain a judgment in Arizona, you can’t levy against California assets without “naturalizing” the judgment in California first. To naturalize the judgment, the defendant has to be personally served (again) and has a certain amount of time to respond. Kinda like starting over again, in fact it is a new suit, so it’s easier to sue him in OC.
Usually after a judgment, a wage garnishment or bank levy will more than do the trick. Either of them usually whips the person into submission and they pay up. Attempting to levy assets like vehicles, boats and real property…costly and risky. If you wanna use your judgment as an investment…it will collect interest at the rate of 10% per year. If an abstract of judgment is recorded and you specifically identify the residence owned by your subject, then it will act as lien. When he sells, attempts to purchase real estate or even refinances his residence, title insurance will require that he pay the judgment, plus the interest. I know several people who are holding judgments, just for that day to arrive.
End of class and good luck!
:)