I need advice about court and a laywer?
OKgal asked:
I just started watching a little girl in my home. We have a year contract signed and it says any breech or cancellation of the contract will result in them paying the full balance for the year. We get $600/month. So thats $7,200 over the matter of a year. I watched her for 3 weeks, so there is still a balance of $6,750. The mother was in a car accident and has been out of work a few weeks and can no longer pay for child care and is filing bankrutpcy. I tried to make a deal with her, if she just paid me what she owed for the previous 2 weeks ($300) then I would just drop it b/c I heard the process for getting your money back is long and hard. They can’t/won’t pay the $300 which I think is stupid but thats beyond the point. Where do I go from here? I’ve never taken anyone to court or even BEEN to court. How do I find a good lawyer that isn’t gonna cost more than its worth? Do I really have any chances of getting what is owed to me? Thanks!
I just started watching a little girl in my home. We have a year contract signed and it says any breech or cancellation of the contract will result in them paying the full balance for the year. We get $600/month. So thats $7,200 over the matter of a year. I watched her for 3 weeks, so there is still a balance of $6,750. The mother was in a car accident and has been out of work a few weeks and can no longer pay for child care and is filing bankrutpcy. I tried to make a deal with her, if she just paid me what she owed for the previous 2 weeks ($300) then I would just drop it b/c I heard the process for getting your money back is long and hard. They can’t/won’t pay the $300 which I think is stupid but thats beyond the point. Where do I go from here? I’ve never taken anyone to court or even BEEN to court. How do I find a good lawyer that isn’t gonna cost more than its worth? Do I really have any chances of getting what is owed to me? Thanks!
A contract provision requiring them to pay for the remainder of the year is utterly unenforceable. The law requires that a party damaged by the breach of contract of another take reasonable steps to “mitigate” her damages. In your case that means doing what you can to find another child to replace this one.
What you ‘can’ successfully sue for is, of course, the charges that have already been incurred, plus your reasonable damages incurred as a result of her breach. Those would be the costs of advertising for a new kid to watch, plus the fees for any weeks that you “could” have watched someone else, but declined to because you were holding the spot open for this one.
Of course, if they file bankruptcy, even if you sue, you may end up with a judgment that’s noncollectable anyway, which is something you need to consider before paying the filing fees.
You won’t need a lawyer. The amount you’re talking about is going to be under the small claims court limit, so you can sue her in small claims, where lawyers are not needed (And, in ‘most’ States, aren’t even allowed)
Richard
Comment by rickinnocal — October 16, 2009 @ 6:31 pm
Was there ever any clause in the contract that stated she would or wouldn’t have to pay due to death, accident, or otherwise?
Unfortunately, if there wasn’t, I don’t know if you’ll be able to recup your money. I signed a contract on wedding photography recently and it didn’t have that clause in there so I asked the photographer to kindly add that in because if something happened to me, I’m not going to be held liable.
Also, you only watched her for a short time, so it’s hard to say.
Go to small claims and I’m sure you can find an atty that won’t cheat you. It seems like a pretty straight forward case.
Good luck!
Comment by prettyaseyes2008 — October 17, 2009 @ 6:13 pm
You do not need a lawyer. Take the other party to small claims court. It is there to help regular people settle small claims (hence the name).
The following information is all based upon Californai law:
You can bring a suit for up to $7500 and the filing fee is small (under $25). There are no lawyers allowed, but you can get help from a lawyer before or CA has free advice for small claims parties before you get to court. It is just you and the other party telling you stiories to a judge.
Look up small claims court in your state. It’s pretty easy to do. Now collecting from someone who refuses to pay you the $300 they owe you is another question. . .
Comment by Peetie — October 19, 2009 @ 4:51 pm
Recommended Resources…
[...]the time to read or visit the content or sites we have linked to below the[...]…
Trackback by Buy Facebook Fans — December 31, 2011 @ 11:12 am
… [Trackback]…
[...] Read More Infos here: filingforbankruptcysite.com/i-need-advice-about-court-and-a-laywer [...]…
Trackback by ways to make money — January 27, 2012 @ 12:38 am
… [Trackback]…
[...] Read More here: filingforbankruptcysite.com/i-need-advice-about-court-and-a-laywer [...]…
Trackback by Best Memory Foam Body Pillow — February 8, 2012 @ 11:59 pm