A good case?

[brokenlull]

Recently I traveled to Europe with a friend- I paid for his entire airfare and hotel costs with my credit card. As of now, he is refusing to pay for his expenses, so I will be filing a claim in my small claims court next week.

In total , he owes me $500 USD.

I have all supporting documentation, including:
-Reciept from Northwest Airlines (with itemized charges, names of both travelers)
-Credit Card statements showing charges from Airline and Hotel
-Credit card receipt from hotel

This case seems pretty simple. Do you experts out there think it might be in my favor?

Anything else I will need to consider?

I'm a young student and fairly ignorant to this whole process. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[brokenlull]

Can anyone help?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Originally posted by brokenlull
Recently I traveled to Europe with a friend- I paid for his entire airfare and hotel costs with my credit card. As of now, he is refusing to pay for his expenses, so I will be filing a claim in my small claims court next week.

In total , he owes me $500 USD.

I have all supporting documentation, including:
-Reciept from Northwest Airlines (with itemized charges, names of both travelers)
-Credit Card statements showing charges from Airline and Hotel
-Credit card receipt from hotel

This case seems pretty simple. Do you experts out there think it might be in my favor?

Anything else I will need to consider?

I'm a young student and fairly ignorant to this whole process. Any help would be appreciated.

Why does he refuse to pay you for your expenses? Is this 'friend' a romantic interest who might think it was a gift? My understanding is that the law presumes that such an act is a loan unless the recipient of the money can prove that it was a gift. You shouldn't say anything except a denial if he claims it was a gift and see if the judge/arbitrater presses him on this issue. Let the judiciary do the inquiry if this happens.

If you need to explain, then you should be prepared to say that it wasn't a gift, especially since you barely have the funds to cover all the expenses. There is no question it was a loan and now he has decided not to pay you back because, e.g. you broke up.

 

[brokenlull]

Hello,

The person who I'll be suing was a friend (no romantic connections) and agreed to pay me back for the expenses. What happened was while in Europe, both of us got into heated arguments and decided to go our own separate ways. At this point, he told me he would reimburse me following the trip.

So, almost a month later, after repeated letters and phone calls, I have not been able to get him to reimburse me for the costs. I don't believe there is much a question with respect to the trip being a gift- this seems to be in my favor.

Is it still to early to file my suit in court? I don't believe he will ever pay this unless I take him to court.

 

[Michael Wechsler]

Send a demand letter by fax or certified mail, return receipt requested, requiring payment within 30 days or some reasonable time period. If he doesn't pay, file in court and you should have little problem if the facts are as you say. This topic is frequently covered on people's court type shows.

Originally posted by brokenlull
Hello,

The person who I'll be suing was a friend (no romantic connections) and agreed to pay me back for the expenses. What happened was while in Europe, both of us got into heated arguments and decided to go our own separate ways. At this point, he told me he would reimburse me following the trip.

So, almost a month later, after repeated letters and phone calls, I have not been able to get him to reimburse me for the costs. I don't believe there is much a question with respect to the trip being a gift- this seems to be in my favor.

Is it still to early to file my suit in court? I don't believe he will ever pay this unless I take him to court.