Business Contracts Office Security Deposit Not Returned

[r54twenty]

Jurisdiction

New York

I was a subtenant in a suite of offices. The primary tenant closed his business and disappeared without returning my security deposit. My lease states that the deposit will be returned and there's no issue about damage.

I would like to sue him in small claims court but he's done a good job of disappearing and even a trace service has been unable to find his current address.

However, I paid my rent electronically and so my bank knows his bank account, at least the one he used the month he vanished. And maybe they have an address besides his former business address.

If I had his address, I would seek a judgement in small claims court, which I'd present to my bank, if the judgement was granted, and ask the bank to get the funds (assuming the account was still open and funded) and provide me with his addresses. But I don't think I can sue someone in SCC if I don't have their address?

Under these circumstances, what options do I have?

Thanks for any help.

(I'm new to this forum and hope I put this question in the right place.
If not, please tell me where it should go and I'll move it.)

 

[zddoodah]

How much $$ is at issue?

Is the target of your proposed lawsuit an individual or a corporation or LLC (or something else)?

 

[army judge]

Under these circumstances, what options do I have?

You can discuss this matter with a reputable private investigator, or skip tracer.

I have always received better results with a PI, until I retained a couple to represent my firm.

Bear in mind, the effort required to prevail in small claims court will pale in comparison to the gargantuan effort require to collect your judgment, assuming you prevail.

Let's suppose you receive a judgment for $5,000 against Mr. Run Away.

If you sue Mr. Run Away in NY state, get your judgment, but try to collect against Mr. Run Away's bank accounts in Wyoming, not gonna happen.

Your NY small claims judgment is even more useless and toothless outside of NY state.

If Mr. Run Away is living in Bermuda, Bahamas, Belize, Russia, or any sovereign nation; your dmal claims judgment would be more useful as lining for a parakeet's cage.

 

[r54twenty]

$425. He's an MD, PC on the lease. My checks were made out to His Name MD PC. But my bank confirmed my the electronic payment to his name only w/o a professional or corporate designation.

I also found an email in which he told me the name of the bank he was using, but I don't know if that was a personal or business account.

 

[adjusterjack]

I doubt if it's going to be worth hiring private investigators. Look him up on the state licensing website:

NYS Professions - Online Verifications

You might get a current address or at least see it updated eventually if he continues to practice in NY.

You have 6 years to file a lawsuit for breach of contract in NY.

 

[r54twenty]

Wow. This is great information. Thank you, everyone. Although the news is not good, it is good to know the ropes.

 

[zddoodah]

$425. He's an MD, PC on the lease. My checks were made out to His Name MD PC. But my bank confirmed my the electronic payment to his name only w/o a professional or corporate designation.

I assume that "He's an MD, PC" means that the landlord on the lease is "John Smith, M.D., PC," which I further assume means your landlord is/was a corporation set up by a medical doctor. If that's right, then you can obtain the address for the corporation's registered agent through the New York Department of State, Division of Corporations.

If more money were at issue, you could try and pursue an alter ego/"piercing the corporate veil" claim, but the amount at issue is barely worth the time and effort of a small claims suit. As others have noted, whether you can ultimately enforce a judgment you might obtain is questionable, but that's the only point when knowing where the landlord banks will do you any good.

 

[r54twenty]

Thanks for this info.

NYS Division of Corporations only lists his now defunct business address and no registered agent. He also rented to a company that lost more money than me and I'll pass along the link to "piercing the corporate veil."