Because, unlike California, I have been told that in THIS state there is the possibility of wage garnishment, leins against property, and other remedies as a possibility. I am trying to confirm whether or not that is true and if there are any other remedies as a possibility.
Really, I find your attitude that the little people can’t afford justice and shouldn’t even bother to try rather appalling.
I am aware of that. I really do intend to consult with a lawyer about my options prior to making another move.
Oh, definitely they have been contacted by the state. The BoL stated that would contact the other party as part of their investigation. It’s also been confirmed via another route, and of course they, too, were notified of the judgement when told their deadline to get me a check was June 24.
Only you can judge your comfort level and competence level as far as representing yourself pro se. I do not know the facts and circumstances of your case (nor do I want to know them), but wage and hours claims generally are not areas where there’s significant legal ambiguity or complex factual disputes. Some people do represent themselves pro se. Those people, of course, have to figure out how to accomplish service, pay filing fees, research whether they can seek the costs of filing suit as part of their prayer for relief (or decide just not to seek that), etc.
So, again, I can’t make the decision as to whether this is something within your abilities/comfort level (I don’t even know you, I couldn’t even begin to make that assessment). But as a general fact about small claims court, there are plenty of pro se plaintiffs, and they don’t always lose. A lawyer can be helpful, but there is a cost/benefit analysis there.
Yes, and that would be good, if true.
Huh-wah? 
:eek: I am entirely on your side here. They owe, legally and morally. The problem is that they won’t pay. And it’s really difficult and expensive to get a entity to pay if it simply refuses.
Oh, might as well file a complaint with the BBB. They dont do much, but it’s something. And of course public shaming on Yelp or whatever you have out there.
That’s possible in NY also. But in NY there will be fees and expenses regardless of success , the marshal can require payment in advance and the marshal will not search for employment or assets-the person with the judgement must have give the information to the marshal. I would look into what’s required to collect the judgement- it’s one thing if you already know where the debtor works/owns property and the fees total $100 - it might be another if you need to find about employment/assets on your own or if the fee is $500.
Broomstick, you’ve probably already been to the Judicial Branch of Indiana website; I’m linking to it in case you haven’t. There you will find a link to the Indiana Small Claims Manual (PDF).
The manual says you can go after wages or property. From page 17 of the manual:
Regarding garnishment (from page 19):
It will take more trips to court and more paperwork, but it can be done.
Regarding attorney fees (from page 6):
You said you already got one bad check so you may be able to recover your attorney fees.
I have definitely considered that as well. I just want to be sure that I do so in a legal manner that does not leave me open to accusations of libel or slander down the line.
I might also check out Ind. Code § 22-2-5-2.
Further to the issue of costs, I would note that the Indiana courts will entertain Motions for Fee Waivers to waive the filing fees of qualifying litigants.
I’m an employment attorney and if you were my client I’d advise you to forget small claims court court and take them to regular court. If you go to small claims you will be selling yourself short. Under the FLSA and, likely under Indiana law as well (though I am assuming here), you can recover double damages, attorney’s fees, and pre-judgment interest. You can also throw in unfair trade practices claims and things like that that will expose the employer to additional damages.
This is why attorneys should be a little careful about what they would advise if one were their client. (Does the Bar Association ever think in the subjunctive mood?)
FLSA has a jurisdictional hook, no? The employer must be engaged in interstate commerce in order to be subject to this federal employment law. In general, that requires a showing of doing a half-million in annual revenue. But one can also show, albeit with a more fact-intensive offer of proof, that the employer is engaged in interstate commerce despite not meeting this revenue requirement. So if one worked at a very small, employer-and-one-employee shop selling handicrafts, FLSA might not cover that employee (or it might!).
I’m not sure we should be offering that kind of guidance here. Although it would be fair to point out that there are two sources of employment law that may be implicated, and omission of any in a lawsuit may bar recovery under the omitted causes of action in the future. This is something the OP will need to think about in formulating her strategy for proceeding.
Actually, if spending $500 got me a net gain of $1,100 I’d go for it. I would, of course, prefer a net gain of $1,500 but if I do nothing I get nothing, which is a net gain of $0.
Except regular court will cost me much more upfront before I can recover any money, and my financial means are sharply limited. Indeed, one of the reasons for SSC is to make courts more accessible to those without large financial resources. Regular court will also probably take a lot longer. In addition, Indiana law allows SCC to award up to triple damages as well as costs in wage claim cases provided the claim does not exceed a certain amount. I have already been told by the BoL that my claim falls inside the required limits for that.
Of course,but what about if it’s a $500 fee paid in advance that isn’t refunded so there’s a possibility of a net loss of $500 if the collection is unsuccessful? Or if you will need to provide information that you don’t currently have? Or both? All I’m saying is that is not enough to know that it’s possible to enforce the judgement - it may be possible but still not worth it
Well, yeah, I knew that already. On the other hand there is such a thing as taking a calculated risk. Right now your “you might not be able to collect!” is pure speculation, neither you nor I know how likely that is right now.
Clearly she is not my client. That is just my .02. I simply wanted to emphasize that it might be worth exploring the issue.
I’ve taken a couple of people to SCC and been successful both times. I’m in the UK so things may be a bit different but in my experience it was simple, pretty informal and efficient.
In addition to all my documentation I typed out a brief summary of the case, just a couple of paragraphs so the judge could quickly get the gist of the problem. I’m sure this helped, especially as in both of my cases the defendant wasn’t nearly as well prepared as I was.
Just a quick update:
I did wind up hiring a lawyer. I selected one licensed to practice in both Indiana and Illinois, with experience in wage claim cases and collections. I was able to negotiate what I felt was a reasonable and affordable fee and he has been very understanding about my financial concerns.
He wrote what I call a Scary Lawyer Letter and we got $500 out of them. And the check cleared.
Unfortunately, recent communications make it clear the owner has absolutely no further intentions of paying me and is trying to scare my lawyer off (essentially said “your client is a liar” and a few other uncharitable things). As she still owes me more than $1,000 I’ve decided to proceed to lawsuit. I’ve already done quite a bit of investigative legwork on my own and the lawyer continues to act more as a legal adviser than anything else.
As we are now moving to a lawsuit phase I probably shouldn’t discuss any details further but I’ll probably post updates if it seems appropriate.
AS this is a business, can you not institute bankruptcy proceedings? Or has the $500 payout dropped you below the limit for that?
How could I possibly institute bankruptcy on a business I don’t own?
Why would I want to do that, anyway? Once they go bankrupt there will be no more money coming in, and I can’t collect what they don’t have. I want my money before they go bankrupt.
I think the poster is in the UK, where it is indeed possible for a creditor to request that the courts declare a debtor bankrupt. The advantage to the creditor is that assets of the business or individual can be taken and used to repay the debt.
Of course, that may not be the law where you are.
No, the law is a little different here. Here you tap the company’s assets without forcing them into bankruptcy. Under the right circumstances I can tap the debtor’s personal assets without forcing her into bankruptcy.