Used Car Sale Attorney: SoCal

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by JMS935

I doubt this would be a federal court claim at only 15k. And with the buyer an attorney himself, he’d likely file it in his own county regardless so that he can represent himself. While proper venue is a matter of law, unless the seller challenges it it would most likely stay put where it’s filed. And even if they do challenge it, it could still stay put if judge rules proper venue. I don’t see the buyer filing this lawsuit out of state.

I don’t believe you can just file where you live, it’s where the sale occurred. Jurisdiction issue.

I have judgements against people for 100k$+ and can’t collect. I can’t even imagine how one collects across state lines...

Wait for him to file. Verify with a local lawyer that he needs to serve you in person. Then worry about it.

Spending 500$ for a lawyer to write a letter could be money well spent...

[JMS935]

Originally Posted by bpu699

I don’t believe you can just file where you live, it’s where the sale occurred. Jurisdiction issue.

I have judgements against people for 100k$+ and can’t collect. I can’t even imagine how one collects across state lines...

Wait for him to file. Verify with a local lawyer that he needs to serve you in person. Then worry about it.

Spending 500$ for a lawyer to write a letter could be money well spent...

Where the sale occurred is what’s the matter of law issue, and is thus determined by the judge. Just because the car was located in Cali doesn’t necessarily make that the ‘location’ of the transaction when they buyer wasn’t there as well. There’s just as much reason to consider that the proper venue is where the transaction being sued over originated from, not the location of the car. I just dealt with this myself, and the judge ruled the proper venue is where the buyer lives. Though I’m sure you put that to several judges and you’ll get mixed results - it’s a crap shoot. Just like the judge you get - another crap shoot.

I wouldn’t waste a dollar hiring an attorney until you get served OP.

And judgements aren’t worth the paper they are written on in this country, they are virtually uncollectible. I’ve never seen a buck returned to me on any of mine either. Those who have nothing to lose just ignore them, and those that do, usually file for bankruptcy to block them. Our civil justice system is a sham. It was designed for the attorneys to benefit from the lawsuits, not to serve justice.

[bpu699]

Originally Posted by JMS935

Where the sale occurred is what’s the matter of law issue, and is thus determined by the judge. Just because the car was located in Cali doesn’t necessarily make that the ‘location’ of the transaction when they buyer wasn’t there as well. There’s just as much reason to consider that the proper venue is where the transaction being sued over originated from, not the location of the car. I just dealt with this myself, and the judge ruled the proper venue is where the buyer lives. Though I’m sure you put that to several judges and you’ll get mixed results - it’s a crap shoot. Just like the judge you get - another crap shoot.

I wouldn’t waste a dollar hiring an attorney until you get served OP.

And judgements aren’t worth the paper they are written on in this country, they are virtually uncollectible. I’ve never seen a buck returned to me on any of mine either. Those who have nothing to lose just ignore them, and those that do, usually file for bankruptcy to block them. Our civil justice system is a sham. It was designe
d for the attorneys to benefit from the lawsuits, not to serve justice.

The only risk is that the lawyers home jurisdiction may only require 3 attempts to serve...and the publication suffices. You might never know you were sued, living in another state, and you lose by default judgement...

[JMS935]

Originally Posted by bpu699

The only risk is that the lawyers home jurisdiction may only require 3 attempts to serve...and the publication suffices. You might never know you were sued, living in another state, and you lose by default judgement...

Of course the buyer would file this in his own jurisdiction so that he can represent himself, but the so called easy path to a default judgment isn’t as easy as you make it out to be. That judgment would be fairly easy to get tossed after the fact, and be right back at square one.

Regardless...I think this is just all hot air. Once the buyer’s remorse wears off he’ll probably calm down.