Suing in small claims court out of state?

Question

My ex landlord is dodging my calls/e-mails and has not returned my security deposit after over 60 days. I am in the process of filing a small claims suit and would like to know how I would do so from out of state since I no longer live in that state. I am prepared to fly in for the court hearings.

Answer 1

You have a difficult situation in that your former landlord lives in another state and the contract over which you are suing took place in another state. Your present State has no jurisdiction.

Contact the small claims court where you lived or where your former landlord lived.

Ask them to send you a small claims summons form and ask the amount you have to pay to file the action. You may be able to get the form right off the court's website on the net.

Fill the form out, demand what he owes you plus the costs of filing the action, and send it back to the clerk of the court via registered mail.

Send the original of the summons to the former landlord, also by registered or certified mail , return receipt requested.

When you get the mail receipt back from the Post Office send it to the clerk of the court to prove that you have served the landlord.

The court will set a trial date and notify both you and the landlord.

Be aware that the landlord can play all sorts of games such as repeatedly requesting postponements, etc.in order to delay things.

He may also decide not to bother answering the suit since you're out of town. If he doesn;t answer it you can ask the court to award damages to you and then you have to have the judgement served on him, etc.

I hope there's enough involved to make all this worthwhile.

Answer 2

You call the clerk of court and she mails you the forms.

DO THE MATH.... air fare, transportation, airport parking, food, hotel, none of which you can add to your small claims suit total, and, and, and IF you win?  75% of judgments from small claims are never collected.  75%.

Just trying to help here, I hate to see you lose even more money.  

Don't you have a friend there that you could give written permission to take possession of the check, then he could go see him and say "I'm here to pick up Melissa's check, here's her written authorization, please write it out, I'll wait."  And then see what the jerk says, at least then your friend can go to court with you and testify that he actually refused to issue it and repeat what he said to him.

Answer 3

You must go back to the state you are filing in and get the forms from the county courthouse.