1936
5 min 6 sec

Q&A: “Can I file a small claims suit against a big business?”

Today’s caller is having a frustrating experience: they aren’t getting paid for work they’ve completed! Can they take their client to small claims court?
Q&A

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What It's About

Today's listener seeks advice on how to get a client to show them the money.

Notes from Chris

Episode 1936
Today’s caller has had a negative experience where they aren’t getting paid for work they’ve completed. There’s not a gray area here—they were promised the money in exchange for the work, they did the work, but then the company changed hands and no one takes responsibility.

Frustrating!

No legal advice, but let’s see if we can help someone get paid.

"Hey there, I have a challenging situation I've been trying to figure out. I don't want to share all the details since this is a potential legal matter, but the short version is that I have a small business that provides cleaning services to several offices and multi-use facilities. One of my contracts was for a building that recently changed hands. The new owner doesn't want my services anymore, which is disappointing, but I understand that these things happen. However, I still haven't been paid for the last four weeks of cleaning under the previous ownership. Each side is giving me the runaround: the old owner says that the new owner assumed all debt with the purchase, and the new owner says that's not the case. At this point I'm ready to be more proactive, and I'm thinking of trying small claims court. It's several thousand dollars, which is a lot to me but not really enough to hire a lawyer and go through full litigation. Do you think I should take this approach, and if so, do I file against the old owner or the new one—or both?"

Listen to today's episode to learn more...

 
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