On Your Own North Carolina Small Claims Court: A Debt Collection Guide for North Carolina Businesses

Передня обкладинка
Universal-Publishers, 1998 - 240 стор.
If you are interested in representing yourself or your business in Small Claims Court in North Carolina in order to collect your debts or settle disputes, ON YOUR OWN - NORTH CAROLINA SMALL CLAIMS COURT is the book for you! Employing an attorney to represent you or your business may or may not make economic sense. The debt you are seeking to recover may be less than the fee charged by an attorney. While it may be economically desirable for an attorney to represent you or your business in Small Claims Court in some situations, you may find it more advantageous to represent yourself or your business ON YOUR OWN. An individual or business with a small claim may wish to pursue the indebtedness without an attorney, but may not possess sufficient knowledge about the way the court operates to feel competent to do so. If the debt is too small to justify employing an attorney or if the case never gets to court because the plaintiff does not have an adequate amount of knowledge of his or her interests, the debt goes unpaid. The plaintiff loses either way, because the debt is still not paid.

By reading and studying this book, you will gain knowledge to assist you in maintaining more control over your bottom line. Larger net profits are important for any business enterprise. The materials contained on the pages of this book will show you how to better manage your company's small claim debt collection efforts by effectively using the Small Claims Court. You should be able to significantly increase your odds of collecting your judgment in Small Claims Court -- a court specifically designed by state law for the litigant with multiple small claims.

ON YOUR OWN - NORTH CAROLINA SMALL CLAIMS COURT is a book that offers basic guidance to the individual who has never been to Small Claims Court, yet provides material that should be of assistance to the individual who has represented himself or his business on a regular basis. I cannot overemphasize methodical study and understanding of the law. If this book is read with care and understood, it will be helpful to you in the collection of small claims and the settlement of disputes.

Mary Anne Nixon Attorney at Law
 

Зміст

The Small Claims Court Will It Work For Me?
1
North Carolinas Small Claims Court The Magistrate Court
3
Can I Act as My Own Attorney?
4
Can I Competently Act As My Own Attorney?
5
The Bottom Line Collection of the Money Judgment
6
Jurisdiction Who Can I Sue? How Much Can I Collect? What Kinds of Cases Can I Take to Court?
9
Magistrate Court Jurisdiction The North Carolina Statute
10
Lawsuits For Monetary Relief
12
Defendant Must File An Answer
67
Presentation of the Case What Occurs During the Trial?
71
The Defendant Does Not Contest the Case of the Plaintiff
72
The Oath or Affirmation
73
Presentation of Defendants Case
77
Plaintiffs Rebuttal
78
Judge Jury Returns Verdict
79
Collections Part I How Do I Determine What Assets Are Available from the Debtor to Satisfy My Judgment?
81

Bad Checks
13
Intentional Torts
14
Prepayment of Court Costs
15
Venue Where Do I Sue?
17
Residents Two or More Defendants
18
NonResident Defendants Who Cannot Be Found In County For Service of Process
19
Court Proceedings What Can I Expect in Small Claims Court?
21
Informal Proceedings
22
Adversarial Proceedings
23
Conduct in Court
24
Truthfulness
25
Witnesses
26
The Cause of Action What Kind of Case Do I Have and What Must I Prove to Win My Lawsuit?
29
Open Accounts
30
Contracts
31
Bad Checks
32
Recovery of Property
33
Rules of Evidence Is My Evidence Admissible In Court?
35
Rules of Evidence in Small Claims Court
36
Types of Evidence
37
Documentary Evidence
38
Testimonial Evidence
39
Relevancy
40
Best Evidence Rule
41
Business Records
42
Lawyer and Client
43
Clergyman and Penitent
44
Case Preparation How Do I Prepare My Case for Trial?
45
Locate and Safeguard Evidence
46
Real Evidence
47
List Witnesses
48
Conclusion
51
Money Damages What Damages Am I Entitled To?
53
Compensatory Damages
54
Tort Cases
55
Interest On Judgments
56
Mitigation of Damages
57
Case Initiation and Preliminary Steps in the Lawsuit How is the Lawsuit Started?
59
Statutes of Limitations
60
Statue of Frauds Is My Oral Contract Enforceable?
64
Suretyship The Promise to Answer for the Debt of Another
65
Steps in the Lawsuit
66
Asset Disclosure Hearing Judgment Debtor Examination by Judgment Creditor
82
Independent Identification of Judgment Debtors Assets
83
Automobiles
84
Other Personal Property
85
Conclusion
86
Collections Part II What Judicial Tools are Available to Compel the Defendant to Pay My Judgment?
87
Tangible Personal Property
88
Real Property
89
Proceeding Against the Debtors Property
91
Conclusion
92
Collections Part III How Can I Use Liens to Compel the Defendant to Pay My Judgment?
93
Filing of Liens
94
Liens on Personal Property
96
Liens on Real Property
97
Conclusion
100
Bankruptcy What Impact Does the Debtors Bankruptcy Have on my Judgment?
101
Types of Bankruptcies
102
Chapter 11 Reorganization
103
Chapter 13 Wage Earner or Individual with Regular Income
104
Types of Creditor Claims
105
Impact of Bankruptcy of Creditor Claims
106
Other Creditor Strategies
109
Fraudulent Transfers
110
Denial of Discharge
111
Alternatives to Small Claims Court What Choices Do I Have Other Than Small Claims Court?
113
Mediation and Arbitration Will Either of These Work for My Company or Me?
114
Conclusion
116
DISCLAIMER
117
COMMENTS ON THE CONTENTS OF THE APPENDICES
118
North Carolina Magistrate Court Forms and Exhibits
119
Demand Letter
127
Asset Disclosure Hearing Questions to Ask as a Judgment Creditor
131
Blank Trial Outline
137
Selected North Carolina Statutes
143
Trial Outline Exercise
165
Selected North Carolina Garnishment Statutes
173
Selected North Carolina Lien Statutes
177
Ready Reference Guide to Often Asked Questions About North Carolina Small Claims Court
193
Glossary
197
Index
207
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