Q: Wanting to avoid court...
My sons girlfriend recently moved out of her parents house, she's 19... Without having to go to court, what can she do to get her dog back from her parents who are refusing to give the dog to her? She has a few vet bills and some prize ribbons she's won. Please help??
A: What you are asking is whether she can sue, and we do not have enough facts from you to answer that. The parents will probably say that they own the dog, right? Of course she can go pay an attorney a ton of money to sue, or she might try it herself, but will need to know what the court costs are locally. Call the clerk and ask.
A: And a small claims court might (depending on state laws) not have jurisdiction to award anything but a money judgment. It may not be able to award what would be, in essence, a writ of replevin: an order for delivery of a specific chattel (the dog). So you might have to go to "regular" court.
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