Q: Can I sue a guy in NY court who has two residences (FL and NY) over a rental fraud in FL done over the internet?
I am a resident of VA and over the New Year holidays I took my family to FL for a week. I arranged a rental via internet on a legitimate website. I was contacted by owner, signed the rental agreement and foolishly wired him money. He cancelled on me a week prior the vacation start date and refused to refund me. All was done through the internet and phone conversations. The guy has dual residences in FL and NY. I need to take him to a small claims court, but NY would be easier. Can I? Do I need to serve him papers in both places? Thanks.
A:
You can probably sue him in New York small claims court because he has a residence in New York, and he is likely subject to the long arm jurisdiction statue in New York State.
The good thing about about shoeing in New York small claims court is that it is extraordinarily cheap, uses a standard closer to "fairness" or "equity" rather than a preponderance of the evidence, like a higher court would use and finally, the best thing is that the small claims court will serve the defendant for you.
Please note that the jurisdictional limit in New York State small claims court is $5000 max
Hope this helps
Aubrey C. Galloway III, Esq.
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