Q: A tenant defaulted on rent and abandoned an office in NC. Their HQ is in GA. Can I use small claims court in NC to sue?
The abandoned office is in Charlotte NC and was their only NC office. There is nobody here to receive the summons. Their HQ is in GA, where we know the summons will be received. I tried to file but the small claims clerk led me to believe that serving the HQ in GA would be problematic and out of jurisdiction for the magistrate. Is this true? We would like to avoid district court if possible.
A: You cannot file in small claims court if the defendant is not a resident of the same county. Your only option is the district court, sorry.
Lynn Ellen Coleman agrees with this answer
A: You have to sue an out of state Defendant, including a corporation, in District Court. Small claims has no jurisdiction.
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