Filing a lawsuit against a non-US Citizen.
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
Filing a lawsuit against a non-US Citizen.
I have a client that owes over $5,000 to my company for is stay in one of our corporate housing apartments in Houston, Texas. I don’t have a current address to serve him, but I do have his passport information. What are my options?
Asked on June 11, 2009 under Business Law, Texas
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 15 years ago | Contributor
Not very good. You *can* file against a non-U.S. citizen, but it is very difficult to enforce against a non-U.S. citizen, especially one not resident and/or not possessing assets on U.S. soil. If you could proceed someone who is a U.S. citizen or has U.S. assets--for example, you say it was "corporate housing apartments"; was he working for a company w/U.S. offices that you could proceed against instead?--you have a better chance of collecting. In the absence of some U.S. tie or U.S. assets, there's a good chance that even if you're legally in the right, you will not be able to collect, and will end up spending more money pursuing the matter than you'd get--$5,000 is a very low amount to bring an international action for.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.