If I’m looking to do small claims court on an old roommate who owes us money, can I sue for interest and time spent?
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If I’m looking to do small claims court on an old roommate who owes us money, can I sue for interest and time spent?
I’m looking to do small claims court on an old roommate who owes us money from items he stole, admitted to stealing and then returned broken. He agreed to pay the amount to fix them but has not repaid the whole amount which he agreed to have paid 9 months ago. Can I sue for time spent searching for the missing items, communicating with him, and tracking him down when he moved all over the place, etc and for interest on the money owed since this was suppose to be paid back by now but has not. How do I go about knowing the percentage or hourly rate I can sue for if this is possible?
Asked on July 10, 2012 under Bankruptcy Law, Minnesota
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
Under the laws of all states in this country with respect to the property issue matter that you have written about, the measure of damages that you can legally claim for the property at issue is the costs of repair or the fair market value of the destroyed item (lesser of the two) plus accrued interest at the legal rate in your state for a judgment.
The time spent in your endeavors as you have written is not an item of allowable damages that you can receive under the law.
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